'Essential Q&A'

“…And it is true that the citizens of this world are more clever [in dishonesty!] than the godly are. But shall I tell you to act that way, to buy friendship through cheating? Will this ensure your entry to heaven? No! For unless you are honest in small matters, you won’t be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities…you can not serve both God and money.” In the parable money seems to be both the master and the stewards motivations and Jesus is teaching that you can’t serve God and money because you’ll show favoritism to one more than the other.

Parable Draft #1

The parable of the unjust steward is said to be the most complicated parable to understand because in the parable it appears that Jesus tolerates dishonesty. This can sort of throw the reader off and even the first time I read it I had to go back and read it a couple more times because I didn’t understand it. The rich master in the parable is said to be a local Jewish aristocrat and ruler of the land and the people on it. He was somewhat understanding, the exact opposite of how most rulers were in the advanced agrarian society. When he was gone he left the steward to handle his business.¹ The steward represents the master and has some responsibility over his choices. He is an estate manager. Estate managers represent their masters when they are absent and handle finances. Stewards could not be prosecuted for wrong doings, but unlike slaves they could be dismissed.² The master then hears about how the Steward has been making poor choices and decides to fire him. The steward then realizes that in order to save himself and find support in people he goes out and decides to help everyone who owes his master a debt so that when he is fired it will seem like he was trying to help them. The steward decided to cut the debt of the people who owed money and this is the kind of behavior Jesus wanted. It may seem like Jesus was supporting the steward being dishonest but it was only the outcome that was good. Showing generosity by lowering the debt is the kind of behavior Jesus was supporting and it was the kind of behavior that kept the Steward’s job. The lessons was that if you are dishonest with something small you will be dishonest with greater responsibilities. ” In the parable money seems to be both the master and the stewards motivations and Jesus is teaching that you can’t serve God and money because you’ll show favoritism to one more than the other.”

¹ Walter Herzog, Parables as Subversive Speech: The Scene Presented in the Parable (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994) 240-242

² Ibid., 240-242

(Louisville: Westminster Theological Journal 51 [1989]) 293-318

Parable Documentation

1. Understand the main characters and try to understand what they stand for or what they are fighting for. Think about all the characters and find out what they mean.

2. Find problems in society and address the economic problem. Find out what the social ladder is and what's wrong with it.

3. Try to address the Conflict and figure out how it relates to an outside problem.

4. Read earlier sections to get a background story and find out who Jesus is talking about.

5. Understand symbols and try to find out hidden messages in the story. For example in the parable of the tenant farmers there is a bush outside of the houses and it represents that the owner is Jewish. Look deeper in the parable, What's REALLY going on??

6. Find out how parable can affect me? How does it relate to my life?

7. Put all the pieces together to find the meaning behind the parable.

1. The steward was a retainer who represented his master and acted on his behalf. Stewards could not be prosecuted for wrongdoings but he could be dismissed. The rich master is a local Jewish aristocrat who owned many acres of land. He serves as the example that later proves that two things cannot be trusted in such as God and money. The two together, rich master and steward, show an example of good and bad because the steward is being generous in cutting people's debt and the master shows that he can be greedy by not thinking about the debtors in a kind generous way but only as a means to get his money.

2. The problems in society in the parable is that people are greedy and how people can be dishonest to save themselves and not get into trouble. The steward can be an example of another problem because he is being selfish because he does not think about his master's viewpoint on his decision to cut down the debt. He is thinking only to save himself and see if he can keep his job. The social ladder has wealthy people on top and lower people looking up to the wealthy people for help. They are looked at as kings because of the money and power they have. This is a problem because it's a system, the powerful stay in power "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer".

3. The conflict is that the steward cannot be trusted handling the master's money and this creates trust issues between them and is the reason why the steward almost loses his job.

4. Society is made up of the elite class, middle class, and the lower class during this story and the poor people look up to the rich. They are ruled by more powerful people and it is a chain that ultimately is ruled by a king.

5. Society is a symbol in the story and is represented by each character. richmaster/upper class. Steward/middle class. Debtors/lower class.

6. The parable can relate to my life because I've done dishonest things to save myself before and other people have dishonest things to me to save themselves as well. It's something I've experienced except the result was not the same. I felt betrayed instead of forgiving and it didn't turn into a win/win/win situation like in the story.

7. After all the pieces are put together the story is about how we should be trustworthy with God's teachings and even though the dishonest behavior is not good, achieving the end result is what we should try and do in our own lives.

Herzog

-The master in the parables is described as wealthy and prestigious.

-The landlord is shown to have large portions of land including orchards which he puts all down on his contracts. The total amount equals the yield of one hundred acres of land.

-The master is afraid that his reputation will be ruined in the community if his steward continues to not protect his money so he fires him.
-The scene presented in the parable is Jewish and not Roman. A steward on Roman estate would most likely be a slave, whose mismanagement would have been punished by "death".

-The steward is a slave but in a Jewish household where slaves were treated like a part of the family. For a Jewish slave to leave his master's house would be like leaving home.

-The fact that the steward is dismissed indicates that he is a retainer, not a salve, although a retainer in the household of an elite was nearly as dependent as a slave but without security associated with slavery.

-Retainers are lower than slaves and that is why they are dismissed so easily.

-If the steward loses his position he loses his stewardship and access to the household bureaucracy.

-The steward could not be prosecuted for wrongdoings but could be dismissed or shamed.

-The master wouldn't care about stewards profits as long as he kept the master's goods and resources in steady flow.

-The steward does not want to become a digger or a beggar because losing his stewardship and joining the work force would mean dropping out of the class of retainers into the class of expendables.

-The steward is not trying to save his master but he is just trying to save himself.

-It was the steward's idea to reduce the costs of the debt but not to better his master, just to save himself.

-The steward was an estate manager and represented his master and acted on his behalf and entered contracts.

-The master was a local aristocrat who belonged to the community.

-The steward is afraid of all things that come with being an expendable; scarce food, and back-breaking labor.

Research Article

Citation:
John G. Lygre
Biblical Theology Bulletin, Spring, 2002


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LAL/is_1_32/ai_94331935/pg_7

Final Reading Strategy

1. Understand the main characters and try to understand what they stand for or what they are fighting for. Think about all the characters and find out what they mean.

2. Find problems in society and address the economic problem. Find out what the social ladder is and what's wrong with it.

3. Try to address the Conflict and figure out how it relates to an outside problem.

4. Read earlier sections to get a background story and find out who Jesus is talking about.

5. Understand symbols and try to find out hidden messages in the story. For example in the parable of the tenant farmers there is a bush outside of the houses and it represents that the owner is Jewish. Look deeper in the parable, What's REALLY going on??

6. Find out how parable can affect me? How does it relate to my life?

7. Put all the pieces together to find the meaning behind the parable.

System exAMPLES

Countrywide will not do anything to help the people because they don't care about them. The company only wants to benefit itself and fighting for them to keep the house would mean they would lose the house. The system was set up to make sure Countrywide would end up on top and not worry about the people who lost their home. To fix this problem the people who got foreclosed could take it to court and fight against Countrywide and show how unjust it is. We would think differently of this situation if we were a part of the system because we would want to end up on top and we would take down anyone who got in our way. It wouldn't be unjust in our eyes because we would be gaining something.

PRISON EXPERIMENT

-Authority changes people because it makes them feel like they are in power. In just a couple of days it changed the college students who were pretending to be wardens from nice kids to mean prison caretakers. It breaks people out of their conformity and the power corrupts them. Systems naturally change people because it gives anyone on top power. It's the way they are set up that makes people believe they have all the power. They think they can do anything and to a certain extent they can. If there is a smart student who everyone likes and he does something bad he could probably talk his way out of it knowing that everyone will believe him. The system was set up to believe in those types of people in power. Everyone will believe the smart student and so he will be able to get away with whatever he wanted to. Just like people with power in systems they believe they will be able to get away with anything and so they change to take advantage of that.

Systems

Systems are beneficient to only themselves most of the time. They do things that can help them out and they don't care about the people who participate as long as they get theirs. Systems usually appear from the outside as if they function well yet it is just an illusion to trick people. After Hurricane Katrina the government system failed because it took them to long to respond to the incident and they were only worried about not spending money on people they didn't need to or didn't care about. School is another example of a failed system because most people believe that only the "smart" people are given chances and opportunities and everyone else is frowned upon. It's as if they aren't given a chance and the only way to move up is if we change our ways and adjust to the system.

As a group we said that systems are self-beneficial and only help people who have changed for them and follow their rules and regulations. Systems are set up this way to only help people who are already on top and keep down everybody else.

Unmerciful Servant

1) Who is the story about? Who is the main character? The King or the high level servant?

-The story is about how a servant owed money to his king and even when the king forgave him and was kind enough to not make him have to pay it; the servant didn't take that same kindness toward his own servants. It tells of how we should, just like our Lord, forgive those who trespass against us because He forgives us as well. The main character is the servant because he is the person who is taught the lesson and even then is punished for not following it.

2) Why does the King decide to forgive the debt?

-The King decides to forgive the debt because once he sees how devoted the servants seems toward him and how much it appears he likes him he feels sorry for him. He sees the servants devotion towards him and so he lets him go.

3) Why does the servant not follow the example of the king and forgive the debt?

-The servant doesn't follow the example of the king because he did not obey the kingdom of God. He could have thought he was living in the Kingdom of God but obviously money mattered to him more than the friendship and loyalty of his servant. He didn't treat his own servant like his neighbor and that is why greed got the better of him and he was not following the rules of God.

4) If the Kingdom of God is like this parable, then what do we learn about the Kingdom of God?

-We learn that we should forgive those who trespass against us just like the servant followed his king we should follow our Lord.

US involvement

86. How would a secure Israel and independent Palestine affect the Middle East and the rest of the world?
-It would affect the Middle East and the rest of the world because the economy would not be balanced and it would be an inequal economy. Cooperation among the land would suffer because one part of the land could be better suited than another and it would cause the rest of the world's economy to be thrown off.


87. Would a two-state arrangement really be fair and based on justice?
-A two-state arrangement wouldn't be fair because Israel would not be able to control their own land. It would receive about 22% while the UN would receive around 45%. It could even be considered injustice to not be able to own your own land.

Parable of the Wicked Tenants

The Parable of the Wicket Tenants is a metaphor of the teachings of Jesus because it represents the problems with a society and how people would deal with it. It tells the story of how violence can change a society regarding land and how it changes people. In the parable there is a metaphor that says the parable is like a rejected stone. It could mean that like stones that make up a building it may seem like just a small step but it can also be viewed as a building block for what Jesus was trying to teach. That small block was a cornerstone because even though it didn't seem like it meant anything it is really what helped in defining the teachings of Jesus. People can look at things differently and people who are rich enough to not care don't pay attention to small things like stones but that same cornerstone could mean a whole lot more to someone who pays attention. People who understood the parable saw it as more than a story and thought of it as a teaching.

Letter to Senator

Education for all Act(S. 1259/H.R. 2092)
Global Child Survival Act(S. 1418/H.R. 2266)
Growth Act(H.R. 2965)
Jubilee Act(H.R. 2634)

Dear Senator Boxer,

My name is Raul Cano and I would like to ask for you help in something that could potentially change the world. By supporting the acts above we could help rid poverty and provide education in developing countries. Currently we are the richest country in the world yet we give the least amount of money to developing countries. We need to act now to change that. Instead of spending billions of dollars on war we could be spending some of that money on education for children in developing countries. If they received a better education they could also help themselves out of poverty and be somebody. If we just gave them the chance they could help themselves and work for it. Donating money will help them for a week but donating education will help them for a lifetime. If these acts were passed many of the troubles of these countries would be gone. With your help we can make a difference in this world and supporting these acts would be a good start.

The Mustard Weed

The mustard seed parable can be seen as describing the seed in more than one way. The mustard seed can be seen as something that grows bigger and provides nutrients and shade from the sun for people or as an unwanted weed in a farmer's garden. It can be related to the kingdom of God because there are people who do not want to believe in the kingdom of God and think Jesus' teachings as a nuisance similar to a weed. Other people believe in Jesus words and believe that something so small can grow and provide and support so many people. It gives them hope that even though they are just one person in a world of billions as long as they keep their faith it will give them something to believe in. Similar to the mustard seed the kingdom of God grew and spread through word of mouth to different people. Even though it started as teachings to people it grew to different countries and soon more people started to believe in it. Once it got started it was difficult to not listen and to not believe in the Kingdom of God. This is how both the kingdom of God and the mustard seed share similarites in a good and bad way.

Executive Summary on Africa

Right now kids in Africa aren't getting the same opportunities that we're getting. Our schools are better, our environment is better, and our overall lifestyle is better. We need to use some of the money that we have over here to help out people in their situation over there. People are dying from malaria and other diseases that would cost us almost nothing to help cure. We could send doctors over to make sure things like that don't happen. If people could send over their "extra" it could go a long way and help the people in africa with getting rid of poverty, providing better farm tools, and teaching the kids in school and making sure they're getting the right utensils. They have tried to make a change so why can't we help them in making that change. If they are trying to help themselves by cleaning up their hospitals, providing education for their children, and farming to have food on the table and make a living for themselves then why shouldn't we try and help them and send whatever extra money we have. It could provide kids with supplies in school. It could hire people to help in the fields while farming. The situation in Africa is bad but we could definetly help out if we just tried. We should try and make it so that we are all equal and since the government isn't trying to help out we should encourage individual companies to donate more money or fundraisers to raise money and we should spread the word to spread awareness. I think we should help out by donating more things that we do not need badly or that we do not use anymore. Those couple of extra dollars and cents lying around our house could mean a lot to other people in Africa.

DP2: what should we do???

There are lots of things we can do to help out and one of them is to raise money through fundraisers and people donating. We could send supplies over there and maybe things that people don’t use could be sent over there as well. With the money we raise we could buy things like farming tools and mosquito nets so there would be no more deaths due to malaria. We could hire people to go work over there to clean up the hospitals so there wouldn’t be blood and disease all over the place. People could show them how to farm properly and in a way that is most efficient where they would produce the most crops. Toys and items that we no longer use could be sent for the kids or even pencils for school. Pencils are what a $dollar over here for 20 and now that’s 20 kids that could be in school with pencils for only a dollar. Even the smallest things would help so I think donating ANYTHING would be better than us not doing anything.

Portfolio 2: singer on Poverty

1. How much should we give?
2. Are we obligated to give it?
3. Is it really our job to perfect the world?
4. Would YOU give half your salary to someone you don't even know?
5. We have problems at HOME why are we worried about THEM when we have problems too?
6. What do we owe as individuals?
7. What do we owe as states and governments?
8. Should people with more money be the first to act?
9. Do we realize how much people are getting hurt by us not helping them?
10. If we can end this problem of extreme poverty...why haven't we?

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was a preacher who taught in the same ways Jesus taught and someone who tried to portray the same message as Jesus. John encourages people to not let anyone judge them and to learn that repentance means treating others well. Since the teachings are so similar some people thought of John as a precursor to the Messiah. John prepared people for the Messiah so when Jesus came people would be more comfortable with the teachings and they would understand them better. John shows people how to live as the children of God so when God’s evaluation draws near they will be ready. Many people already believed that John the Baptist was paving the way for Jesus to be the servant of God and how his teachings were a precursor to what Jesus would preach about. This is how they are seen related because their topics deal with the same thing and instead of showing all attention to himself John the Baptist made sure to the point the directions toward Jesus and God.
Jesus’ teachings about God are the same as John the Baptist in the sense that they both believe deeply in the same thing. John the Baptist showed the people spiritual reality and the effects of what would happen in dealing with God’s teachings. He told the people what to believe about healing and reality and in this there was pain even though it was the truth. John the Baptist spoke the truth and even though he knew it would sometimes upset people and make them afraid he felt that he should teach them about a belief they didn’t quite understand and explain to them the teachings of Jesus. John the Baptist felt that problems needed to be exposed to be changed and no matter how much it would hurt the people he knew he had to do so anyway.

Refugeesus

When Jesus and his family were running from the King they must have been very scared because of what they knew would happen to them. The family could have known that if they got captured they would have been punished or killed. That means that the whole time they were traveling the experience was bad with that kind of thought on their mind. They probably traveled walking to get away and so already physically it was very tiring. But also knowing that punishment was waiting for them if they got caught it must have been hard emotionally as well. This changed how Jesus turned out to be because maybe he must've felt bad for other people who were refugees knowing that he had shared in their experience. Maybe this is why when Jesus got older his mission leaned more towards poor people and people who had run away to try and avoid problems that they were having at home. Jesus could have felt compelled to help these people especially because he could relate to them.
Leaving to a different place must have been hard for Jesus and for all the people who did it. Knowing no one else and being new in a different place was a scary experience. After watching the videos of refugees I don't think ican ever know exactly what that feels like but i definetly got a better idea of it. They always looked tired and the conditions that they were in made them seem like they had no money, no home, and no where to go. This is probably what Jesus experienced and since he can relate he decided he should reach out and try to help these kind of people.

Portfolio 1: Who's Your Momma?

I think Mary represents holiness and someone who is in a virgin state not just physically but spiritually. Like nothing can touch her and people should look up to her because of what she represents. The statue of Mary in the quad doesn't make her appear the same as she does in textbooks. The statue portrays her as a small woman who appears to be weak and not as strong spiritually as the books make her seem. She's looking down as if she's sad and doens't seem like the strong proud woman in books.

The passages described how Mary was in a lower poor class and when people found out she was pregnant before she had been married people thought of her even lower than that. They thought it was wrong of her to have sex before she had gotten married even though she tried to explain that it was God's child. People thought she was crazy when she gave them that explanation. An angel comes down to explain to Joseph and then that's when he agrees to marry her because she will birth the son of God.

I think God chose Mary to birth his son because He saw something in her that no one else saw. While everyone knew Mary was poor and didn't matter God saw that she was important enough to birth his son. only God could understand why Mary was chosen He felt she was worth picking and that she wouldn't disappoint.

A Family of Freedom Fighters

RUTH

Ruth and Naomi are going through bad times in the land that they are in so they decide to go back to Bethlehem. While back at home Ruth meets Naomi's relative who is a rich man named Baoz. Baoz thinks Ruth is beautiful and she ends up liking him too. Ruth ends up working for Baoz in his fields and Baoz asks that Ruth be taken care of. Naomi realizes that Baoz likes Ruth so she tells Ruth to keep up the work and to try and impress Baoz because if she marries a rich man like him she will be well taken care of.
Naomi tells Ruth that she should propose to Baoz and Ruth agrees. Midnight that night Ruth decides to have sex with Baoz and she then proposes to him. Baoz agrees to marry Ruth. After they get married they decide to have a child and he is named Obed. Eventually this child would be the Grandfather of King David and Ruth would be the Great-grandmother of Israel's greatest king. King David. Naomi ends up taking care of the baby and even though Ruth is the heroine of the story she is left out of the relationship. Her feelings for her son and her husband and her sense of belonging in Israel are never addressed.

*Her inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus tells us about his teachings because it shows that she stuck through everything and no matter how hard the situation got like Jesus she kept going through the struggle. It ended up working for her in the long run.

Grade

I think I should get a B or higher in this class. As long as I keep up with my worka nd keep up in class I think this grade is possible. I will try to finish all my work and I will try to review the questions I miss on any quiz. I would also like to see if there are any extra credit opportunities and if there are then I would like to volunteer for those as well.

Story

A story that my family always tells when we are together is when one time me, my sister, and my mom got lost on our way to the Oakland Airport. We knew the way but there was a detour and we had to take another way. We made circles for hours and we were all yelling at each other about which way it was. My mom was driving like 5 mph on the freeway and me and my sister could just laugh at her. We passed the same streets like 10 times. My family tells that story everytime we get together and they always make fun of us for getting lost.