The Lord Jesus Christ often taught the Gospel in the form of short allegoric stories, taking examples from nature or contemporary social life. Such short stories are called parables. Parables were already known in the Old Testament times; however, they acquired their specific perfection and beauty through the lips of the God-Man.

There were several reasons for the Savior to put His teaching into parables. First, the deep spiritual truths He spoke about were hard for His listeners to understand. But a specific, colorful story based on the details of everyday life could impress the memory for many years, and a man who tried to articulate the sense of that story would contemplate it, get into the depth of its contents, and thus approach the underlying wisdom. Second, people who did not fully understand the Savior's teachings could interpret them in their own ways and disseminate the misinterpretation. But the parables saved the integrity of Christ’s teaching by shaping its contents into a specific tale. Third, parables may prevail over direct instructions because they not only contain the universal Divine Law, but also demonstrate its applicability to one’s private and social life. Christ’s parables are also remarkable because, in spite of the centuries that have passed, they have lost none of their visual clarity and marvellous beauty. Parables are the living witnesses of the close unity that exists between the spiritual and physical worlds, between the internal cause and its manifestation in life.

In the Gospels, we find over thirty parables. They can be classified according to the three periods of the Savior's public ministry. The Savior told the first group of parables soon after the Sermon on the Mount, in the time between the second and the third Passovers of His public ministry. These initial parables told about the conditions for dissemination and strengthening of the Kingdom of God, or the Church amongst men. This first group includes the parables about the sower, the tares, the seed growing in the ground, the mustard seed, the goodly pearl and others. These will be discussed in chapter 1.

The second group of parables was told by the Lord by the end of the third year of His public ministry. In these parables the Lord told about God’s infinite mercy to those who repent, and worded various ethical rules. In this group we find the parables about the lost sheep, the lost son, the wicked servant, the good Samaritan, the rich fool, the wise builder, the unjust judge, etc. These parables will be discussed in Chapters 2 and 3.

In the third and last group of parables, which were told shortly before His sufferings on the Cross, the Lord spoke about God’s grace and man’s responsibility before God; he also foretold the punishment for the Jews who did not believe in Him, His Second Coming, the Last Judgement, the reward of the righteous, and eternal life. This last group includes the parables about the barren fig tree, the wicked husbandmen, the men called to the wedding, the talents, the ten virgins, the laborers who received equal pay and others. These parables are in Chapter 4.

In the first group of parables, the Lord Jesus Christ delivers the Divine Teaching about the spreading of the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven amongst people. These names stand for Christ’s Church on the earth, the Church that initially consisted of the twelve Apostles and the closest disciples of Christ, but which started to spread rapidly throughout the countries of Apostolic preaching after the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles on Pentecost. By its spiritual essence, the Church of Christ is not limited by any territory, race, culture, language or other external distinctions, for the Grace of God penetrates into and resides in the souls of people, illuminating their mind and conscience and directing their will toward the good. In the parables, people who become members of the Church of Christ are called the "sons of the Kingdom," as opposed to non-believers and impenitent sinners who are referred to as the "sons of the evil one." The conditions of the spreading and strengthening of the Kingdom of God in people are described in the parables about the sower, the tares, the seed growing in the ground, the mustard seed, the leaven and the treasure in the field.

Chronologically, this is the first of the Savior's parables. It tells how the Divine word is like a seed, and how differently people receive it, depending upon the disposition of their souls. This is how the Evangelist Matthew recorded this parable:

In this parable, ethically roughened people are likened to a wayside. The word of God cannot penetrate into their hearts, as if it falls on the surface of their consciousness and is soon razed from memory, without getting under their skin or arousing high feelings. People of variable mood are likened to stony places because their good impulses are as shallow as a thin coat of earth that covers the surface of a rock. These people, even if the truth of the Good News intrigues them for a moment in their lives, are neither able to give up their ambitions for the sake of this truth, change their habitual way of life, nor start a steady struggle against their sinful nature. They despond and fall to temptation after the first trial. When speaking of the seed falling amidst thorns, Christ means people burdened with earthly labours, greedy for gain, and fond of pleasures. Like weeds, vanity and the chase after illusory comforts has choked up everything good and holy in them. And, finally, people with hearts sensitive to the good, ready to change their life and put it in line with the teaching of Christ, are likened to the rich earth. These people hear the word of God, firmly decide to follow Him, and bring forth the fruit of their good works — hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold — depending upon their capabilities and effort.

The Lord ends this parable with the significant words: "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." By these final words the Lord knocks at the heart of every man, calling each to a deeper look into his own soul, for better understanding of his own self — does this soul not resemble the barren land, covered only with the weeds of sinful wishes? Even so, He is not calling us to despair, for the earth unsuitable for sowing is not condemned forever. The effort and labor of one who tends the earth can make it fertile. So we can and must put ourselves right by fasting, repentance and good works; and thus struggle to become faithful and pious, even if we be spiritual idlers and lovers of sin.

The Church of Christ on the earth, being a spiritual kingdom by its nature, of course, has a visible form of existence, for it consists of people embodied in temporal flesh. Unfortunately, not everyone accepts Christian faith by internal conviction and with the desire to follow God's will in everything. Some people become Christians by force of circumstance, e.g., they follow a common example or unconsciously, after having been baptized by parents in childhood. Others, though taking the path of salvation with a sincere desire to serve God, weaken in their zeal after a while and begin to surrender to their previous sins and vices. Due to these reasons, the Church of Christ may include (and in fact often does) quite a few people who commit bad things and sin manifestly. Of course, their exceptionable conduct engenders criticism and casts a shadow onto the entire Church of Christ, which they belong to formally.

In His parable of the tares, the Lord speaks of the deplorable fact that, in this temporary life, the faithful and righteous members of God's Kingdom cohabit with disgraceful members, whom the Lord calls the 'sons of the evil one' as opposed to the 'Sons of the Kingdom'. Below is the Evangelist Matthew's record of this parable:

In this parable, the tares are to be understood both as temptations in ecclesiastical life, as well as people of irreverent and non-Christian behavior. The history of the Church is full of events that could not have come from God, e.g., heresies, ecclesiastical distempers and schisms, religious persecutions, parish hassles and intrigues, and provocative acts of people who sometimes held prominent or even leading positions in the Church. Seeing it, a man far from the spiritual life would be ready to throw a stone of accusation at the Church and the very teaching of Christ.

In this parable the Lord shows us the actual origin of all acts of darkness, the devil. Were we to have spiritual sight, we would see that there exist real, evil persons, called demons, who relentlessly and insidiously push people towards all things evil, cunningly playing with human weaknesses and manipulating them. According to this parable, the instruments of this invisible evil power — people — are not innocent: "But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares," i.e., the devil has a chance to influence men because they do not keep vigil.

Why doesn't God destroy the people who do evil? The parable says, 'lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them', which means that the sons of the Kingdom, the good members of the Church, should not be hurt while the sinners are being punished. The relations between people in this life are interconnected as closely as roots of plants that grow together in a field. People are tied together by multiple family and social links; they depend on each other. A deplorable drunkard and lecher, can be a caring father for righteous children; the welfare of honest workers may rest in the hands of a sordid and rough master; a disbelieving ruler may be a wise law-maker, beneficial for his subjects. Had the Lord punished all and every sinner without distinction, then the entire order of life on the earth would inevitably collapse and hurt some good people who depend on those sinners (children of a sinful parent, for example). Moreover, it often happens that an errant member of the Church suddenly — after a life shock or event — improves himself, becoming wheat from tares. History holds many cases of 'modi vivendi' ending up in this way: Manasseh, an Old Testament king, the Apostle Paul, the Saint Prince Vladimir and others. It should be remembered that in this life no one is doomed for perdition; everyone has a chance to repent and save his soul. Only when the full count of one's years runs down does the 'harvest' come, the day to reckon the past.

The parable of the tares teaches us to be watchful, i.e., to watch our spiritual condition carefully and not to rely on our righteousness, lest the devil take advantage of our carelessness and sow sinful wishes into us. At the same time, the parable of the tares teaches us to have an understanding attitude towards the life of the church, and to remember that negative things are yet inevitable in this temporary life. Has there ever been wheat without any tares? But as the tares have nothing in common with the wheat, so the spiritual Kingdom of God has nothing in common with the evil which may occur inside the church wall. Not everyone in the parish roster, bearing the name of a Christian, does in fact belong to the Church of Christ.

The Kingdom of God does not only contain a teaching, for people to accept by faith. It has a great and grace-filled power, able to transform the entire world of a human soul. It is this internal power of His Kingdom that the Lord speaks about in the next parable of

which was recorded by the Evangelist Mark in his Gospel:

A plant, coming out of a seed, undergoes various stages of growth and development; in the same manner, a man who accepts Christ's teaching and receives baptism undergoes an internal transformation, and grows step by step, through the work of God's grace. At the beginning of his spiritual journey, a man is full of good impulses which seem fruitful, but turn out to be as immature as the offsets of growing plants. The Lord does not enslave human will by His All-Mighty power but allows a certain time for a man to become rich in this grace-filled power and gain in goodness. Only a man spiritually mature is able to give God the perfect fruit of good works. Yet when God sees a spiritually grown and mature man, He takes him from this life to Himself. This is the "harvest" of the parable.

Following the instructor of the parable about the seed growing in the ground, we must learn to have patience and indulgence for the people around us, for we are all in the process of spiritual growth. Some reach spiritual maturity earlier, others later. The following parable about the mustard seed adds to the previous one; and tells about the external manifestations of the power of grace in people.

In the East, the mustard plant can grow as high as 12 feet, though its seed is extremely small, so that the Jews in the times of Christ used to have a saying: "As small as a mustard seed." That the comparison of the Kingdom of God to the mustard seed was true was made visible by the rapid outspread of the Church in pagan countries. The Church, while starting as a small religious association insignificant for the rest of the world, represented by the few uneducated Galilean fishermen, spread throughout the entire world of that time within two hundred years, from barbaric Scythia down to parched Africa, from far away Britain to exotic India. People of the most different races, languages and cultures found salvation and the world of the Spirit in the Church, in the same way that birds find shelter in the branches of a great oak in a storm.

The transformation of a human by grace, discussed in the parable of the seed growing in the ground, is also seen in the next very short parable about

The "three measures of meal" symbolize the three powers of the soul transfigured by God's grace: mind, will and feelings. Grace enlightens the mind, opening new spiritual truths before it; it strengthens the will in good works, and appeases and cleanses the feelings, implanting light joy into the man. Nothing in the world is comparable to the grace of God: the earthly things feed and strengthen the temporal body, but the grace of God feeds and strengthens the immortal human soul. That is why a human must first of all value the grace of God and be able to sacrifice everything else for the sake of this grace, as our Lord said in His next parable.

This parable tells of the inspiration and joy which a man experiences when God’s grace touches his heart. Warmed and illuminated by the light of this grace, a man sees clearly all the emptiness and misery of material goods.

The grace of God is the real treasure, and by comparison to it all earthly goods are insignificant (or dung, as expressed by the Apostle Paul). However, a man cannot take possession of this treasure until he sells all his property and buys the field where that treasure is hidden; and in the same way, he cannot receive the grace of God until he makes up his mind and gives up all his earthly goods. For the sake of the grace delivered in the Church, a man must sacrifice everything: his prejudice, his spare time and quietness, as well as success and the pleasures of life. The man who found the treasure "hid it," so that others would not steal it. In a like manner, a member of the Church who receives God’s grace must carefully keep it within his soul; for if he exhibits this gift, he will lose it because of his pride .

As we see in this first group of Gospel parables, the Lord gives us a complete and harmonious teaching about the internal and external conditions needed for the increase of the blessed Kingdom of God amongst people. In the parable of the sower, we read about the need to clean off the worldly interests from our hearts and to make our hearts receptive for the Good Word. In the parable of the tares, the Lord warns us about the invisible power which consciously and artfully sows temptations among humans.

The next three parables hold the teaching of how the power of grace acts in the Church: the transformation of the soul is gradual and unnoticeable (the seed growing in the ground), the power of God’s grace is unlimited (the mustard and the leaven), and this power of grace is the most precious thing anyone would ever want to purchase (the treasure hid in the field). Jesus Christ added more to this teaching about God’s grace in the parables about the talents and the ten virgins, which are from His last, third group of parables; they are discussed below in Chapters 3 and 4.

We learned many of the Gospel parables in childhood and can remember them well, regardless of however many years have passed. This is because they read as vivid and bright stories. The Lord Jesus Christ shaped certain religious truths as parabolic stories, just so they would be easy to remember and hold in memory. Mention the name of a parable, and it will bring up a colorful image of the Gospel in the mind. Of course, though we can call the parable to mind, we often go no further than this, for there are many things in Christianity that we understand, but few that we do. A Christian needs to make an effort of the will in order to sense the vital significance of the truth, and desire to follow it. It is only then that this truth will shine with a new and warm light.

After a relatively long break, and a few months before His sufferings on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ told us His new parables. Conventionally, they make up the second group of parables. In these parables the Lord revealed God’s infinite mercy in the salvation of sinners, and also gave a series of graphic instructions on how we must love each another, following God. We will start the review of this second group of parables, discussing the three which depict God’s mercy on those who repent; these are the parables of the lost sheep, the lost son, and the tax collector and the Pharisee. These parables must be studied in their connection to the great drama initiated by the original sin that results in disease, suffering and death.

Sin has defiled and distorted many aspects of human life since time immemorial. Numerous Old Testament offerings and ritual washings of the body gave people hope for the forgiveness of their sins. However, this very hope was based upon the expectation of the Advent of a Saviour who would release people of their sins and return them the lost beatitude of communion with God (Is. ch. 53). The parable about

clearly depicts the long-awaited turn towards the better, towards Salvation, when the Good Shepherd, the Only-Begotten Son of God, comes into the world to find and save His lost sheep, which is humanity wallowing in its sins. The parable of the lost sheep, as well as the two parables that follow, were Christ's response to the clamor of the rancorous Judaic scribes, who were reprimanding Him for His compassion to public sinners.

The proud and complacent Judaic scribes expected the Messiah to come and establish a powerful and glorious kingdom, in which they would take the ruling positions. They did not understand that first of all the Messiah was the Heavenly Shepherd, not an earthly ruler. He came into the world to save those who felt themselves hopelessly lost, and to regain them for the Kingdom of God. In this parable, the shepherd’s compassion for a lost sheep was particularly evident, for he neither punished the errant sheep, nor forcefully drove it to the flock, but laid it on his shoulders and carried it back. It is the symbol of the salvation of sinful mankind, for, on the Cross, Christ took our sins onto Himself and cleansed us. Since then, the atoning power of Christ’s sufferings on the Cross makes it possible for a man to revive morally, returning him to his lost righteousness and his blessed communion with God.

The next parable about

adds to the first one and tells about the other side of salvation — the voluntary return of a man to his Heavenly Father. While the first parable shows the Savior looking for the sinful man in order to help him, the second parable tells about the moral effort of a man required for reunion with God.

The parable of the lost son points out the peculiar features of a sinner’s life. A man, captivated by earthly pleasures, after many errors and falls, finally ‘comes to himself’; he begins to understand the emptiness and filth of his life and decides to come back to God in repentance. Psychologically, this parable is very life-like. The lost son could only value the happiness of being with his father after suffering much far from him. In exactly the same way many people start to appreciate their communion with God only after they have sincerely felt the falsity and aimlessness of their lives. From this standpoint, this parable truly reveals the positive aspect of worldly sorrows and failures. The lost son may never have ‘come to himself’ if misery and starvation had not made him sober.

God’s love for fallen people is also depicted in this parable by the figure of the suffering father, who goes out to the road every day in the hope to see his son coming back. Both the parable of the lost sheep and that of the lost son tell how important and significant it is to God for a man to be saved. The ending of the parable of the lost son, omitted here, tells how indignant the elder brother is when the father forgives his younger brother. The elder brother is Christ’s depiction of the envious Judaic scribes. On the one hand, they despised sinners (tax collectors, whores and the like) and abhorred any communion with them, but on the other, they were outraged that Christ mixed with them and helped them to take the right way.

This parable adds to the two previous parables about God's grace, showing that a man's humble recognition of his own depravity is more important to God than the mock virtues of the proud.

It is quite likely that the Pharisee depicted in this parable was not a bad man; he did no harm to anyone. The parable does not say, however, that he has done any real good works; rather, he strictly follows the various, minute, secondary religious rites, even those of them which were not required by the Old Testament laws. Following these rites, he had no mean opinion of himself. He fits this expression of St. John Chrysostom, "He judged the whole world but justified himself!" People of this disposition are unable to evaluate themselves critically, repent and start a good life. Their moral self is dead. More than once, the Lord Jesus Christ publicly castigated the hypocrisy of Judaic scribes and Pharisees, but in this parable Christ only remarks that it was the tax collector who ‘went down to his house justified rather than the other’; in other words, it was the tax collector's sincere repentance that was accepted by God.

These three parables let us understand that a human being is fallen and sinful. A human has nothing to boast of before God. But with sincere repentance he must come back to his Heavenly Father and expose his life to the leadership of God’s grace, like the lost sheep who passed the work of its salvation to the good shepherd!

The following parables teach us to follow God in His mercy, and how to forgive and to love our neighbors — people both close and distant alike.

Having absolutely no need, God created this world and man out of His excessive goodness alone. He gave people life, adorned them with His divine image and gave them free will so that they could participate in His beatitude. When they sinned, He did not in His just judgement reject them completely, but, in His infinite mercy He desired to lead them out of the abyss of the Fall and return them to eternal life, through His Only-Begotten Son. With his Creator and Savior as the ideal of perfect love, a man must in turn forgive and love his own neighbors, because we are all brothers by substance.

In the following four parables, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us instructions on how we must evince our love for people. These are the parable about the wicked servant, the good Samaritan, the rich man and Lazarus, and the unjust steward. The conclusion of these parables is that the works of mercy may be very different in their visible manifestations. The works of mercy may include all the good things we may do for others: forgive those who offend us, help the suffering, comfort the sorrowful, give good advice, pray for our neighbors and a variety of other things. External indications alone do not allow us to judge which good works are worth more in God’s eye. Good works are not counted but given value according to the spiritual content, the depth of love and the power of will which a man applies to perform them. The first and most vital, though not the easiest work of mercy, is the forgiveness of offences. The Lord teaches us to forgive our neighbors in His parable about the wicked servant.

The Savior told this parable in response to Peter’s question about how many times one had to forgive one’s brother. The Apostle Peter thought that it would be enough to forgive up to seven times. Christ replied that one should forgive one’s brother "seventy times seven" times, implying that forgiveness must be given always, for an unlimited number of times. As an explanation, He told the following parable:

In this parable God is likened to a king who lent certain amounts of money to his servants. A human is an insolvent debtor before God not only because of his sins, but also because of his lack of good works; those good things which he could have done for others but did not do. These undone works of love are our debts also. In the Lord’s prayer we ask, "And forgive us our debts," not just our sins! By the end of our life, when we await our turn to God to account for the life we have lived, we will find out that we all have been insolvent debtors. The parable of the unjust steward says that we can rely on God’s mercy only if we wholeheartedly forgive offenders. That is why we must remind ourselves every day, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

Furthermore, with regard to this parable, the offences our neighbors incur upon us are negligible compared to our debt to God; it is like small change compared to capital worth over a million dollars. It must be said that the feeling of injury is very individual. One person might not take notice of the occasional word or act of an acquaintance, while the same words or acts may cause another to take offense his entire life. From the spiritual standpoint, the feeling of injury originates from piqued ambition and hidden pride. The more self-loving and proud a man is, the more touchiness he has. Resentment, if one does not get rid of it at once, may gradually become rancor. Rancor, according to St. John of the Ladder, is the "rust of the soul, worm of the mind, opprobrium of prayers, alienation of love … ceaseless sin." Rancor is hard to fight. In another of his counsels, St. John of the Ladder writes, "Recollection of the sufferings of Jesus will heal the rancor, [which will be] reproached by His goodness." Further on, he says, "When after a long good fight you are not able to remove this thorn, then at least in your words repent and humble yourself before the one whom you are angry with, so that you become ashamed of your sustained hypocrisy and able to love this one perfectly."

It is very important that we pray for those whom we feel offended by, and that this help us to overcome our unkind feelings towards them. If we could see the multitude of debts for which we have to give account to God, we would gladly make haste to forgive all our enemies, even our worst, and to win God's mercy. Unfortunately, such recognition of our wrongs and our guilt before God does not come to us on its own, but requires the continuous and strict trial of our conscience in the Evangelical light. Whoever forces himself to forgive his neighbors will, as a reward for this effort, receive the gift of genuine Christian love which our Holy Fathers called the Queen of Virtues. These works of love are discussed in the parables which we cover in the following Chapter.

Christ told this parable in answer to a Judaic lawyer’s question, "Who is my neighbor?" The lawyer knew the Old Testament commandment that instructed one to love one’s neighbor, but he did not act according to this commandment. Wanting to clear himself from fault, he said he did not know who his neighbor was. In response, the Lord gives this parable with the example of the good Samaritan, to explain that one should not care about distinguishing friends from foes, but must make oneself a neighbor to anyone in need.

Fearing to help an outsider, a Judean priest and a Levite passed by their brother who was in trouble. But the Samaritan, who did not speculate whether the poor wretched man lying before him was a friend or foe, helped him and saved his life. The Lord’s parable of the Samaritan’s shows that after his initial aid he also took pains to help the sufferer’s future, bearing expenses and taking the trouble to ensure his recovery.

The Lord’s example of the good Samaritan teaches us to love our neighbors actively, not to confine ourselves to good wishes and the empty expressions of compassion. It is not he who sits in the quiet of his home and dreams of extensive benefaction, but he who helps people in deed, sparing neither time, nor effort nor funds, who loves his neighbor. To help your neighbors, you need not make a program of humanitarian activity: great plans do not always come true. Every day our life offers us chances to manifest our love for people: by giving comfort to someone sorrowing, visiting someone sick, helping him to visit a doctor or prepare business documents, giving to the poor, taking part in church actions or charity, giving good advice, preventing a quarrel, and so forth. Many of these things seem insignificant, but over one’s life one may accumulate them for a real spiritual treasure. Good works are like small amounts of money put into a savings account. As the Lord says, in heaven they will make up a treasure, which moths will not corrupt and thieves cannot steal.

In His wisdom, the Lord permits people to live in various material conditions: some in great prosperity, others in need and some even in dearth. Often a man acquires his material welfare by back-breaking labor, persistence, and skills. However, we shall not deny that the economic and social status of a man is often to a great extent determined by favorable, external conditions, beyond his control. Even the most capable and industrious man may be doomed for poverty in an unfavorable environment, while another, a stupid idler, will enjoy the comforts of life because fortune smiles upon him. Such disposition may seem unjust, but only if our life is considered to be merely natural. The conclusion is totally different if we view these things from the perspective of the future life.

In two parables, that of the unjust steward, and that of the rich man and Lazarus, the Lord Jesus Christ reveals the mystery of God's tolerance for material "injustice." These two parables demonstrate that God wisely transforms apparent, earthly inequality into a means for gaining salvation: tolerance for the poor and suffering, works of charity for the rich. In the light of these two notable parables we can also see how negligible our worldly agonies and riches are when compared to perpetual bliss or perdition. The first parable of

is the example of consistent and thoughtful benefaction. Upon a first reading, one may get the impression that the lord in this parable commends his steward for crookedness. However, the Lord told this parable in order to make us think about the depth of its meaning.

In a miserable and hopeless condition, the steward finds a way to acquire patrons and provide for his future with great ingenuity. The rich lord of this parable is God, and the steward that 'wasted his goods' is a man who carelessly wastes the gifts he has received from God. Many people, like the unjust steward, fiddle away God's riches of health, time and abilities, for things vain and sinful. But at some time, everyone, like the steward, must give account to God for the material goods and opportunities entrusted to him. The unjust steward knew that he would no longer have the stewardship then and thought about his future beforehand. His inventiveness and ability to provide for his future is exemplary.

When a man comes up before the Justice of Heaven, he understands that it is not the acquisition of tangible goods which is meaningful, but the good works done by a man. According to the parable, the material goods are "unrighteous richness" because a man frozen onto them becomes greedy and heartless. Very often the riches become the idol that the hardened man worships. The man relies on riches more than on God. That is why the Lord called the earthly riches 'the mammon of unrighteousness'. Mammon was the ancient Syrian god who patronized wealth.

Now we will think about our attitude to material goods. We consider many things our property and use them only for our comfort and whims. But in fact all worldly goods belong to God. He is the Master and Lord of all; we are only His temporary agents or stewards, as in the parable. That is why to share God's goods with the people who need them is not a breach of law, as in the case of steward in the Gospel, but just the other way around, it constitutes our direct obligation. The conclusion of the parable must be interpreted in this light: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations," i.e., the needy people whom we have helped will become our solicitors and patrons in the future life.

In the parable of the unjust steward the Lord teaches us to be genuinely resourceful, inventive and persistent in the works of mercy. But as the Lord also notices in this parable, "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light," i.e., pious people often lack the skills and quick mind which the unrighteous use to set up their living.

An example of an extremely unwise use of material goods was given by the Lord in the parable of

Here God's Providence put the rich man in favorable conditions, so that without any trouble or inventiveness he could have helped the pauper lying at the door of his home. But the rich man was totally deaf to his sufferings. He was only fond of his feasts and caring for himself.

Poor Lazarus' destiny in the future life is consolatory for all paupers and sufferers. Due to his poverty and illness, he could not help others or do any good works but he received celestial bliss from God only for his tolerant bearing of sufferings without complaint. The mention of Abraham in this parable confirms that the rich man was not condemned for his riches: Abraham was a very rich man as well but, as opposed to the rich man of this parable, he was distinguished for his compassion and care for pilgrims.

Some people ask if it is not unjust and cruel to doom the rich man for eternal damnation when his physical delights were only temporal. To answer this question, we need to understand that future bliss or perdition cannot be viewed as abode in paradise or hell. Paradise and hell are in the first place the state of the soul! For if, according to Christ's word, the Kingdom of God is "within us," then hell is also within the soul of a sinner. When the grace of God rests within a man, then he has paradise in his soul. But when passions and the pangs of conscience come thick upon him, he does not suffer less than sinners in hell. Remember the cheeseparing knight's remorse in Pushkin's famous poem, "The Cheeseparing Knight": "Conscience is a clawed beast that claws the heart; Conscience is an unbidden guest, pestering companion, coarse lender!" The agony of sinners will be especially unbearable in the other world because they will neither have a chance to satiate their appetites, nor to repent and unburden the reproach of their conscience. That is the reason why the agonies of sinners will be eternal.

The parable of the rich man and Lazaurus uncovers a little the veil over the world to come, and gives us an opportunity to understand worldly existence with eternity in view. In the light of this parable, we see that earthly goods are not so much happiness as they are a test of our ability to love and help our neighbors. "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,"says the Lord in the conclusion of the previous parable, "who will commit to your trust the true riches?" This means that if we do not know how to manage the illusory riches we have today, then we will not be worthy to receive the real treasure from God, the treasure which was intended for us in the future life. Thus let us remind ourselves that our worldly goods in fact belong to God. He uses them to test us.

Like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the next parable about the rich fool tells of the harm caused to a man by his attachment to his worldly riches. But while the two preceding parables about the unjust steward and the unwise rich man were predominantly about good works, the practical activity of a human, the following series of parables is mostly about a person’s self-cultivation and development of moral virtues.

This parable was told as a warning, so that a man would not save worldly riches. Because his life does not depend on his abundant property, his wealth will not add more years or health to his life. But death is particularly terrible for those who never think on it and never prepare for it: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." The phrase "rich toward God" implies the spiritual treasures. This is the treasure discussed in the parables of talents and minaes.

In our Savior's lifetime, a talent was a significant amount of money. A talent was equal to 60 minaes, and a mina was equal to 100 dinarii (pence). A worker might earn one dinarius a day. The parable says 'talent' for the sum of all goods God gives to a human, those material, psychical, and spiritual. Material "talents" are riches, favorable conditions of life, beneficial social status, and good health. The psychical "talents" are a bright mind, good memory, a variety of abilities in the arts and handicraft, the gift of eloquence, courage, delicacy, compassion and many other qualities that the Creator put in us. Moreover, to facilitate our success in doing good, the Lord sends diverse gifts of grace to our help, the spiritual "talents." The Apostle Paul wrote about them in his First Epistle to Corinthians: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge…To another faith…to another the gifts of healing…To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy…But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will" (I Cor. 12:4-11).

In line with this parable, it should be concluded that God does not require anyone to do something above his power or abilities. However, the talents they have received make one accountable. A person must "multiply" them for the benefit of the Church and his neighbors, and it is important to develop one's good properties. In fact there is a very tight connection between visible works and the state of the soul. The more good one does, the richer one becomes in spirit, and the more perfect in virtues. Things external are inseparable from things internal.

The parable of the minaes is very much like the parable of the talents, and we omit it here. In both parables, people self-loving and slothful towards good are depicted by the wretched servant who hid the riches of his lord. The wretched servant did not have to rebuke his lord's cruelty, for the lord asked less from him than from the others. The phrase, "put my money to exchangers" must be understood as an instruction that a man who does not have the initiative and ability to do good must at least try to help others to do so. In any case, however, there is no person who has none of these abilities at all. Everyone can believe in God and pray for himself and others, and this prayer is such a holy and useful act that it can substitute for many good works.

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." These words are mostly about the reward in the future life: whoever is becoming spiritually rich in this life will become yet richer in the life to come, and contrariwise, one lazy in the spiritual life will lose even the little that he used to possess. To a certain degree, the truth of this quote is confirmed every day. People who do not develop their spiritual capabilities lose them little by little. When a man stays sated and supine, his intelligence gradually dulls, his will weakens, his senses wane and his entire body and soul languishes. The human becomes disabled and vegetative, like grass.

If we thoughtfully review the deep meaning of these parables about the rich fool and the talents, we will recognize what a tremendous crime we commit against ourselves when we waste away the time and power that God has granted to us in idleness or unnecessary fuss. In this we steal from ourselves. This is why we must attune ourselves to doing good every minute of our life, directing our every thought and wish toward God’s glory. Serving God is not a necessity but a great honor!

The following series of parables is dedicated to the two virtues that are especially significant in human life:

Eagerness is not enough for success in good works; guidance of the reason is necessary. Reason enables us to concentrate our efforts on those works which most accord with our capabilities and strength. Reason helps us to choose the way of action which will lead to the best results. In the patristic texts, reason is also called discretion, or the gift of reasoning. The highest degree of reason is wisdom that integrates knowledge, experience and the ability to see the spiritual essence of appearances.

With a lack of reason, even well-intended actions and words may result in bad consequences. St. Antony the Great had this to say about it: "Many virtues are beautiful but sometimes ineptitude or utter excitement may cause harm…reason is the virtue which teaches and prepares a man to walk the straight way and not to skew at the partings. If we walk the straight way, then we will never be lured by enemies, neither from to right, to excessive abstinence, nor to the left, to lack of diligence, carelessness and idleness. Reason is the eye and lantern of the soul…With reason, a man will review his desires, words and acts and give up all which remove him from God" (Philokalia). The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about reason in the following two parables:

The first of these two parables says that we must properly evaluate the strengths and abilities we have available to us before taking on something we want to do. Of this, St. John of the Ladder wrote: "Our enemies, the demons, often intently incite us to take on works which are above our powers so that we, being unsuccessful, become despondent and leave even those activities that are adequate to our powers…" (The Ladder, Chapter 26). The second parable cited tells about fighting the difficulties and temptations which inevitably arise when one undertakes some good work. Not reason alone, but selflessness also is required for success here. That is why these two parables are linked to the teaching in the Gospel of bearing one’s cross: "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Lk. 14:27).

Sometimes the circumstances of life are so hard that it is extremely difficult to find the right decision. In such case, one must ask God for edification very intensely: "… cause me to know the way wherein I should walk…Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God" (Ps. 142:8-10). These and the like were the words of our saint, David, the King and Psalmist, who was given edification for his prayers to God.

In order to strengthen our confidence that God hears and complies with our requests, the Lord Jesus Christ told the parables about

The great persuasion of these parables about the power of prayer is that if a man at midnight helped his friend who asked him about things unimportant and absolutely untimely, then all the more will the Lord help us. In a like manner the judge, though he ‘feared not God, nor regarded man’, still decided to help the widow so that she would not weary him. All the more, the infinitely Merciful and All-mighty God will give His hoping children what they ask. The key to prayer is constancy and patience, though, when needed, the Lord will comply with a man’s request immediately.

"All who wish to know the will of the Lord," wrote St. John of the Ladder, "must first deaden their own will within themselves. Some people proving God’s will free their thoughts from any prejudice to this or that advice of their soul … and with earnest prayer they gave the Lord their mind, cleared of their own will, for an appropriate number of days. And they reached knowledge of His will in that the bodiless Intelligence mysteriously talked to their minds, or one of those thoughts absolutely disappeared in the soul … Doubts in judgements and long hesitation in choosing one of the two is indicative of a soul vain and not enlightened from above" (Chapter 26).

When the rhythm of life has become so strained and life itself so limitlessly complicated, when the very foundations of faith and morality seem to collapse before our very eyes, more than ever we need God’s guidance and help. Amidst these concerns, prayer will gain for us a great wealth, for it is the key to the great and inexhaustible treasury of God’s gifts. All of us must learn how to use this key!

The time of the Savior's public ministry was nearing its end. In His previous parables, the Lord taught about the preconditions for the dissemination of God's Kingdom amidst and within people. In His last six parables, the Lord spoke also about His Kingdom, full of grace, and stressed the idea of a person’s responsibility before God for disdaining the chance of salvation, or, even worse, for directly rejecting God's grace. These parables were told in Jerusalem in the last week of the Savior's life on earth. They revealed the teaching about the truth, or justice of God, the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgement. The last six parables include the parable about the wicked husbandmen, the barren fig tree, the wedding dinner, the laborers who received equal pay, the men waiting for their lord, and the ten virgins.

The Lord who knows the hearts of men knows who have the most spiritual gifts, and to them He sends His grace in greater measure than to others. In ancient times, the Jewish people were distinguished for their exclusive spiritual gifts, and in the time of the New Testament these were the Greek and Russian peoples. God evinced extreme care of these peoples and poured out His gifts of grace onto them. This is witnessed by the great number of God's servants who shined amongst them. However, this abundance of the gifts of grace imposes a particular responsibility before God onto each nation and every single person. The Lord expects an effort of will from each of these people and also the tendency to go towards moral perfection, for "unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Of course, it is far from true that everyone in these nations tends toward moral perfection; some people consciously turn away from God. Often the result is that an abundance of grace creates a certain polarization among the representatives of a select people: some of them attain to great spiritual heights, even sainthood, while others, contrarily, turn away from God and become hard-hearted, even becoming theomachists. In the parable of

Christ shows what conspicuous obstinacy towards God is like in this parable, where the spiritual leaders of the Jews, the high priests, scribes and Pharisees, are depicted by the wicked husbandmen.

The implication of this parable is that the servants sent by the lord of the vineyard were the Old Testament prophets and the Apostles who then carried their work forward. Indeed, the majority of the prophets and Apostles died by the hand of the 'wicked husbandmen'. The fruit that the Lord expected from the Jewish people were faith and good works. The prophetic part of the parable — the punishment of the wicked husbandmen and the bestowal of the vineyard to others — came true 35 years after the Ascension of our Savior, when, in the time of the captain Titus, all of Palestine was devastated and the Jews were dispersed around the world. However, by the efforts of the apostles, the Kingdom of God was given over to other peoples. The compassion of the Son of God for the Jewish people, and His intention to save them from the approaching disaster is expressed in the parable of

God the Father, like the owner of the fig tree, was expecting repentance and faith from the Jewish people over the three years of His Son's public ministry. The Son of God, like a kind and caring dresser, asked the Lord to wait while he would try to make the fig tree, the Jews, fruitful again. But His efforts were not crowned with success and the dreadful prophecy was fulfilled in that God did cast off the people who steadfastly resisted Him. The Lord Jesus Christ depicted the fulfillment of this fearful moment when, on His way to Jerusalem, several days prior to His sufferings on the cross, He withered the fruitless fig tree growing at the side of the road (See Matthew 21:19).

The bestowal of the Kingdom of God from the Jews to other peoples is described in the parable about

where again the Jewish people are referred to as ‘the called’, but the apostles and the messengers of the Christian faith, 'the servants'. As 'the called' did not want to come to the wedding dinner, the Kingdom of God, the gospel of faith moved 'out into the highways', to other nations. Some of these nations probably did not possess very high religious qualities at the time, but they became very zealous in serving God.

In the context of the two previous parables and what was explained above, this parable does not require specific explanation. As we know from history, the kingdom of the Lord, the Church, came over from the Jews to the rest of the world, successfully spreading among the peoples of the ancient Roman Empire and shining in the hosts of the uncountable servants of God.

The ending of the parable of the wedding dinner speaks of a man lying at the table, 'not in the wedding garment’, which is a bit mysterious. To understand this phrase one must be aware of the customs of the time. When kings called guests for their celebrations, for example in the marriage of a king's son, they presented garments to their guests so that the dress of everyone at the banquet be clean and beautiful. But, according to this parable, one of the guests preferred his own clothing to that of the royal dress. He obviously did so out of pride, as he considered his attire to be better than the king's. Having rejected the royal garment, he lacked decorum and grieved the king. And for his pride he was cast from the feast into the 'outer darkness'. In Holy Scripture, a garment is the symbol for the state of one’s conscience. The light, white garment symbolizes a clean soul and righteousness, which God, out of His grace, gives to a person so that it can be taken freely. The man ignoring the king's dress depicts those arrogant Christians who deny God's grace and consecration, which are given them in the mysteries, or, sacraments, of the Church. These self-confident righteous may include those contemporary sectarians who deny confession, communion and other mysteries that are given to the Church by Christ for the salvation of people. Setting themselves up as saints, the sectarians also belittle the meaning of the Christian struggles of fasting, voluntary chastity, monasticism, and so forth, though Holy Scripture clearly tells us about these ascetic practices. By the words of the Apostle Paul, these seemingly righteous are just "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof," because the power of piety is not in appearance alone but in the unseen, personal struggle (2 Tim. 3:5).

The parables about the wicked husbandmen and the men called to the marriage were told first of all about the Jewish people; however, they are not limited to this interpretation. All other nations towards whom God manifests His great mercy became accountable as well. The ancient Byzantine Empire was devastated by the Turks for her sins. The events of this century speak of God's judgement over Russia, which, during the last century before the revolution, was beguiled by materialism, nihilism and other non-Christian teachings. "One's sin is the tool of one's punishment!" Everyone knows how the Russian people were punished for their denial of faith and the salvation of the soul!

"As breathing is necessary for the body, and without breathing a man cannot live, so without the breathing of God's Spirit a soul cannot live the genuine life," wrote the Righteous St. John of Kronstadt, in My Life in Christ.

In the last three parables, the Lord Jesus Christ taught about God's grace. The first parable, which is about the laborers who received equal pay, reveals how God gives grace and the kingdom of heaven to people, not because of their specific services to Him but exclusively out of His infinite love. The second parable, which is about the ten virgins, tells us we must consider gaining God's grace the purpose of life. Finally, in the third parable of the servants waiting for the return of their lord, the Lord teaches us to sustain diligence and a burning spirit by the expectation of His Advent. This is how the three parables add up to one another.

The grace of God is the power sent by God for our spiritual revitalization. It cleanses our transgressions, heals our spiritual infirmity, directs our thoughts and will towards good, conciliates and enlightens our senses, and restores vigor, confidence and ethereal joy. Grace is given to people for the sake of the sufferings on the cross of the Son of God. Without grace, man cannot succeed in good works, and his soul will remain lifeless. "The Holy Spirit the Comforter, filling the Universe," wrote the Righteous St. John of Kronstadt, "passes through all faithful, gentle, meek, kind souls, and becomes everything for them: light, power, peace, joy, success in work and especially in righteous life for all the good"(ibid).

In Jesus' time, the Judaic attitude towards religion started to become utilitarian. For following some ritual instructions they expected an appropriate and specific reward from God in the form of worldly goods. A living communion with God and spiritual revival were not the basis of their religious life. That is why the Lord shows the wrongs of such a utilitarian approach to religion in the parable about the

In the work of a man's salvation so little is fulfilled by the man himself that it is not even worthwhile to talk about the reward for one’s works. For an example, the Lord told about the laborers who received pay above their work.

For the Jews, the first hour was equal to 6 a.m. today, and the eleventh hour to 5 p.m. When the lord of the vineyard paid the laborers, he did not give more to those who worked from daybreak but paid the same amount to everyone. Those who had come earlier received their pay as they had agreed, and the latecomers received the same amount out of the lord's kindness. In this parable the Lord teaches us that the grace of God and that eternal life are given to people not on the basis of a mathematical calculation of their works or the time that they have belonged to the Church, but out of God's grace. The Jews thought that they had been the first members of the kingdom of the Messiah and deserved a greater reward than the Christians who joined this kingdom later. But God's measure of righteousness is totally different. On His scales, sincerity, assiduity, genuine love, humbleness are more precious than the external and formal side of human activity. The penitent thief who, in the last hours of his life, so fully and sincerely repented on the cross and so wholeheartedly believed in the outcast and suffering Savior, received the Kingdom of Heaven alongside the righteous who had served God since early childhood. God gives mercy to all for the sake of His Only-Begotten Son, not for the sake of their merits. Here lies the hope for the sinners who can attract God's mercy and eternal salvation with one repentant sigh coming out of the depths of a torn soul. The good works of a man and his Christian way of life are the witness of his sincere religious persuasions; they strengthen the gracious gifts received within him, but they do not constitute a service to God in the legal meaning of this word.

The need that a man has in God's grace is revealed by the Lord in the parable about

The parable about the ten virgins has been clearly and convincingly explained by St. Seraphim of Sarov in his conversation with Motovilov.

"Some say that the shortage of oil of the foolish virgins signifies their shortage of good works in their lives. Such understanding is not exactly correct. How can they be short of good works if they, though foolish, are still called virgins? Chastity is a supreme virtue, the state of being equal to angels, and could itself serve as a substitute for all other virtues. I humbly think that they were actually short of the grace of God's All-Holy Spirit. These virgins did good, and out of their spiritual foolishness supposed that doing good was exactly the point of Christianity. They did good works and by this obeyed God, but they did not care in the least beforehand whether they had received or reached the grace of God's Spirit…This very gaining of the Holy Spirit is that oil which the foolish virgins lacked. They were called foolish because they forgot about the necessary fruit of virtue, the grace of the Holy Spirit, without which no one is saved and no one can be saved, for: ‘it is by the Holy Spirit that any soul is vitalized and exalted in chastity, and any soul is lit by the Trinitarian unity in holy mysteries’. The Holy Spirit moves into our souls, and this installation of the All-Mighty into our souls, and co-existence of His Trinitarian Unity with our spirit is given only through the gaining by all means, the Holy Spirit, which prepares in our soul and body the throne for God’s creative co-existence with our spirit in strict accordance with the word of God: ‘I will dwell among them and will be their God, and they will be my people’. This is the oil in the lamps of wise virgins, oil that burnt bright and long, so that the virgins with the burning lamps could wait until the Bridegroom who came at midnight, and enter with Him into the house of joy. But the foolish virgins, seeing that their lamps were going out, went to the marketplace to buy oil but would not come back in time, for the doors were already shut. The marketplace is our life; the door of the house of marriage (that was shut and did not lead to the Bridegroom) is our human death; wise and foolish virgins are Christian souls; the oil is not works but the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God which is received through these works, and which converts things perishable into things imperishable, transforms spiritual death into spiritual life, darkness into light, the manger of our being, with passions tied like cattle and beasts, into the Divine Temple, into the glorious palace of never-ending rejoicing in Christ Jesus."

The Savior’s teaching about the Kingdom of God in the last group of parables is close to the very real prospect of His Second Coming. Foretelling His Second Coming and the judgement that follows, the Lord urges us to be "ever-watching," always working to correct oneself. Indeed, nothing can so much dispose a person to assiduity as preparing oneself daily to report before God. To be more matter of fact, when death comes, the world stops to exist for us; we arrive at the hour of judgement. The Lord told the following parable so that the moment of death would not be sudden and tragic for us:

In this parable, as well as the previous one about the ten virgins, the "burning lights" must be understood as spiritual burning, i.e., vigilant service for God, when the light of Divine Grace dwells in our hearts. "The grace of God," by the witness of St. John Cassian, "always directs our will to the side of the good, however it requires or expects from us appropriate efforts. To avoid giving its gifts to the careless, grace seeks occasions that wake us up from cold carelessness, and gives its gifts away only onto our desire and labor so that this open-handed gift-giving would not be reasonless. However, the grace is always given free of charge, because the reward for our little effort is immeasurably generous." A similar thought was expressed by St. Isaac of Syre: "The extent to which a man comes nearer to God by his intentions, is the same as the extent to which God comes nearer to man with His gifts."

We have seen that the parables told by Christ were bright and visual stories, which contain an integral and harmonious teaching about the salvation of man and the kingdom of God, the Church. In the initial parables, the Lord spoke about the conditions favorable for people to receive the Kingdom of God. In the subsequent parables, He spoke about God's mercy on repentant people and taught us to love our neighbors, do good works and improve our inner moral character. He also gave us instructions to be discreet and to pray thoroughly. The final parables were about each person’s accountability before God and about the necessity to be vigilant and to draw the light of God's grace into the heart.

In this work, devoted to the Gospel parables, we did not did not try to provide the reader with complete and comprehensive explanations of the hidden spiritual wisdom. We put before us a much more modest task: to present the basics of Evangelical teaching, as given in the parables, to the reader. Christ's parables are the ever-true pictorial instructions that show us the way to Salvation.

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Edited by Donald Shufran.