What Does Jesus Ask Us to Do: The Parables of Jesus as a Guide to Daily Living

Each year before the Lenten season begins I reflect on what I will sacrifice in spiritual preparation for Easter and the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. In 2011 I decided to take a different path. Instead of giving something up I would gain something of substance, I would embark on an examination of the Parables of Jesus. What better way to strengthen my spiritual relationship with Jesus than to read and study the Words of our Lord.
Ironically, as I was mentally preparing to embark on this incorporeal journey, my father called to chat. During this conversation, in the way only a loving father can, he began to chastise me about using the gifts God had blessed me with in a positive way. My father reminded me that I was a gifted writer—his choice of words—and a talented visual artist. He encouraged me to revisit these activities and get busy doing something worthwhile with these gifts.
WHAT DOES JESUS ASK US TO DO? The Parables of Jesus as a Guide to Daily Living is the resulting convergence of my father’s exhortative conversation and my personal Lenten covenant. I decided that I would share this reflective commentary with others by chronicling my interpretation of the parables and related Scripture passages. What better way to consummate the end of my spiritual Lenten sojourn than to share this process with others in a published document.
With a renewed commitment and focused plan of action, I began to think about the format that would be appropriate for this treatise. Because I was planning to treat my study of the parables of Jesus as a daily devotional guide, this seemed to be the best way to approach the creation of the book. The result is a recap of each parable, a summary of the meaning Jesus imparted to His audience and a call to action and or personal consideration. Each study concludes with a brief prayer.
As the Lenten season was drawing to a close and my study of the parables was almost complete I began to think of artwork for the cover of what would become WHAT DOES JESUS ASK US TO DO? There were so many beautiful Biblical images that would be suitable. As I leafed through books with exquisitely inspiring images I thought back to the conversation with my father. It was then I decided to create the cover art myself. The result is The Parables Stained Glass Windows, a triptych of three collages depicting an iconic ecclesiastical symbol.
As Easter Sunday drew near I reflected on this spiritual journey through the Parables of Jesus. I considered all I had learned about what Jesus wants from me, what I had learned about my own spirituality and faith. But more importantly I felt a profound sense of accomplishment and a deep sense of gratitude for my father’s love and encouragement.
Helen M. Moss, April 24, 2011

Helen M. Moss is a freelance writer and visual artist living in Dayton, Ohio. She has published a series of essays on her daily challenges with multiple sclerosis in an anthology entitled Have a Little Faith, Trouble Don't Last Always and had an essay in the May, 2012 issue of New Mobility Magazine. Mrs. Moss is a member of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Church Visual Arts, Inc. Helen M. Moss has been happily married to Kenneth "Khalid" Moss, noted jazz musician and freelance writer since 1996.