Autumn in Dibley, and I am planning a short series of sermons using some of the agrarian parables of Jesus.  We will be revisiting the perenially popular 'Sower', the enigmatic 'Fig Tree' (story not enacted version!) and the scary 'Wheat and Tares.'  In between we have to fit in our harvest festival using BMS material.

I have being buying and reading books on the parables, and among them found one which was refeshingly different, cutting through the Sunday School interpretations that I am so familiar with and giving me a new way of seeing/hearing the stories.

'Tales Jesus Told: An Introduction to the Narrative Parables of Jesus' by Stephen Wright, Paternoster, 2002, is very accessible and draws on a reconstruction of life in first century Palestine to explore how the 'crowds' might have heard and understood the stories.  Expect to be surprised by what may seem a very different take on the parables - and then to enjoy them afresh in the light of what you discover.

Oh, and if you can suggest anything else that has surprised/delighted you, let me know!