Yes, We Understand?

Send us Fan MailSunday 26 July 2026It is with pleasure that we prepare to receive the Word via Dr Tim Stringer, Principal of Australian Lutheran Collage. May the Word call you, challenge you and comfort you for the journey we share together today.Dr Tim says…Last Sunday, we were deep in the territory of weeds and wheat. This week, we hear and read a series of rapid-fire parables that describe what the kingdom of heaven is like.We might think we can recognise the kingdom, yet it is described in several different, surprising and hidden ways in quick succession across five shortparables. These are laid out before the disciples, and when asked if they understand all these things, they reply, “Yes”, but we don’t hear their tone of voice in the scriptures.There is a trend on social media at the moment in which an individual is asked to say a phrase in four or five different tones of voice. In the case of the disciples, would the meaning be altered if they used a surprised, tentative, certain, or assertive tone? Any of those might work in this case.We hope, of course, that they are certain!Do YOU understand all of these parables? How might you answer Jesus’ question if he directed it to you today? Hopefully, as we rummage through the storehouse of treasures hidden in these parables today, we might discover something new or something old that we might feel impelled to bring out and share with others.Blessings,Tim