Submitted Christian Writings
~~~ Parables for Modern Academia ~~~
New Revised Academic Version (NRAV)
- By Deborah and Loren Haarsma
If Jesus taught on the campus today,
what might His parables say?
Matthew 20:1-16
The kingdom of heaven is like a professor who had many papers to grade. She asked her
teaching assistants to start helping her early in the morning, and agreed to take them all
out to dinner when the grading was finished. About mid-morning she realized she would need
more help, so when she saw other graduate students standing in the hallway doing nothing,
she asked them to help her, and agreed to reward them appropriately. Again at noon she
found other graduate students eating lunch, and got them to help her, and again at
mid-afternoon. About 5 p.m. she found still others and asked, "Why are you standing
around doing nothing? Come and help me grade my papers."
When they were finished grading, the professor took them all to a restaurant. When she
paid for the dinners of those who had started work at 5 o'clock, those who started early
in the morning expected to receive more. But when she only paid for their dinner too, they
began to grumble, "These others who only worked one hour got just as much as we did,
who slaved all day over those papers." But the professor answered, "I am not
being unfair to you. You got what we agreed upon. I want to give the students who only
graded one hour as much as I gave you. Don't I have that right? Or are you envious because
I am generous?"
So the last will be first and the first will be last. (Matthew 20:1-16)
