This week I was once again pursuing my Jewish studies and came across a Hasidic parable, the essence of I wish to share today.
In the parable, a prince is sent far away from his father’s home and lives in a far off country for a long while. One day he receives a letter from the king. Initially, he is saddened to receive the letter because it intensifies his longing to be with the king, but he comes to the realization the letter is something quite precious. After all, it is more than a letter from the king – it is a blessing. In the parable’s interpretation, the king is God, the prince is Israel and the letter is Torah – a most precious gift, indeed.
As I digested the parable, I envisioned an extension, an extension of my own device (one at which Hasidic Jews would most assuredly recoil, and likely take offense). Incorporating the Christian experience, the king makes the arduous journey to visit the prince, staying long enough to reestablish the relationship and leaving behind a message which becomes a second letter memorializing their time together. In this revisionist parable, the king is God, the visit is the incarnation of Jesus, the prince is we who acknowledge the visit as divine. This second letter is the Gospels.
As is the case with all parables, the truth lies in the underlying message(s) not in the facts of the story. If you accept this revised parable, we are twice blessed in that we now hold in our hands two precious letters from the King.
Blessed beyond measure,
Robert
Mcburnett's Musings 