Parables are unstructured, informal conversations that arise from incidents and encounters with one another in the normal course of our lives. Jesus tells stories that prepare his followers to bring the ordinariness of their lives into conscious awareness and participation in His kingdom life. The parables explore the themes of compassion, mercy, wealth, stewardship, Prayer, humility, watchfulness, and readiness. Parable literally means “something thrown down alongside,” to which our first response is, “What is this doing here?” We ask questions, we think, we imagine! It compels us to notice something we have overlooked or dismissed as unimportant that may become life-transforming.