Wow. I must admit that when I first began writing plays based on the readings from this chapter of Matthew, I assumed that all the parables in it were largely unrelated, that it was a loose collection of parables spoken at various times, or maybe an account of a single sermon where Jesus told parables teaching a variety of lessons. However, during the writing of this final play in the series, I realized that it was possible to combine them into a single thematic structure. They would still touch on different aspects of these theme, but the central unifying theme would be there.
The “problem” was that the central theme is a fairly repugnant one, at least to me. However, as I wrote in the last blog post, this is exactly the time when we should set aside our explanations and rationalizations and embrace the repugnance the raw texts present to us. For therein lies the Kingdom.