Parables as Subversive Speech

Yesterday I discovered the book, Parables as Subversive Speech.

I have only read a few pages and already I like it. Herzog starts by asking the following questions.

What if the parables of Jesus were neither theological nor moral stories but political and economic ones?

What if the concern of the parables were not the reign of God but the reigning systems of oppression that dominated Palestine in the time of Jesus? What if the scenes they presented were not stories about how God works in the world but codifications about how exploitation worked in Palestine? After several more questions, Herzog asks, What would all this mean for a reading of the parables?

Now my question.

What if Luke, the social critic that I claim he is, recognizing that Jesus is in fact is doing all of the above, writes his gospel to the one person he believes can change the system?

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