Remarkable is how extensively in each parable Jesus provides a subtle but rich array of unexpected possibilities hidden within the hierarchies of power so commonplace in his world. By doing so he profoundly addresses the perils inherent in the prerogatives of many of us living in today's world. In these ancient interpersonal tragedies, readers can discover modern global analogues--where the powerful still control the powerless and where others of us, immersed as we are in privilege, are still willing to side with control.

Richard Q. Ford, MDiv, PhD, a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, is coauthor with Sidney J. Blatt of Therapeutic Change: An Object Relations Perspective, and author of The Parables of Jesus: Recovering the Art of Listening. He resides in Williamstown, Massachusetts.