Don’t ruin the story with your questions

The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favourite movies. Since it was on the other night I had to sit down and watch.

Then I saw something. Something the internet had mentioned, but I’d never deeply thought about.

The shoes.

Andy escapes wearing the warden’s shoes.

It makes less sense the more you think about it.

Despite what the narrator of the film - Red - says, you do actually notice the footwear someone is wearing! Try wearing a pair of slippers to work or school. People will catch on!

Nonetheless, the details of Andy’s escape are throughly confusing. 

If Andy leaves the warden’s office wearing shiny shoes - swapping them for his own crappy shoes - then we must assume that either a) Andy had a second pair which he actually escaped in, or b) Andy escaped through the sewer and the flooded countryside in the warden’s shoes, but these remained pristine enough to walk into the bank the next day.

Frankly, I find both scenarios unlikely.

Now, this patch of cinematic trouble doesn’t ruin the film for me. It’s still a great story. Well told. Superbly acted.

But, once you scratch below the surface into areas the filmmakers don’t intend for you to probe, then you can unearth further questions.

I think we can do a similar thing with the parables in the bible.

At the core, they are intended to be simple stories - earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.

They are designed to make you think and wonder about the point they are trying to make.

The danger is in probing too far below this context.

We can get distracted by our questions about the characters or setting.

Why were the men walking down the road past the Samaritan?

How old was the brother who stayed home with the Loving Father?

Who took care of the 99 sheep while the shepherd searched?

These, and a hundred questions more, can be interesting thought exercises. 

But nothing more.

For we will never know their answers.

Because there were no men taking a walk.

There was no disgruntled brother.

The flock of sheep are just an image.

We must fight the urge to bombard the text with questions it is never intending to answer.

Instead, we should enjoy the parables for what they are and wrestle with the points they do make. 

These are probing enough.