For the last decade Dominic Crossan has been at the forefront of the movement from an historical to a language-based paradigm for interpretation of the New Testament. Much of his work during this time has addressed the theological interpretation of reversals in Jesus' parables. Many reviewers of Crossan's work have expressed concern that in his theology of story the "common world" which is created in language is disqualified as a place where God may be encountered. This distortion results from Crossan's use of literary critical methodologies, which falsify the relation of language to the human life-world. A phenomenological reflection on the spoken word and on the temporal and relational characteristics of oral communication leads to a more appropriate linguistic/theological context for interpreting reversals in the parables.