playful indirection

From Grgeory Wolfe's "In Defense of Irony":

...To my mind, Jesus is the supreme ironist.  It is impossible for me to think of his parables, or the many koan-like conundrums he poses to apostles, Pharisees, and gentiles, without sensing his playful use of indirection, that teasing form of testing those who encounter him, that is the essence of irony. When that mysterious figure joins the two apostles on the road to Emmaus, asking them a seemingly innocent question—as Yahweh’s call to Adam appeared to be—the ironies begin to pile up. The apostles’ lack of faith prevents them from recognizing both the true mission of Jesus and his immediate presence before them. Only when he breaks bread with them—a direct allusion to his sacrificial death and the source of their communion—are their eyes opened. At this very moment, which reverses the false “eye-opening” of Eden, the ironist disappears, bidding us seek him in all the myriad disparities between our blinding pride and his playful love.  LINK