The way of imagination

  ·         Scripture Texts: Deuteronomy 7.7-11; Psalm 34.1-10, 15-18; Gospel of Luke 1.46-55      Weird news.   What’s the strangest story you’ve ever heard?   What’s the most bizarre thing to ever happen to you?   Who did you tell?   Did they believe you?   Make no mistake about it.   The Gospel story – the story of Jesus as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – is strange .   It’s a strange story about a strange God who calls unlikely people to participate in his bizarre plan to save the world.   When we reduce the good news about Jesus to, for example, “4 Spiritual Laws”, it sounds straightforward, logical – it becomes a kind of formula .   Just follow the steps of the recipe, and your cake will come out of the oven looking – and tasting – great.   If our reaction upon hearing the gospel is “oh, that makes sense”, we may have misunderstood its radical nature.   The ...