Jesus teaches not only that the gospel is for everyone, but also that it is for every moment of our lives. We are never so late, or so lost, that the hope of Christ cannot find us and fill us with a life-changing gratitude.
As Jesus’ life neared its end, his disciples worried about what would come next. Jesus’ answer that he alone is “the way” is not some theoretical truth, but rather a deeply loving and practical response to the doubts of our hearts.
Simeon’s Song celebrates a God who draws near to us in order to draw us out from a place of fear and weakness, just as he models in the life and faith of Mary.
David’s journey through wilderness is not unlike our own search for spiritual satisfaction. Jesus promises living water, but how do we find it when life feels like a desert?
That Jonah’s outlandish circumstances are hard to imagine is actually what the story hopes to accomplish, because in forcing us to expand our sense of what’s possible, we encounter the miraculous mercy of a God for whom nothing is impossible.