For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
In the aftermath of Easter, I have been very thankful for the truth of these verses from Isaiah, because we have a faith that calls for hope from memory. Brueggamann would remind us of the center of the resurrected life which enables allow us to serve each other with grace and faith.
We are people called to boundary-crossing generosity. We must rest in the ironic center of our faith: pain that transforms (cross and resurrection). We find hope from memory and seek long-term miracles (life with eternity in mind). Lastly, we are gifted with a new chance in Christ. We embrace the realities of resurrection – “new creation” cannot be shaved down to fit our interests, or to accommodate our conventional reality. The imagination that brought you resurrection, is the same that can bring hopeful alternatives. (Brueggemann, A Way Other Than Our Own)
“What does this new creation look like?” Let’s ask John …
