The Gospel is anchored in a real time and place. It's not a myth or a legend that could be picked up and set in another time. There are certainly themes that carry from era to era, and the truths are timeless, but the story is told in a very particular place amongst a very particular group of people. We can take comfort in this -- it's a way to test the reliability of the Gospel, and the authors wouldn't have included these details if they weren't confident in the truth of their story.
And yet -- it's all the more amazing in that the Gospel shows up in an out-of-the-way place, with people who are as far from the center of power as possible. The Gospel isn't just for the privileged and those with access to power. This gives us hope -- we who are ourselves far from power, we who have little influence, we see how the Holy Spirit works, and we are challenged to make room in our own lives for the intrusive Word, the one that breaks in and overwhelms and comforts and challenges.
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