Hebrew Scriptures set the pattern for such shifts: people enslaved are set free; a shepherd boy named David fells a hostile giant with a slingshot; hungry lions spare Daniel’s life; and Jonah emerges alive from the belly of a whale. The point is clear as a lightning flash: “God can make a way out of no way,” transforming what we suffer into joy. I love this about the gospel stories. Is that what keeps the stories of Jesus alive amid the twists and turns of history? As I see it, they give us what we often need most: an outburst of hope.
