The power of gossip in ancient Israel was equal to the power of 21st century social media. News travelled relatively fast by word of mouth through a network of families, synagogues and political institutions, all of which knew of Jesus of Nazareth, his acts of healing and the story of his death and resurrection.
We are all called to know God and make him known in our own time. Creation is always evolving, and we evolve with it. Recall Isaiah’s prophetic prelude to the new age: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” We are entering the age of rapidly developing technologies that broaden the scope of churches everywhere and give new meaning to our understanding of community.
The Good News is not just about Jesus; it is about people and relationships and in a broader sense, the Church that binds us together. We are proclaiming the Good News via technology to more and more people who are looking for a connection to God, and we are making those connections available and viable, albeit with some technical difficulties in the early stages.
Satellites beam the Word of God around the planet at warp speed. But it is the power of the Holy Spirit that breaks through hostility, converts hearts and souls, and inspires witness. A hundred years from now people will proclaim the Gospel in ways that will reach deeper and wider into the universe. The message will be the same, and the Holy Spirit will be there on the cutting edge to help us give glory to God with the next “new thing.” Who said that science and religion don’t mix?
Faithfully,
Anne
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