March 18th, 2026
Wednesday, March 18
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
~Mark 1:14-15
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“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
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
~Mark 1:14-15
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
“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
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The pastor, theologian, and scholar Walter Brueggemann wrote often of “the prophetic imagination.” By “imagination” he means how we answer the question: what sort of world and story do you imagine you’re in? The “prophetic imagination” conceives a world and story outside of our human ideas, rooted in the identity and deeds of YHWH. As the Lord says, “My ways are not your ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Jesus’ opening words at the beginning of two of the gospels (Mark & Matthew) are: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Notice, that Jesus does not say: Repent, confess your sins so that you can be forgiven and get into heaven when you die.
Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In other words, something very real is here, in your midst. Repent does not mean “confess your individual sins.” Confessing sin is important. Repent means something more like “jump off the train of the world you’re currently on, and get on the Jesus train which is moving in a completely different direction.” It’s not about little sins, and more about big ideas that shape our living.
The prophets were poets. This means the prophets are not giving simple statements of what to do and not to. Through metaphor and symbolism, they give an imagination for how to see the world, according to God’s good intentions. While this means calling out the ways God’s people go against God’s good intentions when they’re living by the shrunken imaginations of the world’s ideas, it’s more about imagining something better.
I think of the song, “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman. Part of the lyric goes like this:
I close my eyes and I can see
A world that's waiting up for me
That I call my own
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make
The song imagines a world different than the one that currently exists. It’s a bold and inspiring song. The problem, however, is that the song’s vision revolves around “me” and “I.” The prophetic imagination in Scripture reflects the world God desires and designs, not you or me. It calls us to God’s vision of beauty, truth, and goodness, to God’s definition of justice and love.
The prophetic imagination means that the vision for life revealed in Jesus Christ is a vision that is more adequate and reliable than the ones on offer in our culture, no matter how appealing or beyond critique they might seem.
And the prophetic imagination is not a mere wish; it’s a reality that God will bring about. We are only witnesses to it. As witnesses, we do not create or build this kingdom. We testify to what is already taking place. We open eyes to see it: life through death, the suffering and humility of the cross as wisdom, joy and sorrow held together; love as the truth of who God is. Lent calls us to be reminded of this through repentance (turning around) so that we might be prophetic witnesses to this other kingdom.
________________________________________
For reflection:
Prayer: Father of life, in Jesus you brought something into the world. Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, your kingdom is alive and growing among us. Give us the eyes to see it, and the faith to follow into it, and the passion to witness to it. Amen.
The pastor, theologian, and scholar Walter Brueggemann wrote often of “the prophetic imagination.” By “imagination” he means how we answer the question: what sort of world and story do you imagine you’re in? The “prophetic imagination” conceives a world and story outside of our human ideas, rooted in the identity and deeds of YHWH. As the Lord says, “My ways are not your ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Jesus’ opening words at the beginning of two of the gospels (Mark & Matthew) are: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Notice, that Jesus does not say: Repent, confess your sins so that you can be forgiven and get into heaven when you die.
Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In other words, something very real is here, in your midst. Repent does not mean “confess your individual sins.” Confessing sin is important. Repent means something more like “jump off the train of the world you’re currently on, and get on the Jesus train which is moving in a completely different direction.” It’s not about little sins, and more about big ideas that shape our living.
The prophets were poets. This means the prophets are not giving simple statements of what to do and not to. Through metaphor and symbolism, they give an imagination for how to see the world, according to God’s good intentions. While this means calling out the ways God’s people go against God’s good intentions when they’re living by the shrunken imaginations of the world’s ideas, it’s more about imagining something better.
I think of the song, “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman. Part of the lyric goes like this:
I close my eyes and I can see
A world that's waiting up for me
That I call my own
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna take
A million dreams for the world we're gonna make
The song imagines a world different than the one that currently exists. It’s a bold and inspiring song. The problem, however, is that the song’s vision revolves around “me” and “I.” The prophetic imagination in Scripture reflects the world God desires and designs, not you or me. It calls us to God’s vision of beauty, truth, and goodness, to God’s definition of justice and love.
The prophetic imagination means that the vision for life revealed in Jesus Christ is a vision that is more adequate and reliable than the ones on offer in our culture, no matter how appealing or beyond critique they might seem.
And the prophetic imagination is not a mere wish; it’s a reality that God will bring about. We are only witnesses to it. As witnesses, we do not create or build this kingdom. We testify to what is already taking place. We open eyes to see it: life through death, the suffering and humility of the cross as wisdom, joy and sorrow held together; love as the truth of who God is. Lent calls us to be reminded of this through repentance (turning around) so that we might be prophetic witnesses to this other kingdom.
________________________________________
For reflection:
- Reflect on Jesus’ announcement of the kingdom of heaven being “at hand.” How comfortable are you with the ways of the kingdom of the world now? What are the challenges to living according to a totally different kingdom way of life in our world?
- For those with kids: Talk about the best world you imagine. What’s it like? How do people behave and get along? What is important?
Prayer: Father of life, in Jesus you brought something into the world. Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, your kingdom is alive and growing among us. Give us the eyes to see it, and the faith to follow into it, and the passion to witness to it. Amen.
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