In that region there were shepherds living
in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were
terrified. But the angel
said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you:
you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory
to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (NRSV)
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” (NRSV)
What do you consider “good news”? Is it…
• Getting a raise?
• Birth of a child or great-grandchild?
• Better report from the doctor?
In the Scriptures there are 64 occurrences of the phrase “good news”. Here are just a few:
• In 1 Samuel when “bi-polar” King Saul finally met his end his enemies cut off his head and paraded it around. The word around the kingdom was that it was good news!
• In 2 Kings 7 Jerusalem was under siege by the Aramean armies; it was working! After months of starvation four lepers who weren’t even allowed inside the city walls decided it would be better to be prisoners with full bellies. So they went into the enemy camp, but found it was deserted, and all the food had been left behind…good news!
The book of Proverbs says a lot about good news… that it’s refreshing to the body and it’s like cool water to the thirsty soul!
Isaiah said that the ones who bring good news have beautiful feet, and Messiah Jesus would stand on those beautiful feet and proclaim the best good news to the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the prisoners and mourners. And, of course we read that all through the New Testament account which is called the Gospels (which means “good news”).
Throughout the rest of the New Testament we read that the apostles and all the disciples picked up Jesus’ command to go and tell that good news; it’s our heritage down to this very moment. Every Sunday the sermon is supposed to proclaim the Good News, and then God’s people are supposed to take that as their message to live and proclaim every day of their lives.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR GOOD NEWS?
SOMETIMES WE MISS IT
On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk NC. The flight lasted 59 seconds and travelled 850 ft. Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message home -- WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 59 SECONDS - WE WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Upon receiving the telegram their sister, Katherine went to the newspaper office, told the editor of her brother’s new flying machine, and informed him, they would be home for Christmas, if he would like to set up an interview. He told her that was nice, and he would be sure to put something in the paper regarding the boys. On December 19th, the local paper placed the following headline on the 6th page of the paper: "WRIGHT BROTHERS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS". The most important story of the year -- man’s first flight -- and the editor missed it!
SOMETIMES WE GET IT RIGHT
While the editor of the Wright’s hometown paper wasn’t exactly a visionary (he kind-of missed the importance of heavier-than-air flight), the reason he didn’t get it right was because his eye was on the small place – the little town they lived in, and not the lofty 1-minute flight that would lead to space travel.
Sometimes we get it right because we’ve been wired for joy, and good news can’t be hidden. When we were in Seminary our children were still very young. Jennifer was the oldest at nine; Carrie was only two. We lived on the campus in a small trailer park. Every day our little front yard was a gathering place for Jennifer and Jason’s friends. It was a “stampede” alley which didn’t bode too well for toddlers.
Carrie often came in crying that the “big kids” hurt her, or hid from her. On one such occasion there were (it seemed) eight hundred kids playing after school; Carrie came through the door dripping tears and sobbing inconsolably. Elizabeth was just taking fresh-baked cookies out of the oven which she intended as a treat for the neighborhood kids. She offered two to Carrie to soothe her sorrow, cautioning, “now don’t tell the others yet; I don’t have enough for everyone yet.”
Clutching the two huge sugar cookies in her chubby little hands, our little evangelist ran to the front door, kicked open the screen and, at the top of her lungs announced: “I GOTS COOKIES!”
It’s just a plain fact…some news isn’t meant to be hidden; and that’s what Jesus wanted us to know…and tell!
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