Wednesday, August 10, 2022

“I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:23, New Living Translation)

                 Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

                I have only seen it in movies. Back in the day, a young boy is standing on a busy street corner, selling the daily newspaper by yelling out some important headline, hoping to catch some passer-by’s attention, enough for them to buy the newspaper. When you think about it, this was an early version of going on-line and scanning the headlines of some website for our news.

                Once, I was an ardent newspaper reader. I always subscribed to the local rag and often would buy one of the big Toronto newspapers, either the Star or the Globe. The Sun was great for sports but far too right-wing for my taste in news. I often would also read Time or McLeans magazines for more in-depth coverage.

                But I have abandoned newspapers and have become a news grazer. I get my news by reading only the headlines on Google News or CBC news. If something interests me, I will fetch the whole story, a la the street newspaper boy.  But that is rarer than you might think. Or I watch brief descriptions on TV by watching CP24 news. I used to watch the local news broadcast but don’t do that anymore. Every now and then it is interesting to watch CNN and see what the crazy Americans are up to, especially during some national crisis.

                Some of the cause of this superficial intake of the news is that so much of it has been bad news, especially since the beginning of the pandemic. I am world weary of news about mass shootings, wars, climate disasters, politics, covid, violence, etc. etc. etc. So, I largely and intentionally tune a lot of it out. The headlines give me all the information I want or need.  

                What the world could really use is a dose of Good News. At least, I know that I could.  I am not talking about “fireman rescues kitten up a tree” although that is always welcome. I am meaning something that is deeply Good News, deeply informative about things which truly and significantly matter, which uplift, enrich, improve and elevate the human spirit, morale and soul. Maybe, this Good News is even transformative, life-changing or invigorating. News that is a blessing!

                When John the Baptist was thrown into prison by Herod, it must have seemed to him that everything he had worked for, said and done was wasted and gone for naught.  All his high expectations and hopes were crumbling around him. His world was going to hell in a hand-basket. Jesus had become a strange Messiah figure to him, not the one he was expecting. So, he sends his own disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Luke 7: 20, NLT) The world is so bad, so in need of a saviour but where is your winnowing fork, Jesus?

                Instead, Jesus gives him some headline news: “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”  (7:22, NLT)

                In real, tangible ways, the Good News makes a difference. It nurtures health, wholeness, vitality. It liberates us from our skepticism and cynicism. It points to the depths of God’s Love  for each and every one of us.  It embraces our fears, worries and despair and begins to set us free. It opens door to hope, joy, peace, love.  It builds community, relationships, trust and frees us from enmity, hatred, prejudice.

                Jesus brings us Good News. He is Good News.

                “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16, NLT)

                Extra! Extra. Read all about it!

 Dale