Many Christians have a funny relationship to the Good News. We'll use the term, but confess, if pressed, that we find the “news” about Jesus Christ being the risen Son of God neither all that new (come on, 2,000 years?), or all that “good” in the “Wow! Yippee!” way we associate with “good news.” God’s promise of eternal life is one we hope not to collect on any time soon; God’s promise of forgiveness is great, on days we’re willing to acknowledge how much we need it. But if we’ve been in the church awhile, we know too much.
We know that following Christ does not make for an easier life. We know it’s no picnic – at least not the kind of picnic we’d choose; more like the picnic described in Psalm 23 – “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” Gee, thanks, God. I'll take ants.
Jesus’ original band of followers discovered just how mixed this “Good News” was to be when Jesus started talking about what was going to happen to him. He did not mince words:
Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.
We’ll see later how this message went over with Peter – spoiler alert! not so well. I doubt the others liked it any better. They had given up a lot to follow Jesus – homes, jobs, reputations. And up until now it’d been one healing and brilliant teaching and miracle after another. Why would Jesus predict such dire events when everything was going so well?
The disciples were being asked to adjust their vision of what God was up to, as are we. We live on the far side of the events Jesus predicted, so far beyond them we have to re-enact them each year. We don’t experience the fear and protectiveness the disciples did – Jesus is not going to die again. But we too must continually adjust our vision of what God is up to, and what the Good News means.
That can be easier to grasp if we look at what it does not mean. It does not mean success, financial or career or any other kind we crave as human beings. We might be blessed with success in many areas of life, but let’s not confuse that with the Gospel. Even harder for many to accept, the "Good News" does not mean security or safety, for us or for our loved ones. It does not mean serenity and never-ending joy and love, at least not in this life.
It does mean what it meant from the beginning: Emmanuel, God With Us. In all circumstances. It does mean New Life – resurrection, that what we think are endings are never final because God always has the last word, and God’s Word is Life. God’s Word is Jesus the Christ.
And it does mean that all those things we cannot change can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we invite the Spirit in. She seems to wait for our invitation – but boy, when we invoke the power of God, things become redeemed, transformed, made new in ways we can not imagine.
In what ways has the “Good News” seemed less than good to you? Where would you like to see some transforming power at work, in the world and in your life? Invite the Spirit of God into that situation. Envision changed lives. Even picnics with our enemies are good news, if it means we become friends. That’s the Good News in action.
We’ll see later how this message went over with Peter – spoiler alert! not so well. I doubt the others liked it any better. They had given up a lot to follow Jesus – homes, jobs, reputations. And up until now it’d been one healing and brilliant teaching and miracle after another. Why would Jesus predict such dire events when everything was going so well?
The disciples were being asked to adjust their vision of what God was up to, as are we. We live on the far side of the events Jesus predicted, so far beyond them we have to re-enact them each year. We don’t experience the fear and protectiveness the disciples did – Jesus is not going to die again. But we too must continually adjust our vision of what God is up to, and what the Good News means.
That can be easier to grasp if we look at what it does not mean. It does not mean success, financial or career or any other kind we crave as human beings. We might be blessed with success in many areas of life, but let’s not confuse that with the Gospel. Even harder for many to accept, the "Good News" does not mean security or safety, for us or for our loved ones. It does not mean serenity and never-ending joy and love, at least not in this life.
It does mean what it meant from the beginning: Emmanuel, God With Us. In all circumstances. It does mean New Life – resurrection, that what we think are endings are never final because God always has the last word, and God’s Word is Life. God’s Word is Jesus the Christ.
And it does mean that all those things we cannot change can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we invite the Spirit in. She seems to wait for our invitation – but boy, when we invoke the power of God, things become redeemed, transformed, made new in ways we can not imagine.
In what ways has the “Good News” seemed less than good to you? Where would you like to see some transforming power at work, in the world and in your life? Invite the Spirit of God into that situation. Envision changed lives. Even picnics with our enemies are good news, if it means we become friends. That’s the Good News in action.
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