This Sunday is the "joy" Sunday of Advent. The angels told the shepherds that they had "good news of great joy". Good is relative. Do we think the angels’ news was good? And joy is relative, too. How much joy we experience depends on how good we think the news is.
In Rom 10:15 says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." But what is good news? A messenger's feet aren't generally thought of as beautiful, so their beauty really depends on how good we think the news is.
What makes something good news to you? Which of these links would you click to find out more: "Delicious holiday recipes", "Stay fit into your 70s", "Best bargains for your house", "Guaranteed career satisfaction." How about "Tips on how to pray” or “Getting closer to God”?
In Rom 10 Paul also quotes Isaiah’s complaint, "Who has believed our message?" (Isaiah 53:1) By the time Isaiah wrote this he was pretty frustrated. He had answered God's call in Isaiah 6, but no one wanted to listen. (God warned him about this in Isaiah 6:9-10.) Apparently, the good news wasn't so good to the people that most needed to hear it.
Paul tells us the good news in Rom 10:13, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But that's not good news to those who don't think they need to be saved. There are a lot of other things that we turn to for security, for belonging, for a sense of worth: money, possessions, abilities, knowledge, appearances, whatever. When we feel stressed or worried it’s not our tendency to “call on the name of the Lord”. And so true joy is in short supply these days.
"Who has believed our message?” Good question.
No comments:
Post a Comment