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The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
When Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she sang: From now on all people will call me happy, because of the great things the Mighty God has done for me!
Later, when Elizabeth had had her baby, who grew up to be John the Baptist.....and when Mary had given birth to her son, who was also God's son, Jesus, in a stable in Bethlehem...shepherds in the field nearby saw an angel, who told them: Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all people.
We know from reading the Gospels that Jesus often said that he had come to bring good news to the people, good news from their Father, God. Mary seems to have felt that Jesus himself was the good news that God sent, and most Christians would agree. And the shepherds were interested enough in the angel's message of good news to bank their fire and set out in the middle of the night for Bethlehem, to find that good news for themselves.
But, no matter how deeply we believe in God, no matter how deeply we believe that Jesus is God the Son and the one who came to save us, we can't seem to get very excited about that good news today.
Maybe we have heard the message of good news too many times so it has lost its meaning for us, and become just another "proper" thing to say, like "How are you?....Oh, I'm fine, and how are you ?"
Maybe we have gotten so used to the idea, in our modern civilization, that good news has to come with a big bang, and take the form of a great spectacular such as a half-time show or a parade, or a fireworks exhibition, that we have completely lost the ability to see good news in quiet things that happen. Maybe we are so hooked on noise, color and excitement that we cannot understand the miracles that happen in quiet, peaceful ways, known only to a few people who are there at the time.
Maybe we just haven't bothered to think about WHY the coming of Jesus is good news for us. After all, his own followers completely misunderstood him. They figured he had come to kick the Roman army out of Israel and restore rule to a king of David's family, maybe even himself. When he died on a cross, like a common criminal, a lot of his followers deserted him, and even the most loyal ones couldn't figure out why that was good news for them.
The truth is that we experience God's good news in many ways every day of our life. We are so used to most of those ways, that we just plain don't notice them. We don't bother to see God's love for us in them. We don't thank him for those many showings of the good news of his love for us.
Stop now and take a minute to think about yesterday. What good things happened to you yesterday?
- Did your coffee, tea or cocoa taste good at breakfast?
- Was the sun shining?
- Were you "lucky" and found a parking spot easily? Or did the bus come just as you got to the bus stop?
- Did someone smile and say "hello" to you?
- Did the boss say, "good job!" or some other kind words?
- Did someone explain to you how you made a mistake, so you won't do it again?
- Did someone you love give you a hug or kiss? (Even a slobbery dog kiss counts!)
- Did you enjoy your dinner?
- Was there a TV program you enjoyed?
- Did you happen to notice one of God's marvels out in the world: a beautiful sunrise or sunset, a flower, a bud on a tree, a cardinal perched on a branch?
- Did you see children playing, full of innocent joy?
- Were you able to do the puzzle in the paper and get it right?
- Did a check or a gift of money come just at the moment that you REALLY needed it?
- Did you get a letter or a phone call from someone you cared about but had not heard of for awhile?
Lots of little things are among God's gifts to us, God's good news for us. And when we learn to pay attention to them, look at them, stop and think about them, and say, "Thank you, Lord!"....THEN....we find we are able to appreciate, understand and praise God for the big favors he sends us, for his real GOOD NEWS (in capitals) such as the coming of Jesus, and the way he choose to live among us, show us how even the poorest and humblest person can be pleasing to God, and how he finally, through his death and resurrection, took away our sins and opened the doors to heaven for us. And you will then breathe (but you'll want to shout it): "Thank you, Lord!" It is, after all, the only thing you could possibly say, right? Amen.
