“They went through the villages proclaiming Good News.” Luke 9:16

“Always proclaim the Good News; and if necessary, use words.”

“So What?”  That’s the question I’ve been pondering this week.  Read on and you will see why.  But for now let me ask you, “What bad news have you heard recently? “ If you spend much time on social media or watching local or national news it probably won’t take you very long to recall something—or a BUNCH of somethings.  My dear mother repeatedly made the declaration that “all there is on the news is hate and discontent.”  True.

And now another question that is antithetical to the previous one, “What GOOD news have you heard recently?”  It might take a little more time and effort for something to come to mind.  I personally just read about the significant increase in “Gen-Zers” (20 somethings), who are going to church. 

The Gospels (That word itself means “Good News) repeatedly recount Jesus and the disciples proclaiming the Good News.  The first official sermon of Jesus’ that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke has Jesus quoting from Isaiah the prophet in which it is said, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, for He has anointed me to proclaim the Good News.”  But what IS this Good News?

I asked my old friend Ernie that question.  He gave the standard answer that many of us are familiar with.  “Jesus gave his life on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and was raised from the dead so that we can go to heaven.”   That’s true enough, but there are some potential problems with it.

First, it is SO familiar and formulaic that it has lost its meaning.  Some years ago I attended a funeral for a young mom with three small children who had died suddenly and tragically.  The pastor in his homily repeated the statement that Christ had died for her on the cross and her sins were forgiven.  The message was, in  my opinion, bereft of any personal comfort, consolation, or specific application to the situation at hand.  I wonder, has the historical truth of Christ’s death and resurrection become so familiar to us that it has lost it’s meaning?

Secondly, I don’t personally believe that Jesus needed to die on the cross to forgive sins.  If God is God, and Jesus is Divine, then certainly the forgiveness of sins does not require a horrible death in order to accomplish it.  What’s more, the atonement theory of the crucifixion did not become popular for centuries after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Initially the teaching and purpose was called “Christus Victor”—Christ as the conqueror of death.  This, incidentally, is why ancient depictions of the crucifixion often have a skull at the feet of Jesus.

Finally, the Gospels record Jesus repeatedly encountering people for whom he proclaims the forgiveness of sins.  Obviously, forgiveness was in play prior to the crucifixion. 

But perhaps the biggest problem with that answer is that the Good News is viewed as something that applies to the end of life—a ticket into heaven so to speak—and leaves me thinking, “That’s great—but what about my current life?”  Does the Good News have any pertinence and practical application not just in the “there and then”, but in the “here and now?”

I would invite you to give that some thought.

Consider that when Jesus and the disciples proclaim the Good News, it is accompanied by freeing people from their afflictions.  The Gospel accounts are replete with examples of those who experienced real-life changes as the result of encountering the Gospel.  This is perhaps best summarized by Jesus when he was queried by two of the disciples of John who were sent to determine if Jesus was the Messiah.  “Go and tell John what you see and hear;  The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”  This is Good News in action.  This is Good News that changes people in practical and powerful ways.  This is Good News that addresses the afflictions suffered not at some future date and time, but right here and right now.

“So What?”  As I said, that’s the question I’ve been pondering this week.  What difference does this Good News make for me on a daily basis?  What afflictions of mind, body, or spirit am I suffering that only the Gospel can touch?  And how receptive am I to being touched by Christ and His Good News?