The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home

December 15, 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent  - Luke 3:10-18

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
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Last week, we thought about the mission of John the Baptist. He prepared the way of the Lord by making straight the path to him. To do this he engaged in a ministry of penance, repentance and a preaching that was laser-focused on the coming of Jesus, the Christ. Be prepared, he said. God is coming in the person of Jesus. And believe the “good news.” Those words are equivalent to the concept of “Gospel.” Some contemporary translations of the New Testament actually use that phrasing for the essential message of Jesus. Thus, when we read the gospels, reflect on their meaning and importance by thinking of them as “good news.”

As I thought about that simple phrase, I asked myself where do I hear good news today? Immediately I thought of the news that is reported on daily television. I also recalled my reading of the newspaper. And my acquaintance with daily podcasts and reports that I read online. Do they report “good news” or something else? You can answer for yourself, but I must admit that what I mostly hear or read about is not good news! In fact, its spans the spectrum from news that is “not so bad” to what is terrible. Mostly “bad news.”

So, what is this good news that John the Baptist mentions, or that Jesus himself communicates to his contemporaries (and to us) in his own ministry? Not just any word, but God’s word describing the deepest meaning of what was, what is and what will be? What’s “good” about that?

There are roughly two-thousand years of thought and writings that seek to describe the good that has been created by God and what humans, like you and me, have tried to express in words and actions, 99.9% of which will not be found on popular media. Even that which is presented as “religious.”

Sometimes the good news is communicated and made real in words, but mostly, and more importantly, it is expressed in actions. And it happens in the everyday lives of ordinary people like you and me. Also in the lives of our families and neighbors, the people we work with, shop with, and connect with during the passage of each day. Goodness is happening everywhere. Although very unreported in the news.  

So much incredible good is done without recognition or acclaim. Nevertheless, it is exactly what John meant in today’s gospel when he said that with the coming of Jesus, we will experience good news.

David M. Thomas, PhD