And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
Every day our eyes and ears are hit by a firehose of bad news. We are presented by social and national media with a constant flow of bad news. Even when well intentioned, those who tell us things lately tell us bad news. Repeatedly.
The shepherds were seeing and hearing terrifying things. They weren’t merely afraid, they were SORE afraid. So afraid it hurt. Bad news was on their doorstep.
And the angel answers the resulting fear with good news. Not only was the news the angel brought good, but the angel says, “THIS IS GOOD NEWS.”
The angel didn’t argue with the shepherds about how what seemed bad was actually good. The angel didn’t point out the foolishness of the silly shepherds for being afraid of God’s hand. The angel didn’t really discuss what the shepherds were interpreting as bad news at all. The angel simply told them good news.
That’s our answer, too.
Our family, friends, community, state, and nation are told bad news every hour. Our ears are filled with it.
Instead of arguing, cajoling, confronting, debating, and accusing… we need to mimic the angel.
There IS good news.
Talk about it!
The weather has been amazing. There is a weird comet coming that makes me wonder at God’s creation. Baby bunnies are cute when they run. I got to eat out at a drive-through. Babies are born. Laughter still is a gift. We know more than yesterday. We are loved. We get to love. Death for believers while the end of the world, is NOT the end of the world! God’s Kingdom is grand!
Fear not, there is Good News.