Perhaps this chorus ought to be played
before every newscast in our current setting. The news that bombards our lives
these days comes in waves of desperation as reporters broadcast gloom. One gets
the impression that one reporter is trying to outdo a former reporter with an
even more desperate scenario. At the end of the broadcast there is a miniscule
account of a good news item. Is it a desperate attempt to inject a “news
bromide” into the news program to placate the upset the gloomy news has created?
Honestly, such reporting has our nation focusing upon all that is wrong in our
country without acknowledging any of the many positive things taking place.
Yes, there are challenges in the nation, but there are also many blessings bobbing
in the flood of desperation that surround us.
As we come to this Christmas season, we
can easily paint the Christmas story as recorded in the Bible with warm fuzzies
of wellbeing. However, the original Christmas account is surrounded by bad
news. Politically things were less than rosy. It was a time of terrible tyranny.
Caesar Augustus ruled the Roman empire (Luke 2:1). After a brutal power struggle,
he was named by the Roman senate as Rome’s first emperor. They honored him with
the title “Augustus” - meaning “the exalted one.” He wanted to be viewed as god,
abolished the republican government, and became the supreme military leader and
emperor of Rome. He appointed Herod the Great to rule in Palestine over Judea and Galilee
(Matthew 2:1). Herod was brutal. One writer summarized his life this way, “His
reign was one succession of monstrous crimes until his death.”
The news is worse in the Christmas story. Socially
it was an awkward time. A young couple, Joseph and Mary are engaged but not
married. However, Mary is miraculously expecting a child (Matthew 1:18-21).
Joseph as an honorable and gracious man, does not want to shame Mary and begins
the process to “put her away secretly.” He is led by divine direction not to do
this but to take Mary as his wife. One can be assured his honorable action did
not silence the gossip. This was bad news for a young couple.
Further, the news is troubling as Caesar
Augustus decreed that this couple must make the journey from Nazareth to
Bethlehem to be registered for a census. It was an inconvenient time as Mary
was near her delivery date. A bad time to make a journey of about 70 miles as
the crow flies or likely a walk of 90 miles in a caravan (Luke 2:1-7). This was
about a four-day journey likely on the back of an animal. Any woman who has had
a child will assure you this is bad news!
Compounding the difficult situation was
the cultural decline because of the religious climate of the day. The religious
situation was very divided in their Jewish faith. One party had become
secularized as the Greco-Roman culture seeped its way into their faith so that
the supernatural was regarded with contempt.
On the other end of the spectrum, an ultra-fundamentalist party
marginalized the Scriptures with their religious systems and traditions. The
Apostle John summarized the times in which Jesus was born as “darkness” and
that Jesus came to shine “light” in that darkness (John 1:5).
The song sung when Jesus was born was not,
“Gloom despair, and agony on me.” The song sung in the presence of humble
shepherds was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men” (Luke 2:14). The peace and goodwill were not based upon the
circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus. The peace and goodwill were a
result of the message an angelic messenger had announced, “I bring you good
news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (2:10-11).
Today we need to focus upon good news in
the midst of a gloomy world. God always supplies bright hope in dark times if
we are willing to see God’s provision in our troublesome settings.
