Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
December 15, 2002
Isaiah 61:1-11; John 1:6-8, 19-28

I. INTRODUCTION

Are you as tired as I am? It’s been a long semester. As fast as it has gone by, it also seems like we crammed so much in. Club fair. Fall retreat. Baseball outing. Feed the quad. Halloween Party. Movie Nights. Outings. And then think of all the things that have happened in our world in the past four months: September 11th Commemorations, World Series, sniper attacks, war resolutions against Iraq. Snakehead fish. (I’m kind of partial to that story because how can you not like a story about a fish that can live on land and eats everything in sight?).

Actually, now that I think about it, not only was the semester long, but it was full of bad news. Bad economic news. Bad health news: plague of AIDS in Africa. Bad political news. Not a lot of good news.

Of course, we live in a world where news is more entertainment than information and bad news sells a heck of a lot better than good news. How many times have you seen a teaser for the 11 o’clock news that says something like “A common household product you’re probably using right now can kill you. Details at 11″? Bad news and scare tactics are what keep the viewer hooked, what keep us watching all the commercials in between now and then. It’s no wonder good news is hard to find–it’s not worth very much.

II. TO BRING GOOD NEWS

I say this because our scripture lessons are about bringing good news. Hear again some of those words from the prophet Isaiah:

A. Isaiah

1 ¶ The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.5 ¶ Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines; 6 but you shall be called priests of the LORD, you shall be named ministers of our God; you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory. 7 Because their shame was double, and dishonor was proclaimed as their lot, therefore they shall possess a double portion; everlasting joy shall be theirs.

8 ¶ For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

There is a ton of good news in this passage: liberty for the captives, release for the prisoners, comfort for mourners, repair of the ruined cities, Riches from the nations. Good news. Great news, even.

B. Jesus

Now, there are a couple of things about this passage that are kind of interesting. The first is that this text is repeated in the New Testament. It’s found at Luke 4:18. Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath and reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He reads this passage and then declares: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” It becomes a little scandalous–but Luke is providing for us Jesus’ own understanding of his mission: the fulfillment of the good promises of God.

C. Gospel

There’s something else going on here. And here’s your two-bit Greek lesson for the day (we haven’t had one of these two-bit lessons in a while): in the Greek version of the OT, to bring good tidings is rendered euaggelisasqai euaggelisasthai, to which is related the Greek word euaggelion. Now, anyone guess what an evangelion is? It’s a gospel. A report of good news. Isaiah is empowered by God’s spirit to bring a gospel to an oppressed and downtrodden people. To bring good news.

III. GOOD NEWS

It is the same message that Jesus is empowered to bring. The Good News of God. And that is our task, too. To evangelize–to ‘goodnews-ify’ the world, proclaiming God’s message.

But what is that message? Well I can tell you what it’s not:

The message is not that we are the good guys, the in crowd, and if you want to get on God’s good side you’d better hang with us. It’s not that we have the coolest parties or the best social lives and are a model for successful living. It’s not that we are better, or holier, or in any way superior to the people to whom we bring the message. It’s not that we’ve been clued in to the methods by which God will judge everyone and this gives us special permission to start judging people now.

But what is this good news?

IV. ONE SERMON

A. Proclaim the Good News

I’ve said this before a couple of times. I really only have one sermon. You just get to hear it in 10 to 20 minute increments. That sermon is simple: through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has decisively acted in history and has begun the work of restoring the creation, and has empowered us to live in a way that anticipates that New Creation with hope.

So that’s what I do up here. I stand up here on Sunday and preach. That is how I ‘bring good news’. But what about those lacking a seminary degree, or even a course in public speaking?

B. Preaching Without Words

Lucy Hogan, a renowned preaching teacher and professor at Wesley Seminary has a sign on her office door. It reads: “Preach the Gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” Our Christian faith must be more than preached. Evangelism is much more than beating someone over the head with a Bible and a stack of creeds. In fact, I would go so far as to say that often the best evangelism is that which uses neither–but witnesses through Christian action: actions of love, justice, and mercy. Actions of faithfulness to God and to each other. Acts of covenant fidelity that live out the message we have received.

V. CHRISTMAS

For we have known this message and we know how to preach it. In this time of Advent, we prepare ourselves for the arrival of the one whom God raised from death on the cross into new life, that we, too, might have new life. We prepare. We wait. We hope. And in all things, we bring the good news of God’s salvation to a broken and hurting world:

“Good Christian men, rejoice! With heart and soul and voice! Give ye heed to what we say! News! News! Jesus Christ is born today!”