The Good News/Bad News of Christianity

Homily for 4^th Sunday of Lent Year B 2015

2 Chronicles 36:14-16,19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21

Introduction

When someone begins a conversation with, “I have good news and bad news,” you know to expect the worst; for the bad news often outweighs the good.

Doctor:  I have some good news and I have some bad news.

Patient:  What's the good news?

Doctor:  The good news is that the tests you took showed that you have 24 hours to live.

Patient:  That's the good news?  What's the bad news?

Doctor:  The bad news is that I forgot to call you yesterday!

Scripture and Theology

As you must have gathered already, today’s readings also have elements of bad news and good news; but thankfully at the end of the day it is Good News that triumphs.

In the first reading we heard how the people of Israel sinned, adding infidelity upon infidelity.  Think of any sin against the Lord, and they did it.  Their leaders compounded this bad situation of sin and made it worse, when they rejected the messengers that God sent to help them, even killing some of them.

The Good News is that the Lord did not give up on his people, despite their disobedience.  Yes, he punished them severely, by allowing them to be taken into exile and be enslaved like their forefathers had been enslaved in Egypt.  But at the end of the day, he sent them a saviour, a very unlikely saviour.  The Lord used the pagan Persian King Cyrus to free the Jewish people from captivity in Babylon so they could return Jerusalem, to rebuild their temple and their community.

The gospel passage bears even better news.  If in the Old Testament the people returned to their national home, in the New Testament, the Good News is that Jesus has come to restore us to a heavenly home.  John’s gospel says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”  What wonderful news, what Good News!  If you are looking for a summary of the Christian message, that is it!  That God has sent Jesus to bring us a “get-out-of-jail” card.

But this Good News came at a cost.  Jesus explains that salvation will come about in a painful way, on the Cross.  He says: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Jesus is referring to what happened to the Jews during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.  On this journey the people rebelled against God griping about all the good food they had left behind in Egypt and generally being ungrateful that the Lord had rescued them (cf. Numbers 21).  So God punished them by sending serpents, which stung and killed many of them.  But Moses appealed to the Lord, to save his people.  And the Lord told Moses to mount a bronze serpent on a stick, so that anybody stung by a serpent who looked at it, would be saved.  You will sometimes see a image of this serpent on medical prescription forms or at pharmacies.  This image has come to mean healing.

And so Jesus says that he too, like that bronze serpent, will be lifted up on the cross.  And those who look to him, on the cross, will be saved, not from physical death, but from eternal death; they will have eternal life.

And so, the Good News of our salvation is going to come about through the bad news of the Cross, the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.   At its very core and origin, the Christian message is a good news – bad news story, but one in which the Good News trumps the bad.

Christian Life

In living out our Christian lives, we could be tempted to pick one or the other, to focus just on the Good News or just on the bad news.

·        When we dwell only on the good news, only on the fact that we have been saved and we completely ignore the cross that brought about that salvation or the sin that caused the situation in the first place, we commit the sin of presumption.

·        When we dwell only on the bad news of sin and suffering and completely ignore the good news of salvation, we commit the sin of despair.

We must therefore avoid being presumptuous, especially avoid cherry-picking only those elements that make us happy and ignoring the difficult ones.

·        For example, as we rejoice at the baptism of a new baby, a truly joyous occasion, the fun part, we must not forget the rather daunting responsibility of teaching that child the difficult commands of the Lord, the not-so-fun part.

·        Or when we celebrate the love of a couple in a beautiful wedding ceremony, complete with beautiful flowers, music and food, (the fun part) we must not forget the lifelong and exclusive commitment that marriage is (the demanding part).

·        And for those us who have a wonderful prayer life, who derive deep spiritual consolation and personal joy in prayer, we must not forget that our prayer also commits us to justice and care for others, especially the needy.

On the other hand, a few of us may be tempted in the opposite direction, where in utter despair, we dwell only on the cross and forget about the resurrection.

·        This may happen when we sin, especially when we sin gravely.  We may think “surely God cannot forgive this sin; surely Jesus did not die for someone like me.”  We must like the prodigal son, who despite his grave sins returned to the Father; we must reject the temptation to remain in darkness, but rather believe the Good News that God forgives the repentant sinner.

·        Or sometimes despair can make give up on others, thinking that surely the Good News of salvation does not apply to those terrible sinners or those who are not like us, perhaps because they belong to a different religion.

And so, we must take the whole package of the Christian message, the difficulties and the joys, the bad news and the good news the cross and the resurrection.

Conclusion

In the Fall, many of us receive the flu vaccine.  But do we think about how a vaccine works?  The contents of the vaccine are flu germs themselves.  The doctors inject this weakened strain of germs into us, hoping that it will trigger an immune reaction in our bodies, so that when the really harmful flu germs come, our bodies will be ready to protect us.  That is why those who have volunteered to have the Ebola vaccine tested on them must be commended for their courage.  And so, with vaccines, most of the time, a good effect – our protection from a terrible disease – is achieved by the scary method of injecting germs into us.

In a similar way, God so loved the world and wanted to save us and restore us to communion with him.  Because our condition was one of illness, he had to use a painful method.  He gave his Son who was lifted up on the cross, so that his death might pay the debt of our sin.

This is the Good News of our salvation, this is the Good News that drives away despair and gives us hope. But as we bask in the joy of this Good News, let us be reminded that our salvation has come at a great cost.  And therefore, let us live our Christian lives never presumptuous but always grateful for this great gift.