what do you want first, the good news or bad news?

News means the communication of a current event. The story of the New Testament makes it clear that what happened in Christ accomplished something. An event significantly newsworthy occurred that changed everything. It happened in history, but its report constantly makes it contemporary and relevant to the hearer. And the news is that it is finished! It is consummated. The Christian message, the story of the Christ, is that God is no longer separated in the Heavens, but among us, in us, through us, between us, as us in the loving collective. This is the Spirit. This is why it is good news. Which explains why it was secondary to Paul whether the message got a good reception or not. Paul rejoiced in the fact that the news of a present reality was published. It could not be altered by whether or not it was believed. For Paul, the event changed everything, changed the world, and the world now hears this good news. In fact, Paul claims it’s already been heard. This is why we are all equal. This is why there is no longer any dividing wall and we are all children of the same family. It is finished!

Now, Jesus, this is the bad news. Some people are going to change it into a good plan. A good prescription. A good suggestion. A good formula. A good proposal. They’re going to change the news into a possibility depending on whether or not they believe it. They’re going to package it into a program to sell and that it all depends on whether or not they buy the product and use it. They’re going to change the good news into a marketing scheme to make bad people into what they want them to be. It’s bad news because they’ve turned free information into a costly proposition. They’re going to change something free and finished into something pricey and pending.

Of course, we already know that the real good news is so robust that not even our deviant mutations can alter it.

Thanks to my friend Dave Murray for the cartoon idea.