Grounding Ourselves in the Good News
Dear Seattle First Baptist Church family,
When was the last time you received some good news? As I write this to you, I am honestly trying to think of the last time I read or heard something that I’d categorize as good news—I think it was either about the Seahawks making it to the Super Bowl (!!!) or the Scottish pygmy hippo named Haggis that I visited last summer (she’s very cute, please look her up!). Honestly, good news seems hard to find right now…if we’re honest, it’s seemed that way for a while.
I understand that part of how the news cycle and social media are designed is to always promote things that provoke a reaction, and so often sad, scary or difficult things rise to the front page or the top of our feed. But it frustrates me how challenging it is for me to find something that feels uplifting—or if not uplifting, at least grounded and thoughtful and not making my nervous system rush into fight-or-flight mode.
As followers of the Way of Jesus, we have “good news” built into the core of our faith. “Gospel” literally means “good news,” and so when we look to the Christian testament, we read the “good news” according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Good news is what the angels proclaimed to the shepherds and to the wise ones, good news is what John the Baptist prophesied at the riverside, and good news is what those crowds of people who followed Jesus hither and yon were longing for. To them, the good news was that God loved the world; that humanity in all its diversity was made in the image of God; that no earthly ruler was more powerful than Love; that God’s dream for Creation was to live in peace through justice.
Today, I believe we are also longing for good news like this. I believe there are hints and echoes of this good news all around us, but I know sometimes we need help fine-tuning our senses to pick up on it. That’s part of why church matters—here, together, we can help each other pick up on the good news around us and within us. At church, we celebrate together, and we mourn together, in those activities revealing the good news that we are not alone. Through the music of organ, piano, guitar, and voice, we attune ourselves to the good news of beauty in the world. By sharing bread and cup, we participate in the same ritual that millions of people around the world have done and are doing, thus uplifting the good news that God’s Love is alive and active all over the planet.
During this Lenten season, which begins on February 18 with our Ash Wednesday service, we will be accompanied by the worship theme “Tell Me Something Good: grounding ourselves in the good news.” When I first heard this theme idea, I was skeptical that it would not be realistic, be too Pollyanna-ish for the times in which we live. But as I explored the theme and contemplated how our congregation might engage with the theme, I found it to be deeply thoughtful and intentional. The theme asks us, “Can we be “good news” people in a world too often burdened by bad news?” Church, I think we can. I think this Lent is a perfect time for us to ground ourselves in the love, justice, peace, mercy and community of Jesus’ teachings, learning from the ancient days for the living of these days.
So, join with our church family during the Lenten season. Pick up a devotional, make a practice of listening to the Lenten music playlist, participate in ritual from ashes to breaking bread to flowering the cross. Together, we can find good news, even in troubling times. Together, we can create good news, each of us living into our diverse identities and gifts. Together, we are the good news, as we embody Love in the world each day.
I love you, and I love being your pastor.
Pastor Anita