god's good looks bad
"He has sent Me to bring good news to the poor." —Luke 4:18, our transl.
Jesus declared that His mission was to proclaim the good news of freedom to the poor. He said He was carrying out this mission at that very moment (Lk 4:21). Then He told the people He was not going to heal them but heal other people instead (see Lk 4:23-27). What kind of good news is that? The people obviously saw no good news in Jesus' prophetic words; so they tried to throw Him over a cliff (Lk 4:29).
What Jesus means by good news often sounds like bad news to us. His thoughts and ways are as different from ours as the heavens are high above the earth (Is 55:8-9). Our reaction to Jesus' good news may be to attempt murder, even the murder of God. But to those who accept Jesus' good news, despite its seeming absurdity (see 1 Cor 1:18), the gospel is "the power of God leading everyone who believes in it to salvation" (Rm 1:16).
Have the faith and the courage to ask Jesus to speak the good news to you — by His standards.
Prayer: Jesus, may I respond to You by letting You free me instead of trying to kill You. May I consider the call to repent to be good news.
Promise: "The Lord Himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living, the survivors, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thenceforth we shall be with the Lord unceasingly." —1 Thes 4:16-17
Praise: Carol thought that giving up her job to stay at home with her children was bad news indeed. Now she rejoices to be able to home-school her children and raise them up in the faith.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 1, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 4, 1997