Good News of God
(Reflection by Donal Neary SJ)
John the Baptist was a man of passionate commitment to what he believed in. He strongly believed in the coming of the Christ. This man of faith was being tested in that Jesus was a different type of Christ or Messiah from what he expected. He often wondered who the Messiah would be.
John was a man with a lot of conviction and truth. He preached what he believed. He practised what he taught.
But he seemed to miss the point sometimes. He seemed to miss that Jesus would be found, not in preaching only but in helping others. John preached repentance for sin; Jesus preached the coming of the kingdom.
The blind would see, and the lame would walk – these were to be signs of the coming of the ‘One to come’.
Pope Francis says: ‘There is no prayer in which Jesus does not inspire us to do something/ Our faith in Jesus is seen in strong action. The poor are helped at our pre-Christmas collections. We might ask not what we might get for Christmas, but how our Christmas might help others. We might ask that Christmas will be happy for others because of us – happy in body, with enough food for every family, happy in mind that we know the truth of God’s coming into the world, and happy in forgiveness, as that is one of God’s biggest gifts.
What is the good news of Jesus for you just now?