It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” Colossians 1:28
When we receive good news, we can’t seem to keep it to ourselves. Our first reaction is typically going out and sharing it with others. There’s always a list of people that we call to share the news, or even sometimes, we simply share it with the first person that we find. We’re so overwhelmed with the spirit of joy that the immediate reaction is to simply get someone else excited or be excited for us about our good news. Yet the greatest news that we will ever receive is Jesus Christ. He’s entered our lives and continues to be in our lives, and what He offers us is something that we receive daily. It’s unlike the news of a new job, a novelty which quickly wears out; on the other hand, Christ isn’t a novelty but someone who is in our lives every day, and each day is the “Good News” for us. With all our hearts, we always rejoice upon his blessings and what He gives to us to live a good life. Saint Paul reminds us then that we should never turn away from proclaiming this “Good News” to others; actually, we should be overjoyed to always share Christ with others no matter the circumstances.
It’s something that we also learn from Saint James, the patron saint of our Diocese who remember this week and one of Jesus loyal apostles – actually “one of the favored three” with his brother John and Peter. Saint James was a privileged witness to the many great works of Jesus Christ, and those works made a difference in his life, something which he proclaimed with courage and zeal to all the places where the Lord sent him to do the good work. James may have shown ambition; he may have lacked humility at times, and like Peter, he may have been rash in judgment and decisions, but he realized how Christ healed him from these things and restored peace in his life. This was the “Good News” that he was compelled to preach for the rest of his life, preaching it each day as if he had just received a piece of good news. Through the intercession of Saint James may we find it in ourselves to be good, gracious proclaimers of the “Good News” like him, always sharing with joy the One, Jesus Christ, who makes a difference each day of our lives.
In Christ
Fr Robert