The Feet that Bring Good News

How beautiful on the mountains 

are the feet of those who bring good news, 

who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation, 

who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!" Isaiah 52:7

My mind has been churning since a conversation last week. One of the guys involved in this conversation has roots in the LDS (Mormon) church. A few years out of high school, he felt there were questions he had of his faith that could not be adequately answered. He explained the process of moving from confusion the point of coming face-to-face with God and finding peace. Looking back, he was able to recognize the working of God in his life from a very young age. As he shared his story, I felt as if I was being given a glimpse of a sacred process and I couldn’t help but think of the people and events that influenced him along the way.

I started thinking about what it means to “evangelize”. Someone who evangelizes is one who brings good news. It’s interesting. Some scholars hypothesize that there were different men assigned to bring good news and bad news Old Testament times. Important information needed to get from point to point and without easy access to modern technology, it fell to messengers who ran between those points. An example of this is in 2 Samuel 18. The watchman sees a runner coming and identifies him as Ahimaaz, son of Zadek. When the king hears this, he says, “He’s a good man…He comes with good news.” 2 Sam 1:27. Sure enough, the king finds out he has been delivered by God from his enemies.

In Isaiah 52, God is speaking to his people that he has recognized their distress and is preparing to rescue them from the hand of their enemy. The references to peace, good tidings and salvation have to do with safety, the end of war and the return of God’s people to the promised land. It is celebration of peace and wholeness, the shalom of God. Just as in 2 Sam, this scripture recognizes the moment when the messenger is recognized upon the horizon, running to share the good news. The whole idea of “good news” is actually quite compelling and runs throughout the Bible. It deserves much more than I can give it in a blog post.

This imagery captured my imagination. I believe strongly that the good news we have is more than a moment of decision and the hope of heaven. It is also very much about the restoration of freedom, peace and transformation in our lives now. It’s about the restoration of all of creation to God.

So then, I have to ask myself if I am someone who, when people see me coming, know that I’m bringing a message of good news. Do my actions and words radiate wholeness and peace? What exactly does that look like? I’m going to tackle that question in more detail this week.