When the Good News dominates the bad

Welcoming the New Year 2017, the Vicar of Christ on Earth admitted that the bad news of contemporary times caused so much pain in the hearts and tears in the eyes of many.

In his Letter to Bishops, Pope Francis denounces the appalling treatment of children in the new millennium: clerical sex abuse; as child soldiers of terrorism; as cargoes on human trafficking; as prostituted minors.

Such bad news inspired American writer Charles Yu to author the 2010 novel “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.”
In one chapter, he quips:

“I’ve got good news and bad news…The good news is, you don’t have to worry, you can’t change the past…(And) the bad news is, you don’t have to worry, no matter how hard you try, you can’t change the past.”

Oh no, to the contrary, it makes the world so worried. It makes me worried. Shocking but truthful is what it is, even if the stock market refuses to go down because of bad news.

I really don’t know if this happens to you, but I seem to get the curse of evil tidings when browsing the morning papers or watching the evening news. While glued to my seat, I feel depressed and somewhat snake-bitten every time.

The Good News lasts forever

I agree with behavioral scientist and bestselling Author Steve Maraboli, who says that “the bad news is that yesterday sucked. The good news is that yesterday is gone. Today’s a new day. Own it! Shape it! Live it!”

The evil news of the Holocaust, or Hitler’s genocide of six million Jews, whom he considered as untermenschen, is history. The bad news is gone with yesterday.

And so are news about the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the suffering the Filipino people under Martial Law, and the murder of great leaders like Andres Bonifacio, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. of United States, Mahatma Gandhi of India, and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

While painful memories of these evil tidings remain, the Good News continues to persist. The Glad Tidings
announced by the shepherds to the angels refuse to die. Churches, plazas, malls, and streets are still filled with celebratory colors and music after more than 2,000 years.

In the Philippines, the joyful recall of the Glad Tidings begins with “Simbang Gabi,” a most beautiful Filipino tradition now being celebrated in many countries. For many Filipinos the Christmas Season is the longest running event each year, with the best of our humanity in full display.

Socio-cultural research studies, scientific surveys and some global charity commissions point to the fact that Christmas is not just the biggest annual event for humankind, but it is also the perfect time of year
when people around the world are most generous and kindest (Pew Research Center).

Even the poor (God’s poor called Anawim) share their meager meals and give gifts to the poorest, the lost, the least, and the last among us, without Santa coming to town.

It’s like a switch turned on. From “Silent Night” to “Oh, Holy Night,” from “The Little Drummer Boy” to “Jingle Bell Rock” to “Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer,” the sounds of carillon bells and Christmas carols create the Christmas spirit soften the human heart.

Christmas is also the time of year when Christians of the planet are happiest, perhaps because they get to decorate the Christmas tree, wear that colorful sweater, and jam out to Jackson Five, Jose Mari Chan, or singers of Pasko na Sinta Ko without qualm.

We earthlings spend more time with family, loved ones and friends, cook new and old recipes, open our gifts, take awkward family photos and get more hugs and kisses from perfect strangers.

Still, bad news tried to dominate.

Back in 2013, North Korea and South Korea nearly declared war after the latter lighted a giant Christmas tree close to the border of the two countries. North Korea considered the huge Christmas tree, clearly visible from the North, “an act of psychological warfare.”

Brunei, through a religious edict, banned the public celebrations of Christmas and has imposed fines and jail terms for those caught, believing that celebrating Jesus’ Birth “could damage the aqidah(beliefs) of the Muslim community.”

A Christmas-less December also happens in Tajikistan, a former Soviet Muslim-majority republic; Somalia and Saudi Arabia.

Glad Tidings for all nations

In the same letter to Bishops around the world, the Holy Father reminds them of the words of the angel to the shepherds: “I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior” (Luke 2:10-11).

Christmas is definitely uplifting because it is “Good News of great joy.” And it is also universal, “for all the people,” for humankind of every generation without exception, regardless of creed, gender, nationality and economic status.

In atheistic Cuba, in 1969, Fidel Castro banned Christmas, when he wanted the citizens to stop partying and start working on the sugar harvest. Saint John Paul II eventually persuaded Castro to lift his ban during a visit in 1998. The Cuban leader did not only lift the ban but also made Christmas a national holiday.

After 1949, Communist China was not a big fan of Christmas. But today China is crazy about Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus with fireworks, Santa Claus costumes and hats, fancy dress, family meals and exchanging gifts.

“The bad news is nothing lasts forever. The good news is nothing lasts forever,” sings American hip-hop artist J. Cole. But he’s wrong. The Good News is perennial, unstoppable and eternally synchronized. And it’s here to stay with us, for it is meant to last forever.

Christmas story is the Good News

How can it be not a universal celebration when The Birthday Celebrant is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient? He, who is the Word that created the world, completed nine months in the womb of Mary (March 25 to December 25 in the liturgical Christian calendar), became one like us, and born a Jew in
a manger in the little town of Bethlehem.

As a little Baby Boy, He cooed, baby-talked, rolled and crawled like any other infant. Jesus, King of the kings and Lord of lords, sucked on her mother’s breasts for milk. And like all mothers, Mary hugged Him, kept Him warm, fed Him, and loved Him.

For many members of humankind, even non-Christians, Jesus is still their Baby Boy, who is the Messenger Of The Good News that dominates the bad news. Christmas cheers and a Blessed New Year to all!

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