“As consumers of news, we become quickly bored with a repetition of antiquated news. With our wide tendencies toward A.D.D., we always crave novelty. Many think, the “new is true, the old is mold.” This is what C.S. Lewis labeled ‘chronological snobbery,’ the belief that we who come later in the parade of knowledge automatically have the advantage of being smarter. Accordingly, those who come before us are thought of as not nearly ‘enlightened.’

What if you received the same edition of a newspaper every day for a week? Or for a year? Or what would you call a website that had the same update daily? You would likely stop your subscription, wouldn’t you!? Or if you turned on the morning news, and has the very same news—way outdated, kinda like the Bill Murray/Andi McDowell movie GroundHog Day—you would stop thinking of this as news.

The very notion of news seems to be the telling of something that was not known before.

As consumers of news, we become quickly bored with a repetition of antiquated news. With our wide tendencies toward A.D.D., we always crave novelty. Many think, the “new is true, the old is mold.” This is what C.S. Lewis labeled ‘chronological snobbery,’ the belief that we who come later in the parade of knowledge automatically have the advantage of being smarter. Accordingly, those who come before us are thought of as not nearly ‘enlightened.’

To show that such is not unique, there were people 2000 years ago with this same problem. Acts 17, in fact, depicts the Athenians as always pining for something new.

So, this Advent, would you discount the Good news if it is old news? Many would. And the causes range from the following:

1. We like to be entertained. And if we’ve seen, known, or experienced something before, it is not as entertaining in subsequent iterations.
2. Sometimes, we think repetition is lazy—if you really wish to dazzle, then do something novel and creative—thus all of the contemporary movements of Christianity.
3. We assume that once we’ve learned/heard something, we know it entirely—never again to need a review.
4. Others will get ahead of us in experience if we do not get announcements first.
5. If we’ve ever heard the story before, we tend to tune out, saying, “Oh, I know that one.” Plan your work week/holiday while this sermon drones on.

So, this week, do we treat the good news of Jesus’ birth as Old News that is unworthy of our highest praise or joy?

It may still be unexplained but why weren’t people on their tiptoes, peering ahead, awaiting Christ?  Maybe the news was so old that they discounted it.

What if you had to wait 250 years for God’s promises to come true? How long a time is that? That’s about the time span between where we live today and the American Revolution. That’s a long time; and that’s not news.

In the 2.5 centuries before Jesus’ birth, the Pax Romana prevailed. Rome was a dominant power. She ruled the western world, bringing stability and peace, even if by military force. The Romans built Roads, social progress was made, and the arts and commerce flourished. All of this prepared the way for the spread of the gospel of Jesus. Had the empire declined into chaos or had there not been the integration of many areas, it would have been harder for the faith to spread as it did in Jesus’ time. The Greek language was tailor made to capture the message of Jesus

Slavery was a feature of this Empire; Rome was far from the kind of liberties we enjoy, but it was huge progress for its day. And for 250 years, there was no Messiah. People were waiting. Some were forgetting and moving on as if without God.

Could you wait 250 years, or would you treat the good news as bad news if it took that long to arrive? Compare to the span between US Colonies/Revolution and now.

The leading cities in the world in 1764 were Paris, Rome, and London.
NYC was recently New Amsterdam. There was no Kuala Lampur, Hong Kong, or LA.
No TV broadcasting, no internet—communication was by Paul Revere.
People and Families lived in one town for most of their life.
Here’s what was new: a couple of colleges and a few pamphlets by ink.
Doesn’t that seem like a long time ago? Another world, really? But let’s go longer.

What if we had to wait 500 years—the time from Malachi and other Minor Prophets until Christ’s birth?

Malachi was the last book of the OT. By its time, the people of Israel had abandoned God. And at the same time, they thought they were just fine. But the Lord confronts them with a number of charges through Malachi. He warns them against bringing inferior sacrifices, as if the Lord would not know that (ch. 1). The priests also (2:1-10) were largely living for themselves instead of teaching and upholding the law. Judah was as unfaithful as an adulterous spouse. Still she persisted in claiming that she was just fine.

In that context, 5 centuries before Jesus’s ministry, God said that he would send his Messenger of the covenant to prepare the way for the Lord. And when he came, it would be like the blast of a fiery furnace. He would come and refine the Levitical priests. God would clean up the religion, and make no mistake, when the Lord comes, the arrogant, the evil (4:1) would be cauterized, and the sun of righteousness would rise with “healing in its wings.” Great joy and deliverance would occur. That was the good news. And if it took 500 years, it was still great news. No amount of time could tarnish the coming of Jesus.

About that same time, Micah predicted that Bethlehem was the least of the rulers of Judah, but out of her would come the Messiah. The Wise Men marked this prediction and looked for it. Will you look for the good news, even if it is dated? Is it not still fresh to you? Does it not still call you to sing, serve, and exalt? Are there not retellings that are so rich with meaning that they can be repeated?

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