Gloria

Goodwill Hunting

If you read more than one version of the bible, then you'll notice that - from time to time - there are more than just a few words that differ from one another. In Luke 2:14, we see that this is just what has happened. Two translations will show what I'm pondering here: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." KJV "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." NASB

That's a lot of extra words, so where are they coming from?

Well, there are quite a few technical issues surrounding the passage, but I would like to boil it down to this: the translations represent two traditions of thought. One tradition asserts that God's offer of peace through Jesus' birth is an offer of goodwill toward all people. The other tradition replies that God's offer of peace through the birth of Jesus only applies to some. In other words, Jesus only means peace to those upon whom God's favor rests.

That's - in many ways - an oversimplification of the issues, but it leads me to ask a couple of questions. Doesn't the birth of Jesus (God in the flesh, born into a world filled with undeserving people) represent an extension of goodwill - no matter how you cut it? Then, doesn't that extension of goodwill have an impact on everyone? In other words, if Jesus means peace at all, and if that peace has been extended to any person at all, doesn't that offer of goodwill have an impact on everybody?

I think so.

But I am willing to go one further. Jesus of Nazareth is God's goodwill offering to the whole world. His birth is God's initiative of hope, goodwill, good news, and peace for anyone who would accept it. Jesus, the Christ-Child in Bethlehem, is the extension of God's glory to undeserving humanity, and this action from a loving God demands a response: trust or refusal, worship or rebellion. We can find ourselves in the story if we wish - with Herod or with wise men, with shepherds or with tyrants. But the gracious offer of peace remains.