There was something disgusting in my basement three weeks ago. Somethings are too gruesome to even blog about anonymously. But I’m not going go into the whole gross thing. Let’s just say: it began with grossness and ended with a 55 foot long trench in my front yard, sixteen feet deep and eight feet wide. The plumber came with his camera on a long snake and took a picture of my sewer line. (I even have a copy of this on DVD for my later viewing pleasure.) He started the visit with this tantalizing snippet: “There isn’t any good news today. No good news at all.” From there it only gets worse. Several thousands of dollars later and lots of dirt moved around my yard. The good news is that we can flush our toilets and take showers and do our laundry.

What if, on any given Sunday, the preacher stood and announced to her congregation: “There’s no good news today. None. Nada. Zero.” What would be the point of going to church or singing any songs or even taking an offering. Week after week we proclaim a gospel of good news against a back drop of bad news all around us. Each week it seems the job of the preacher is to help push back the bad of the world, or at least to find words with the help of the Holy Spirit, to inspire the congregation to know we can push back evil with our efforts.

It is in the small efforts we use, day to day, that really make difference in the world. What small thing could you do today to push back the bad? Have you heard any good news today? How have you offered good news to the world?

There is good news today. My plumber was wrong. Our plumbing problem is fixed. We eventually found the resources to pay for the repairs. The only gruesome left in my basement are some ugly Christmas decorations from the 1990’s.