The other day we went to visit the Newseum here in D.C., a museum dedicated to reporting the news, news media and equipment, as well as news reporters. It was quite the experience. Being the newest museum in the area it is full of high tech equipment and interactive displays. But one of the most fascinating exhibits for me was the display of a front page of a print paper from every state in the country. And this display changes daily as it shows the current front pages on the day of your visit!
It got me to thinking about Good News and what that means to us as people of faith. We call the Gospels Good News, but rarely, I think, do we apply it to our daily lives as headlines that are changing daily. Rarely, I think, do we realize we could be writing Good News that others are reading. Yet, as disciples, it is exactly what we are doing if we are struggling to follow Christ. This Lent gives us an opportunity to examine our lives and see if the headlines we are displaying to the world are consistent with our faith and our beliefs.
I’m reminded of a little poem I once learned – the author long ago forgotten, if I ever knew. Yet the lines have remained with me and continue to challenge me.
We are writing a Gospel, a chapter each day in things that we do and words that we say. People read what we write, whether faithless or true. What is the Gospel according to you?
It’s a little grace that continues to make me stop and think. What front pages are we being? What do our headlines flash across to the lives of others? Is our Good News growing and changing each day so our headlines are never the same?
Something to think about for these days of Lent.