Christmas Blog Series: Bigger than Duck Dynasty

Dec 20th 2013

Can I tell you the most important headline news at this moment? It’s bigger than the Duck Dynasty’s Conspiracy/Tragedy/Outrage/Persecution/News.  For the last couple of days, my Facebook wall has erupted with responses to A&E’s suspension of Duck Dynasty’s patriarch.  I guess A&E executives were surprised to discover both that Phil was against sex outside of the marriage of a man and a woman, AND…that he would express himself in a matter-of-fact way with little regard for how it comes across to this who disagree with him. (And yes I do think he was more crude than he should have been but I do appreciate the fact that his comments were in response to the question, “What is sin?” And in his response he listed many sins, not just one.) Bottom line for this post; It’s amazing how newsworthy this has become and how many celebrities, leaders and just regular people have been riveted to this news.

The news I’m talking about is even bigger than Duck Dynasty.

It’s bigger than the fact that Harold Camping now has a pretty good idea of when the end of the world is going to be…at least for him. It’s bigger than Benghazi, the trial of Graham Spanier, and the growth (or not) of the economy. It’s bigger than the latest headline on the President’s healthcare system. In fact it is bigger than. every. political. news. story. of. the. last. decade. (Putting periods in after every word is definitely a harder way of emphasizing a point than an exclamation mark!) It’s bigger than the fact that a 5th grade choir in New York sang an edited version of “Silent Night, Holy Night” that left out any hint of a virgin mother, or “Christ the Savior is born.” It’s even bigger than the death of Nelson Mandela.

In fact this news story is so big that not only did it go viral, it never went away.  It didn’t disappear the year, or the day, after it happened. It went viral but it wasn’t a fad, a fading memory, or simply the headline news of the moment. It had/has staying power.

Mark Galli writes,

The most relevant event this week is still shaking up the entire world. The scandalous revelation shapes everything from pop culture to politics, from science to philosophy. This story, in fact, has changed the way we think about time itself. In the middle of breaking stories of wars and rumor of wars, of shootings and fiscal panic, of entertainment gossip and the predictions of fashion trends for 2014, this event continues to invite both virulent skepticism and devout faith. It makes fools of the wise, shocks the righteous, and like nothing else, gives hope to those on the margins of life.

The story began innocently enough. A Jewish man named Joseph and his betrothed, Mary, had arrived in Bethlehem to deal with some government red tape. And while in the sleepy village, “She gave birth to her firstborn, a son,” wrote an early reporter. “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Cloaked in that prosaic moment was the seed that changed the course of history. Whether or not one believes in the claims of the man who grew from that swaddled baby, you cannot deny his incalculable and continuing influence on our world.

This Christmas we celebrate the news that changed the world. It was then and is today, simply called the good news. But it is more than just “good news.” It is “the” good news. It is “the good news” that changed the world and continues to change the world 2000+ years later. It is “the good news” that changed my life, that shaped my family, and gives fire to every good passion of my heart. It’s so much bigger than anything else you ponder, prize or will celebrate this season.  

The King has come and He calls us to join Him and being and bringing The Good News to the world. What will you do to celebrate this Good News this season?