The Messenger

In ancient times, the way to send important news was often via a runner, sometimes over huge distances. According to legend, a herald named Pheidippides was sent from the Battle of Marathon, 26 miles to the city of Athens to inform them of their victory. The Inca messengers were called Chasquis and ran hundreds of miles across the Andes to transmit information.

Bearers of good tidings were often rewarded handsomely. Conversely, bearers of bad news were punished or even killed, which begs the question why they didn’t just turn and run in the opposite direction!

The writer and readers of this passage in Isaiah,  were clearly familiar with this method of passing on news. In this case it is clearly good news; “You won, your God is in charge.” The message of Christmas is that our God quietly broke into history and went on to defeat the power of evil and death itself. This is news worth sharing, irrespective of how we do it.