In the end, Good triumphs over evil

Those were difficult times. Evil has taken control of the land. Kings were abusing their powers to oppress the people. They were enriching themselves and living lives of debauchery. Nations were at war with other nations and peace was becoming a concept that’s alien to most people. Sounds like today but that was way back in Biblical times. And there’s more of it.

People in power were drunk with it. And they didn’t want to hear anyone say they were doing wrong. Prophets were persecuted and killed if they told the truth, much like the journalists murdered in our country over the last few years. These were times like many more times in the history of man up to present times. Though people were starting to lose hope, it was all they had to cling on.

The prophet Isaiah describes those times well:

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever… there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.

For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

Thus did the Prophet Isaiah foretell the birth of our Savior. And on Christmas Day many hundreds of years later, the prophecy was fulfilled.   “All these occurred,” St. Matthew accounts, “to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: ‘Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us.’”

This is the message of hope for all mankind for all times: that despite all the evil around us, God has not abandoned us. He has sent His only Son who will see to it that though evil now reigns in our land, Good will triumph in the end.

For us today in our troubled country, we cannot remain passive to evil and think of it as normal. God’s message of hope should inspire us to take an active part in seeing to it that Good wins over evil. The birth of Jesus our Redeemer has saved us from wages of our sins. But remaining saved is all about us wanting and doing what we can to stay saved.

Good will triumph over evil! This is the message of the season we should remember the rest of the year.

 A very Merry Christmas to all our readers and countrymen out there!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. This and some past columns can also be viewed at www.boochanco.com