Christmas cards often depict angels blowing trumpets as heralds of good tidings, “tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” (Lk.2:10b KJV) We may not think of ourselves as angels, yet we are called to be heralds of good tidings in our time and place, to be messengers of God’s good news. We are called to demonstrate to the world that God’s love is incarnate among us and in us.

We may not think of ourselves as prophets either, especially when we look at the example of John the Baptist who appearance seems so outlandish to us, whose message is so “in your face.” That too, however, is our calling: to comfort the afflicted, to afflict the comfortable, to pave the way for Christ’s coming into our midst.

While being and angel or a prophet may not be our first choice of possible vocations, being a herald of good tidings is something we find that we can’t avoid as we come to recognize the good news of God’s healing grace in our lives. As we are filled with the knowledge of love of God in every fiber of our being, our heart overflows with joy. We want to share the good news of how we experience God working in our lives with all whose lives we touch. We find that we can’t keep silent once we join the psalmist and “listen to what the Lord God is saying.” Without hesitation, without even thinking about it, we somehow, through God’s grace, delight in proclaiming with Isaiah, “ ‘Here is your God!’ . . . He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.”

If today you don’t feel quite ready to pick up the trumpet that has your name on it, take advantage of this Advent season and allow God to prepare you to herald the good tidings of God, to be his messenger to those in your life who need to hear the good news of God’s incarnate love.