All Goodness, The Rev. David R. Williams, Pentecost III--Year A--June 5, 2005

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your Inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by Your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“O God, from whom all good proceeds…” begins the prayer for today, the third Sunday of Pentecost.

Pause a moment and listen. During our worship, phrases such as this may fly past us. “O God, from whom all good proceeds…” So often the lyrics of our prayers, scripture passages and even song may fold into the cadence of the entire worship service, the elegant details escaping conscious thought.

“O God, from whom all good proceeds…”

A sign at the front of a country church says, “You are not too bad to come in. You are not too good to stay out.”

Pause. Ponder. Good things come from God. How do we recognize that which is “good?” Is this “good” appreciated as good for every single one of us? What may be goodness for one person is not necessarily goodness to all people. A basket of food is certainly “good” and necessary for a family living in poverty – but not necessarily “good” and necessary for a family already well-fed.

And what of evil, pain, suffering and injustice? Who created these equally present forces? How do I reconcile the presence of temptation, hurt and violence with “goodness proceeding from God?”

Reflect for a moment on recent Sunday Old Testament readings. Two weeks ago, we heard the first Creation story. We marveled over a God who created in seven days all that we are and all that we know! After each day’s work, God declared, “It is good:” the light from the darkness, the day and the night, the birds, vegetation, sun and moon, the human beings, the mystery of it all! And God said, “It is good.”

We know the goodness of creation as in the image of God, and He is Good.

The story following the Creation tells of the birth of the first children, Cain and Abel. From “good” creation we see pain and suffering as the jealous Cain murders his own brother.

Last Sunday we heard the story of God beginning His creation all over again. We try to imagine the story of Noah, his family, two of every creature, an Ark and a great Flood. The waters wash over the earth, cleansing the world of violence and sin.

The floodwaters recede, and Noah, with his family and all of the animals, return to dry land, ready to begin anew. “Goodness” proceeding from God has another chance.

This week we move into the next chapter of the Genesis story – the introduction of Abram and Abram’s family.

“Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,” God says.

A “great” nation! Could that be “good” nation? The Blessing of God surely must be a sign of God’s Goodness!

Again, something new is created. Abram will pack his family and move to an unfamiliar place – a land full with blessing, greatness, goodness.

“So Abram went as the Lord had told him.”

Moving ahead a few thousand years, we are introduced to Jesus. Jesus’ reputation for healing and renewal has spread far and wide. In this morning’s Gospel Two, extraordinary “healing” events occur: witness the woman healed by merely touching the robes of Jesus. Witness the child, fatally ill, the daughter of a leader of the synagogue. The mourners have already gathered, they play their flutes and wail for dying little girl. Jesus takes the child by the hand, and the girl gets up.

Something good is taking place – something greater than the miraculous healings, greater even than the caring nature of Jesus.

Listen to the subtle transformations. The story begins with Jesus calling Matthew. “Follow me,” Jesus says. Matthew gets up and follows Jesus. Transformation!

When Jesus hears of the dying daughter of the Synagogue leader, Jesus gets up and follows. Another sick woman comes to Jesus and touches the fringe of His cloak. Transformation!

“Go away.” Jesus tells the mourning flute players.

And the girl “got up”. Transformation!

Abram went. Matthew followed. Jesus got up and followed. The sick woman came and touched. The people celebrating death are asked to leave. The girl gets up.

We travel, place to new place. As Abram was called by God to move, we are asked to move from known country and beloved kindred, from comfort and familiarity to a place unknown. In so doing, we are changed. Transformation!

Unsure and in faith, we go. A hand, a voice, an event, a plea calls us out of one place and into a new one.

Every day in the creation story is a new world. On the first day, only light and darkness have a presence. Another day reveals land and sea – and another day offers vegetation, animals and creeping things. Once one day ends – it is gone.

Moving into another dawn brings us to a Promised Land of sunlight and all possibility!

And God said it was good.

The ark comes to rest on dry land. Noah’s family and the animals blink, perhaps, in the bright light, and walk to dry land and safety. God says, “It is good.”

Matthew follows Jesus. The sick woman touches the robes of Jesus. Jesus holds the hand of the dying daughter. God says, “It is good,” this change is good.

Not long after September 11, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was part of a panel discussing the ramifications of the unfolding new chapter in America and the rest of the world. Wiesel asked the panel to name the unhappiest character in the Bible. Some said Job who endured torment upon torment. Some said Moses, because he was denied entry into the Promised Land. Some said Mary, as she grieved over the crucifixion of her son.

Wiesel believes the right answer is God – because of the pain God must surely feel in seeing us fight, kill, and abuse each other in His Name.

A former government employee recently spoke to a Divinity School graduating class. “We can hope that God is on our side. But we can only admit, if we are honest, that we fall short of what God has asked (“Follow me”) and what our own consciences instruct. Believing as many of us do in a God being both merciful and just, we must hope the balance between the two is tilted heavily in the direction of mercy. We may be ensnared by the temptations to use power to dominate, not simply to help; to value American lives more highly than the lives of others; to squander wealth and consume the world’s resources rather than share and be good stewards of the gifts given to us; to stare avidly at frivolous entertainments while averting our eyes from suffering; and to boast over and over again how good we are, after being taught there is none good but one, that is God.”

Provocative, challenging thoughts from former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

We all are Abrams and Saras called from places of familiarity and comfort. We are on an endless journey. At times, we feel as if we are reliving September 11, 2001. We feel as the sick woman touching the robes of Jesus, we identify with the grieving father or perhaps the dying daughter herself. We travel, we follow, we pray, we move, we believe. We are transformed.

And the God of goodness mercifully reassures us, “The Creation is Good.”

Amen.