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Goodness - Week 6

Monday

Luke 4.16-24

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

First, full disclosure. I love this passage. It is as visual and compelling as any One Act Play ever.

A new ‘celebrity’ rabbi emerges in the region. Most of the local religious leaders would be present. A hush falls, the new teacher stands, takes a scroll, reads words of Isaiah. Jesus then sits down adding a mind-blowing declaration and commentary to his reading. Jesus has announced and summarized his mission. He will fulfill the Isaiah prophecy; the Messiah who will do these good things; very good things.

But as much as I love this passage personally, it sometimes can become too familiar. Are you like me? Do you sometimes read something so familiar in scripture, that you don’t actual hear the words anymore or maybe lose the strength of their meaning?

I can’t remember who first suggested this simple tool to help me hear “the familiar” again: as you read key verbs and adjectives, take a moment and consider an opposite verb or adjective.

This passage clearly reveals the actions, activities and purposes of the Messiah and therefore what the Fruit of the Spirit that Paul references as “goodness,” broadly looks like. To picture a world without goodness, is one in which we would be withholding this Good News that there is a loving God actively making a way to be reconciled to him and making things right. Without goodness, people imprisoned unjustly in society would be left to languish for lack of outside advocacy. Physical brokenness would be accepted fatalistically instead of seeking ways to care and cure. Those oppressed by broken societal systems would be doomed to carry their imposed yoke and no one would take note. The passage might end with Jesus’ observation, “And today, like every other day you have ever known, things will continue as they are and we will stay the course.”

Do you feel the power in the opposite? Sometimes a word like “goodness” or the idea of this Fruit of the Spirit, “goodness,” can become so vague or watered-down. But consider a world without God’s people demonstrating this fruit and you enter the kind of realm that sci-fi writers love to picture of a post-apocalyptic world…dark, ugly, brutish …in a word, hopeless. The prophecy given to Isaiah and the pronouncement of Jesus in Nazareth rejects that kind of “badness.” He proclaims there is a goodness, manifest through the people of God and when brought to fruition produces the kind of goodness that brings radical change and gentle comfort, open eyes and engages hearts, stretches hands and creates sacrificial lives.

So how is your pursuit of mature Spiritual fruitfulness going in the area of Goodness? How are you cultivating it? How are you helping others cultivate it? Are we actively bringing the opposite of badness, or are we maybe under-reading Christ and the Spirit’s work in the world and unintentionally diminishing the power and potential of goodness.

Today, why not begin an intentional act of seeking one opportunity each day with a co-worker, roommate or family member, to express through word and deed, an intentional act of goodness that will bless others and honor God.

~Scott White

Tuesday

Mark 7.24-30

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Almost everyone would admit that helping people who are in need is an important and noble thing to do. However, my guess is that if we were all honest we would admit that we’re only really motivated to help people whom we want to help.

Think about it – doesn’t it seem more appealing to help someone that we like? Wouldn’t we rather help someone who is similar to us?

And what about someone who caused their own problems? Surely they’re quite a bit harder for many of us to help than someone who is need at no fault of their own.

And, perhaps most tellingly, wouldn’t we rather help someone whom we think might pay us back in some regard? I mean, if helping someone might result in some quantifiable benefit to us, then isn’t that more appealing than the opposite?

However, we see in this text a person vastly different than Jesus (ethnically, gender-wise, religiously, etc.), who was in need and had nothing to offer in return. So not many of us, if we were being honest, would have faulted Jesus for saying “no” to her request.

But Jesus didn’t’ say “no.” Instead he inconvenienced himself and those who were traveling with him to stop, speak to this woman like a human being, and to heal her daughter.

This is what living a life synced with the Spirit looks like! As we are more and more connected to the goodness of God, that goodness will begin to express itself in our lives.

And God’s goodness isn’t only available to a select few. Instead it’s lavishly poured out on all of humanity, even though none of us – not even one! – deserves it!

And as we are led by the Spirit we too will begin to lavish this much-needed goodness into the lives of the people we come into contact with each day. This type of goodness can change the world!

~Matt Barnes

Wednesday

John 8.2-11

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

I love discovering new music, and a few years ago someone told me that I should listen to Miles Davis. I bought a cd and tried to like it, but I just didn’t “get” it. I couldn’t keep up with the rhythm, I didn’t know where it was going, and I got bored with the chaos. This is how many of us experience jazz, while others adore it. Jazz lovers release themselves to the rhythm, to the order behind the chaos, and find beauty there. I still don’t understand jazz, and while I can see theoretically that it is “good,” I don’t feel that goodness in my core. (If I just offended all you jazz lovers, I deeply apologize. Please keep reading :).)

Many of us have differing opinions about what is good. I love Thai food; my husband could take it or leave it. Most women love chocolate; I avoid it at all costs. We differ about what we think tastes good, sounds good, looks good. We have differing opinions about what goodness looks like in more serious areas too—in our marriages, in parenting, in social justice…the list goes on and on. And this dynamic is true of our relationship with God as well. Many times what we think is “good” or “right” isn’t actually what God thinks is “good” or “right.” Many times God has a different opinion from us about what “goodness” actually looks like.

That’s what was going on in our story for today. The religious leaders had brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery, and they wanted to brutally execute her for her sin. This would have been a haunting scene. These powerful men set a woman before Jesus, making her stand before the crowd, literally dragging her body and her reputation through the dirt. I cannot help but picture the fear in her eyes as she hears her impending fate—a humiliating and painful death at the hands of her executioners. The religious leaders and teachers of the law thought this was a good way of applying God’s laws; they interpreted God’s word to say that this would be a “good” act. But Jesus shows them a different way. Through his mysterious act of writing in the dirt and his convicting words, he helped people to see what “goodness” looked like for this woman and this community.

Jesus showed the people that day that humans don’t get to decide what is good and what isn’t good. God decides what is good; He sets the bar, and everything is measured by His standards. He showed us that day that while God’s law is always good, mercy and redemption were also good.

I cannot follow the rhythms of jazz, so I don’t understand its goodness. I can’t keep up with the beat, I can’t figure out where it is going, and I get lost in the chaos. When that happens, I don’t understand the goodness of the music. I think that sometimes this happens in our relationship with God too. Sometimes we can’t follow God’s rhythms, or we have trouble staying on beat with where the Spirit is going. When that happens, it is incredibly difficult for us to know what is good and to act for good. We NEED the Spirit to guide us. We can’t trust ourselves to stay “on beat” or to be able to say what is/isn’t beautiful or good. We need God to tell us what is good, and then we need God to give us courage to enact that goodness.

And just like the men in this story, sometimes we need God to broaden our vision on what “goodness” actually looks like. What feels like chaos to us might be exactly what God wants. What feels uncomfortable to us might be God’s call on our lives.

What “good” thing might God be calling you to, as you listen to the rhythms of the Spirit, that is different from what you had thought before?

~Annie Neufeld

Thursday

Mark 11.15-17

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

In our world today much that’s not good transpires every day. Some of it happens right out in the open and some of it is insidious and secretive. People are taking advantage of one another, harming one another, destroying the world we are tasked with stewarding, and leaving undone so many things that should be done.

Let’s be honest, we humans have turned what God called “very good” into a hot mess!

And when we are being a bit naïve we might think that our places of worship are exempt from all this madness. Surely we wouldn’t mix religion with selfish ambition and financial gain!

But we have. To be sure, we’re not alone in this and this problem is not only indicative of the 21st-century church. No. We see it in the past from Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 to the abuses of the church during the colonial period to the predatory practices of the health and wealth gospel.

And we even see it in our text. In Mark 11 Jesus enters Jerusalem and goes immediately to the temple, presumably to worship and to pray. But when he gets there he sees that it’s turned into a bazaar instead of a place of worship. Merchants and moneychangers are everywhere!

But the problem has less to do with them selling animals that would be used in worship or exchanging currencies in order to facilitate this process. No, those things are fine. The problem is that these transactions aren’t fair. Jesus calls these merchants and moneychangers “robbers” clearly indicating the issue at hand – their practices are little more than stealing.

And the real kicker in this story is who these robbers marked as targets – those who were not rich enough or resourceful enough to bring their own sacrifices. The poor were the targets.

And as we see all through the Law, the Prophets, and in the life of Jesus, the goodness of God demands that his people care for and protect the poor.

So Jesus disrupts the scene; not in order to make a scene, but so that God’s goodness could be seen.

What “robbers” need to be brought to light in our world today? What scenes do we need to disrupt?

Before we all go Rambo out there in the real world, let’s commit to this: Stay connected deeply to the Spirit of God. As we each do so and as we do so together, God, through his Spirit, will teach us how and when to make his goodness known!

~Matt Barnes

Friday

Matthew 25.34-39

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

We have often times heard it quoted from scripture – “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me. Then you will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Mathew 25:46)

Today we will focus on God’s “Goodness” which can be described as – glorifying God through our word and deed. The picture of God’s goodness can so often be demonstrated in our “good” acts toward others.

As a pastor of LAC, I get to hear about or see the actions of many who profess Jesus as their Lord and savior. Through these incredible actions, I get to see how our believing members fulfill Matthew 7:34-39 because:

*You feed the hungry through our Community meal and your generous giving to our benevolence program

*You give a drink to the thirsty – distributing bottles of water or giving out food vouchers

*You invite those in need into fellowship through our Community Outreach Ministry or directly into our adult classes and small groups

*You clothe the unclothed through ACTS Thrift Store

*You visit the sick in the hospital or shut-ins through our Care and Compassion Ministry

*You visit those in prison through our Prison Ministry

The list could go on but I think the point is made. Goodness is being displayed daily by our church members to others.

As followers of Jesus Christ who acknowledge Him as your Lord and Savior, you are made Righteous through the redeeming act of Jesus on the cross. In 1 John 4.19 we are reminded – “We love because he 1st loved us.” It is only because of the fact that God loved us first that we can love others. By demonstrating a loving act to another person we are also demonstrating the “Goodness” of God. “

In addition to the acts we take as a church body to help others, I believe we all can take 3 practical steps to continually display God’s goodness to others:

Acknowledge that all you have comes from God and He is good!
Ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you on where you can help another and thus display God’s goodness to that person
Act when the Holy Spirit prompts you

Come let’s be “Goodness Makers” in a world starving for a loving touch from God. Let’s have our actions speak as loud as our words as we give honor and glory to God, The Good Shepherd. Finally, let us always remember the words from James 1.17, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift comes down from the Father…”

~Bill Mead

Saturday

Luke 13.10-17

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

When I was just beginning in the ministry I worked with some youth in Texas. One particular young man in our group was a difficult case to say the least. He was from a broken family who had very little means. As a result, he often acted out at school, at home, and even during gathered worship.

So the pastoral team I worked on decided to begin to invest in this young man. At first we all were pitching in and for a week or two things got better. But life got busy for all of us and our concerted group effort became sporadic at best. The old disruptive behaviors from this young man resurfaced.

So a small circle of us (including me) were asked to give him and his family consistent and specific pastoral support. We all did our part but the young man was difficult, rude, and unappreciative. He would lash out, trying to test us and try our limits. Things got so bad that this young man was put on my docket solely since I was the newest member of the team.

And, I’ll be honest, ministering to this young man was hard. I constantly found myself wondering if doing good by him was worth it. What am I getting out of this? I found myself asking. I began being more worried about my discomfort and frustration than this young man’s discipleship.

I wanted to get something out of offering this young man pastoral support.

Luckily for all of us, someone much more patient and good offers all of us pastoral support – namely, the Holy Spirit!

In the passage for today we see Jesus being led by the Spirit to break to conventions of his day to minister to a hurting woman. Jesus knows that he’s going to get pushback and resistance, but that doesn’t stop him. And Jesus knows the heart of the woman that needed help. He knew that in the end he was going to give all he had for her and she would have no way to repay him.

But Jesus didn’t let any of these things slow him down! Instead he pushed forward, talking to, touching, and healing this woman.

This makes me wonder what might be holding us back from expressing God’s goodness to those around us? What are we allowing to thwart the desires of the Spirit from being expressed through us?

Holy Spirit, move in us despite our failings. Use us anyway. And teach us to put the interests of others first, even before our own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

~Matt Barnes