THE GOODNESS OF GOD
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
THEME: THE GOODNESS OF GOD
BY: REV. FR. SOLOMON ZAKU
The response to the Psalm of today says” I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the Land of the living”. We are all familiar with this Popular Saying “the Lord is good-all the time.” If I may ask how many times have you sat and reflected on the goodness of God? Do you see the goodness of God in your life? Do you see the goodness of God in all that is happening in the world? In life we go through different experiences and sometimes we may be tempted to say God has forgotten us or he is not good to us. Today the world is suffering from the corona virus pandemic; in situation like this some people may feel God is not good to us. If not why allow us to suffer, why allow many people to go through difficult situation or even die. When you sit and reflect on your life, you have no option but to say: God is good all the time. As men and women of faith, even if things are not moving well, we must always say like the Psalmist “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living”
God is good is good to us all the time. It is because he is good that he created you and in his goodness he will not abandon you. The word of God tell us that God himself is good all that God created is God. ( Gen 1 :31,1TIM 4:4)
The Bible talks about the Goodness of God in over sixty five different verses. Some of these are:
1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 31:19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
Psalm 65:11 you crown the year with your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
Psalm 106:11 Peter 2:3 indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Nahum 1:7The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
1 Peter 5:7 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
It because God is God and loved the world so much that he sent his son into the world. Out of Goodness and love Jesus died on the Cross. The goodness of Jesus is seen in the gospel reading of today. Jesus prayed for his disciples. He promised to send the helper, advocate or paraclate .Chapter seventeen of the Gospel of John contains the priestly prayer of Jesus. Jesus prayed for his disciples as he leaves them. Jesus prays especially for His own .He seeks to offer the comfort and assurances which the disappointed disciples needed at a time when His departure was imminent. The Ascension of Christ practically creates another feeling of departure and therefore this prayer remains a prayer of re-assurance that we who know the only true God and Jesus whom He sent, would share in the Glory of this Son of God. Count yourself part of the beneficiaries of this beautiful and comforting prayer.
The disciples after experiencing the goodness of went out and preached the goodness and love of God.
We are called today, to show the goodness of God to others. For us to be good we don’t have to do extra ordinary things. We can be good in little way. Be good to your husband, be good to your wife, to your children, your workers, cleaners. The little goodness you show will make a difference. The more you are good and show your love to others, it comes back to you.
As Christians, when we are good, we may not always experience that love and acceptance from others. That should not discourage us. In the second reading St. Peter encourages us to remain focus even in the midst of persecution. In the face of insults and disgrace, Peter encouraged us to count ourselves blessed to suffer for Christ. This, he contrasted with the suffering of criminals which can never be salvific. Suffering for the sake of suffering is not good but when it is for the sake of the faith and consequently united with the suffering of Christ, it becomes salvific. Patient suffering of this kind demands a lot of fortitude a gift of the Sprit which we are called to pray for at this time.
As we prepare for Pentecost, let us like the apostles in the first reading pray that the Holy Spirit will empower us to always be goof to our brothers and sister. Goodness is one of the fruits of the fruits of the Spirit. May we continue to bear this fruit always?
Today is world communications Sunday. This year, Pope Francis encourages us to ‘Tell Our Stories’, our stories of faith with more vigor and enthusiasm, despite the limitations of our physical interactions occasioned by COVID-19.In the midst of our daily challenges, particularly during this period of global upheaval, the Holy Father reminds us as communicators not to be deterred, but to continue to spread the story of the Good News to all men and women of all races; the story of God’s saving grace for the benefit of all, particularly our children and grandchildren so that they may be well rooted and better informed of the way to true happiness as they chart the course of their lives.
The Pope noted that "Often on communication platforms, instead of constructive stories which serve to strengthen social ties and the cultural fabric, we find destructive and provocative stories that wear down and break the fragile threads binding us together as a society. By patching together bits of unverified information, repeating banal and deceptively persuasive arguments, sending strident and hateful messages, we do not help to weave human history, but instead strip others of their dignity".- (Pope Francis, excerpt from 54th World Communications Day, 2020).
He called on us to change the story by using media well.
THEME: THE GOODNESS OF GOD
BY: REV. FR. SOLOMON ZAKU
The response to the Psalm of today says” I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the Land of the living”. We are all familiar with this Popular Saying “the Lord is good-all the time.” If I may ask how many times have you sat and reflected on the goodness of God? Do you see the goodness of God in your life? Do you see the goodness of God in all that is happening in the world? In life we go through different experiences and sometimes we may be tempted to say God has forgotten us or he is not good to us. Today the world is suffering from the corona virus pandemic; in situation like this some people may feel God is not good to us. If not why allow us to suffer, why allow many people to go through difficult situation or even die. When you sit and reflect on your life, you have no option but to say: God is good all the time. As men and women of faith, even if things are not moving well, we must always say like the Psalmist “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living”
God is good is good to us all the time. It is because he is good that he created you and in his goodness he will not abandon you. The word of God tell us that God himself is good all that God created is God. ( Gen 1 :31,1TIM 4:4)
The Bible talks about the Goodness of God in over sixty five different verses. Some of these are:
1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
Psalm 31:19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
Psalm 65:11 you crown the year with your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
Psalm 106:11 Peter 2:3 indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Nahum 1:7The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
1 Peter 5:7 Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Lamentations 3:25The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
It because God is God and loved the world so much that he sent his son into the world. Out of Goodness and love Jesus died on the Cross. The goodness of Jesus is seen in the gospel reading of today. Jesus prayed for his disciples. He promised to send the helper, advocate or paraclate .Chapter seventeen of the Gospel of John contains the priestly prayer of Jesus. Jesus prayed for his disciples as he leaves them. Jesus prays especially for His own .He seeks to offer the comfort and assurances which the disappointed disciples needed at a time when His departure was imminent. The Ascension of Christ practically creates another feeling of departure and therefore this prayer remains a prayer of re-assurance that we who know the only true God and Jesus whom He sent, would share in the Glory of this Son of God. Count yourself part of the beneficiaries of this beautiful and comforting prayer.
The disciples after experiencing the goodness of went out and preached the goodness and love of God.
We are called today, to show the goodness of God to others. For us to be good we don’t have to do extra ordinary things. We can be good in little way. Be good to your husband, be good to your wife, to your children, your workers, cleaners. The little goodness you show will make a difference. The more you are good and show your love to others, it comes back to you.
As Christians, when we are good, we may not always experience that love and acceptance from others. That should not discourage us. In the second reading St. Peter encourages us to remain focus even in the midst of persecution. In the face of insults and disgrace, Peter encouraged us to count ourselves blessed to suffer for Christ. This, he contrasted with the suffering of criminals which can never be salvific. Suffering for the sake of suffering is not good but when it is for the sake of the faith and consequently united with the suffering of Christ, it becomes salvific. Patient suffering of this kind demands a lot of fortitude a gift of the Sprit which we are called to pray for at this time.
As we prepare for Pentecost, let us like the apostles in the first reading pray that the Holy Spirit will empower us to always be goof to our brothers and sister. Goodness is one of the fruits of the fruits of the Spirit. May we continue to bear this fruit always?
Today is world communications Sunday. This year, Pope Francis encourages us to ‘Tell Our Stories’, our stories of faith with more vigor and enthusiasm, despite the limitations of our physical interactions occasioned by COVID-19.In the midst of our daily challenges, particularly during this period of global upheaval, the Holy Father reminds us as communicators not to be deterred, but to continue to spread the story of the Good News to all men and women of all races; the story of God’s saving grace for the benefit of all, particularly our children and grandchildren so that they may be well rooted and better informed of the way to true happiness as they chart the course of their lives.
The Pope noted that "Often on communication platforms, instead of constructive stories which serve to strengthen social ties and the cultural fabric, we find destructive and provocative stories that wear down and break the fragile threads binding us together as a society. By patching together bits of unverified information, repeating banal and deceptively persuasive arguments, sending strident and hateful messages, we do not help to weave human history, but instead strip others of their dignity".- (Pope Francis, excerpt from 54th World Communications Day, 2020).
He called on us to change the story by using media well.
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