Fourth Sunday and Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
It just so happens that the next Fruit of the Spirit to look at is “goodness” and I felt that was perfectly appropriate for our fourth Sunday—to rest in God’s goodness.
God’s Goodness
By the very fact that we are alive, we are encountering the goodness of God. Because God is infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, His act of creation was an act of sheer goodness. It wasn’t necessary and it didn’t make God more “complete” than he already was so when he created us, it was because he wanted us to share in his blessed life.1
When God first created, he saw that his creation was “very good.”2 When sin came into the picture, he didn’t just give up and forget about his creation—instead he united himself even further to us by sending his incarnate Son to invite us back into union with him. We can now experience the blessed life again as co-heirs with Christ.3 We call this the “Good News” because it truly speaks to the goodness of God.
The Good News
If you’re anything like me, evangelization is the first thing I think of when I think of sharing the good news. This is definitely the first step, but God calls us to make disciples, not just converts.4 We do this by ordering our entire lives as a reflection of the good news. This is where the liturgy and the church plays a significant role.
Liturgy, which is “the participation of the people of God in the work of God”5 is a celebration, a divine worship and a proclamation of the gospel. When we participate in the liturgy we are engaging ourselves in the life of the community and the mission of the church, which is Christ’s body. We are called to serve both God and neighbour in love and so we strengthen our ability to live out the gospel daily by celebrating the good news together in the liturgy.6
Preparing Our Hearts
As we rejoice yet again in the goodness of God and his desire to unite us to himself, we can respond by ordering our own hearts and actions toward his goodness.