Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Earth is full of the goodness of the Lord

Do we actually believe this?
The refrain for today's psalm reminds us of just how profoundly we believe the world was reshaped by the resurrection of Jesus. The goodness of God fills the earth like air we cannot see it with our eyes but it is no less real. It not only surrounds us but by grace it permeates and fills our very being.

In an op-Ed piece today David Brooks writes about the unprecedented and unfounded pessimism in our country today. Despite measurable improvements, we insist on seeing the world as a bad place that is getting worse. That is not the gospel of this Octave of Easter. Can we call ourselves truly Christians, proclaimers of the good news if we choose to participate in that? In this face of those who would point to sin and evil, as if it has any real chance of winning.

We are called to be the ones who sing, "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" and to make that goodness perceptible by our words and actions. There are more than 2 billion Christians. That's 2 billion people who are called to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Our psalm response is not in the subjunctive as if it were a hope, or a dream, it is a statement of fact. Let is live as if we really believe it.