Spring has been absolutely lovely these past few days. A couple days of shifting winds and storms keep us weather aware and on our toes. Before the wind and rain tore the petals off the blooms I brought in a few blooms from the peony bushes and bed of irises to make a bouquet. The other days the sun shone, and the air has been just a bit cool but refreshing. This day, listening to the thunder rumble and the few raindrops splatter on the spring green foliage is divine. Watching the hummingbirds feed on the sugar water makes my world stop for those few seconds while each take their turn at feeder near my atelier window. The newness and goodness of the season echo how good our God is.
The refreshing nature of spring rains reminds me how I am washed and renewed into a new life with Jesus. The Hebrew word for “good” is “tov”, and it appears well over 500 times in the Old Testament. The Greek word for “good” is “agathos”, and it is in the New Testament over 100 times. “Good” outnumbers “bad” by a long shot in the holy scriptures. The word “bad” is only mentioned 17 times. A similar word “evil” or “wrongdoing” is mentioned over 150 times. The word “sin” appears over 400 times in the Bible. Is not that the nature of good, it outweighs bad every time?
Last week I had a friend ask me if I have done “good” lately. I was thinking, “well, I haven’t done bad as of late.” For that matter the word “bad” isn’t usually in my vocabulary. There is too much good to do, to do bad. Where I fault is what I fail to do out of ignorance, inconvenience, or selfishness. In the Catholic service we make a confessional prayer called the Confiteor (Latin for “I confess”) at the beginning of each Mass which includes these words:
“I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault…”
Next time I am asked if I have done good lately or what is that good I did lately; I will consider this question a prompting. What needs are in the immediate world around me? Then I will act on the need to make good.
Woman Warrior 