“And God said: “It is good.” When we begin with book of Genesis, the beginning of creation, there was a formless void, emptiness. There was darkness, and then there was water. The writer of Genesis then gives us the first words of God. “And God said: “It is good.”
Now we look at the scene St. John has put before us. Just like Genesis, it is chaotic and formless. The darkness is always competing with the light. The water is there—from six stone water jars in Cana to a well in Samaria, from Pilot’s washbasin to a lance-opened wound in the side of Christ. And God looked at it all and spoke again: “It is good.” But how???
What is good about a dead innocent man betrayed by friends, abandoned by those closest to him, rejected by those who should have known better? What is good about a brutal torture and execution? What is good about ambition, jealousy, and revenge? What is good about choosing a murderer, over a healer? Nothing at all.
These are not the things that make this day Good. If we only look at the evil this day, then we should call this “Guilty Friday” or “Death Friday.” It would better be called “Bad Friday” or “Shame Friday.” But this day is not about us. This day is not about what we can do to one another, to the innocent, and to good people. This day is about God. It is God who makes this day Good. The best we can do is to bow in humble reverence and acceptance at what God has done this day.
This day is even more than holy. It is Good because God looks at the mess we have made, and God continues acting and moving in our lives. The same Spirit that moved over the waters of chaos at the beginning, moves over us and our sinfulness. The same Spirit that moved over the formless void in Genesis, moves over the void of our failures, over the darkness of our shame, and once again there is creation and re-creation.
Once again God looks and says, “It is good.” It is not good that we kill, not good that the innocent suffer, not good that we betray the prophets among us, not good that power is abused, but it is good, because out of all this, God can create again what God promised from the beginning.
When we look at the Passion of Christ, we must see more than destruction and death. We must see what power there is in Love: the Love shared between Father and Son, the love freely given by God to a sinful creation.
You see, we are the objects of that Love. This day is not about us, it is about God. This day is about our God sharing love that is steadfast, everlasting, unimaginable, and all embracing. No matter what chaos we make of God’s creation or no matter how much death we bring and suffering we cause, God’s powerful Love looks on us all, and continues loving us into Goodness.
It is good to be here.
It is good to be children of God.
It is good to hear the Gospel.
It is good to be forgiven and forgiving.
It is good to be redeemed.
It is good to be holy, washed, anointed.
It is good to remember, to give thanks, to be touched by
God and to touch the cross.
It is a good day.
It is Good Friday.
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