Monday in the 3rd Week of Ordinary Time at Mississippi Abbey

Scripture Readings: 2 Sam 5:1-7, 10;  Mk 3:22-30

When the scribes say that Jesus is driving out demons by the power of the prince of demons, they are denying God’s goodness to humanity. That is serious.

The goodness of God as a point of doctrine does not make much of an impression. It is easily questioned when something goes wrong. But the goodness when experienced makes a lasting impression. Experiencing that goodness is not the experience of “good luck” or of the kindness of another person. It is the experience of His presence to self.

“Goodness” is what happens when something or someone is what it is supposed to be and is that at its best. A person, as a rational creature, is at its best when it is thinking (and thus acting) in accord with the truth. Then the person’s kingdom (i.e., interior life) is united. When the person breaks with the truth, i.e. behaves irrationally; contrary to what it most truly is, its kingdom becomes divided. It’s bad. Satan scatters; Gods goodness unites.

So, God is goodness because He is love. To love a person is to will that persons good, to do what one can to promote the good. That’s what the Son of God was doing when He drove out demons: He was promoting the persons good by restoring his ability to be rational, to think with the truth. He was promoting the persons unity within himself and with the Father. The person was able to “get it together.”

God is goodness because He is love. He is what He is supposed to be. And He is that way toward each of us because He wants to be.