God is Good, All the Time

A Sermon for Palm Sunday
March 28, 2021

Text: Mark 14:1-15:47

I speak to you in the name of our loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

I love the way we worship in the Episcopal Church. One of the reasons why I love it so much is because it involves everyone, not just the clergy. It’s not just one person standing up in the center of the room, doing all the work. Sure, there are parts of the liturgy led by the priest, but there are also parts of the liturgy led by lay people and parts that are spoken responsively, as a call and response between the priest and the congregation. The word “liturgy” literally means, “the work of the people.” It’s work that all of us are called to do in the service of God, and it’s foundational to who we are as Episcopalians.

For example, if I say, “The Lord be with you,” you already know exactly what to do, don’t you? You don’t even need to look down at your bulletin to know what to say. Let’s give it a try.

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Good. And, if I say, “Lord, have mercy,” you already know what comes after.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

That’s exactly right. Thank you for proving my point. There are parts of the liturgy that we know by heart, words that’ve shaped our lives and become part of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. These words have deep meaning. They help us understand who God is and how God is at work on our lives.

Several years ago, when I was a parishioner at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Dothan, Alabama, our priest taught the congregation a new call and response prayer in one of her Sunday morning sermons. I’ll never forget it because it was one that I had never heard before and one that you won’t find in The Book of Common Prayer. Eventually, I came to discover that this particular call and response is often used by our Christian brothers and sisters in the African American community.

It’s very simple. It goes like this. I say, “God is good,” and you say, “all the time.” Then, I say, “All the time,” and you say, “God is good.”

Let’s give it a try.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Great job. The reason why I’m sharing this simple prayer with you is because I want you to carry it with you, today and in the week to come, as we join with Christ in his journey to the cross. If we truly believe that liturgy has the power to shape our lives and form us as Christians, then I want you to consider this prayer a type of liturgy that you can return to, time and again, and be reminded that there’s never a time when God isn’t good, even in those moments when it feels like God has abandoned us or forgotten us.

I want you to hold on to these words as we hear the story of our Lord’s Passion and death unfold and bear witness to the beautiful parts as well as the excruciating parts.

Say it with me.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words as we remember the final days and hours of Jesus’ life—how he made his way into Jerusalem, riding on the back of a donkey while crowds of people chanted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words as we remember how shouts of praise from the people of Jerusalem quickly turned into calls for Jesus’ execution. Hold on to them as we remember the times we ourselves have betrayed Jesus’ trust and fallen short of God’s call.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words as we remember the upper room where Jesus shared a meal with his disciples for the last time and washed their feet, just before he was arrested and handed over to Roman guards. Hold on to them as we remember his prayer to God while sitting in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words as we remember the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter. Hold on to them as we remember the times we’ve denied knowing Jesus in our own lives. Hold on to these words as we remember the humiliation and pain that Jesus endured, the whips and the crown of thorns, the nails piercing his hands and feet.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words as we remember Jesus crying out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Hold on to them as we remember Jesus drawing his last breath and giving up his spirit.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words, dear friends, because they’re absolutely true. Despite the horror and humiliation of the cross, there was never a moment in Jesus’ life when God wasn’t good, and there was never a moment when God wasn’t near, weeping for Jesus and surrounding him with love. Hold on to these words because they hold a special meaning in our lives. If God was with Jesus and knows what it means to suffer, then we know that God is with us as well, especially in those moments when we experience great pain and loss. We know that God is on the side of the oppressed and the persecuted, those who have been victimized and weighed down by the evils of this world.

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Hold on to these words because we know how the story ends, for Jesus and for those of us who have chosen to walk the way of love with Christ. In the end, there is resurrection and new and abundant life. In the end, darkness gives way to light, and death is defeated, once and for all. As we begin our journey through this most sacred time in the life of the Church, may we hold these words in our hearts:

God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.

Amen.

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A video of this sermon is available below, beginning at the 32:42 mark.