"Good is Alive -- Even in the Presence of Evil"

Pastor Michelle Manicke

"Good would still be alive if not for the presence of evil...."¹ When I came across that sentence written by Austin Channing Brown early yesterday morning, it literally took my breath away. It takes my breath away because it's true on so many levels. To state the obvious, Renee Nicole Good would still be alive if not for the presence of evil. The thirty-seven-year old mother of three, who'd just dropped her youngest child off at school, had shown up to support her neighbors, who live in constant fear due to the ongoing threat posed by federal agents affiliated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (aka ICE). Moments after arriving on the scene, Good was gunned down in cold blood by an ICE agent. Watching the video, it occurred to me that this agent must have ice water in his veins because when a doctor who happened to be on the scene asked if he could render assistance to the gunshot victim, the agent coldly replied, "I don't care," leaving Good to bleed out while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Leaving her to bleed out while her distraught wife looked on. Leaving her to bleed out while the family dog watched from the backseat. Leaving her to bleed out, while her six-year-old's stuffed animals spilled out of the glove compartment  "I. Don't. Care." Such a chilling -and telling -statement of where we find ourselves at this time in our history: at the mercy of powerful people whose hardened hearts have grown cold  As I pondered all these things in my own...broken, but still warm...heart, I remembered a conversation I once overheard in which two former Lutheran bishops, Dave Brauer-Rieke of the Oregon Synod and Rick Jaech of the Southwestern Washington Synod, shared their definition of evil: Evil, they said, is "the complete absence of love...." Friends, I think that description is spot on! After all, Scripture tells us that God is good and "God IS love." So, it stands to reason that evil represents the total absence of love.

"Good would still be alive if not for the presence of evil...." Another reason that sentence takes my breath away is because it's universally true. Think about how much good has died at the hands of greedy, corrupt, self-serving leaders all throughout human history, as well as in our own time.... A moment ago, when I spoke of "powerful people whose hardened hearts have grown cold;' I couldn't help thinking about the terrible cruelty Pharaoh inflicted on God's people, Israel, more than 3000 years ago, which is recorded in the book of Exodus  Of course, I'm also reminded that God has sent and continues to send prophets to point out injustice and to warn cruel and corrupt leaders that they will be called to account one day. It's sobering to remember that when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he foreshadowed the suffering and death that lay ahead of him by pointing to the all-too-familiar fate of God's prophets, who throughout history have been put to death by the· authorities again and again... To finish this thought, I'm sure many of us are acutely aware of the gospel writers' witness that Jesus died on the cross not so much to atone for the sins of individual human beings- that is, not so much for the benefit of "poor ornery people like you and like I"; rather, the main reason Jesus was put to death on the cross because his message of God's inclusive love and radical welcome for all people was perceived as an imminent threat by political and religious elites who sought to preserve power and privilege only for themselves  Imagine, if you can, how Jesus' first disciples felt, as they stood in the shadow of Good Friday, gazing at the lifeless body of their Teacher hanging on the cross. In that horrific moment of shock and grief, I have no doubt they were thinking, "Good would still be alive if not for the presence of evil."

But here's the thing, friends: As people of God who live on this side of the Resurrection, you and I know the rest of the story. We know that in spite of appearances, good IS still very much alive ....., even in the presence of evil.  We worship a loving God who is faithful and whose love for us is steadfast and everlasting. We worship the God who raised Jesus up to new life and who promises to raise us up to new life, too. And so, we live in trust and hope that good has prevailed and good will continue to prevail over all the evil things that oppose God's still-unfolding work of reconciling the whole world.

Good is STILL very much alive -even in the presence of evil. Today's Scripture readings and our own experience of following in the Way of Jesus bear witness to the goodness of the Holy One. In my preaching preparation this week, I noticed that one common thread in all the readings is the voice of God. Sometimes God's voice speaks in order to reveal something to us; at other times, God's voice calls and commissions God's servants - including ordinary people like you and me! -- to participate in God's saving work by speaking and embodying God's loving, liberating, life-giving Word. For example, I think many of us have heard the interpretation that the "servant" in Isaiah 42 is a precursor of Jesus, but did you know that in this passage and throughout much of the book of Isaiah, the word "servant" actually refers to all of God's people. Israel? It's true! At the beginning of today's reading, we hear God's voice saying this about the servant people, Israel:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him;

he will bring forth justice to the nations. ²

Friends, do you hear how similar this is to the divine affirmation spoken at Jesus' baptism? Here, in Isaiah 42:1, the voice says, "Here is my servant, ...my chosen, in whom my soul delights...." In Matthew 3, the divine voice lovingly proclaims, "This my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." There's definitely a parallel here!... In Isaiah 42:2 and the following verses, the voice alternates between telling of God's own faithfulness, describing the peaceful qualities of God's servant, and commissioning the servant people to bring God's Word of light to all the nations. One of the preaching commentaries I read provided me with a new nugget of insight about this passage. The author of the commentary, Dr. Margaret Odell, points out that in the book of Isaiah God doesn't just make a covenant with God's people; rather, God makes the people themselves into a covenant gift, commissioning them to share the message of God's reconciling love and salvation with all peoples.³ In Isaiah 42:6, God declares,

I have given you as a covenant to the nations. a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.⁴

Now let's turn our attention toward today's gospel reading, which is Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan. Here we see Jesus' identity being confirmed and his humanity affirmed: As I've already said, the voice declares him to be God's own beloved Son, but I wonder: Have you ever noticed that God is well pleased with Jesus before he even does any work of mission or ministry? ... Well, guess what: the same is true for you and me! On the day of our baptism, God looked on us with love, just as God looked on Jesus with love at his baptism. And God said, "YOU are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased - just as you are!"

Friends, I think there's a lesson here for those of us who tend to think our worth somehow depends on what works we do and/or how much we do. And the lesson is this: Just as God loves Jesus before he ever does anything, so God loves you and me before we ever lift a finger to do anything!... BUT far from giving any of us an excuse to loll around, this divine affirmation of our identity is also an invitation and a commissioning for each and every one of us to participate in God's mission by proclaiming God's love in word and in deed. This ongoing, lifelong invitation is what Christians call our "baptismal vocation" /"baptismal covenant." When our youth affirm their faith and when new members join our congregation, you'll often hear them respond to this question posed by myself or another pastor:

"You have made public profession of your faith. Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism:

to live among God's faithful people,

to hear the word of God and share in the Lord's supper,

to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus,

and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth?"⁵

The person or persons affirming their faith will then respond, "I do, and I ask God to help and guide me."

So, I want to sum up by saying this: Good is still VERY MUCH ALIVE today--even in the presence of evil. Good is alive in and through the members of Christ's church, for we are the very Body of Christ in the world today. As unlikely as it might seem, God has poured out the Holy Spirit on ordinary people like you and me, so that we can bear the light of Christ that gives life to all who sit in the valley of the shadow of death.

Good is most certainly alive whenever and wherever God's people are working to defy the presence of evil. Good is alive when we speak up for justice- like those local teenagers and young women who are courageously speaking up on social media about sexual assaults that have happened and continue to happen right here at Canby High School.... To paraphrase Zoar1s mission statement good is alive whenever and wherever the people of God respond in service to God's love by welcoming the stranger, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, visiting the homebound, and lifting up all who are down and out. Good is also very much alive wherever Christians show up in solidarity to show support for vulnerable people - like our hardworking immigrant neighbors. This work to which God calls us isn1t always easy, and sometimes it's downright dangerous, but Jesus shows us that this is the work that matters, and this is the work to which we, the followers of Jesus, are called.... Here I think it's important to note that like you and I, Renee Nicole Good was a practicing Christian, and showing up for her neighbors was what she was doing when she was gunned down.... Answering the call to follow in the way of Jesus isn1t always easy or comfortable, but it IS possible because our faithful God promises to be with us, equipping us with the gentle, persistent courage we need to keep good alive in the face of evil. Furthermore, answering the call to serve in Christ's name is vital because his gentle, humble way is loving, liberating, and life-giving for all the children of God.

1'd like to close by sharing some beautifully poignant words from a prophetic writer who dubs himself "a country pastor11 on social media. He writes this:

God is not found in ice-cold hearts. God is found in love. And love still asks something of us. It asks us to stay human when power tempts us to harden. It asks us to keep seeing people, not problems. It asks those of us who still love to warm a world that is growing colder than it should ever be.

May we choose God's way, while there is still time.⁶

And let the people of God say: Amen! The Baptism of Our Lord

The Baptism of Our Lord -

1 Austin Channing Brown, post on Facebook, 9 January 2026.

2 Isaiah 42:1

3 Margaret Odell, "Commentary on Isaiah 42:19," www.workingpreacher.org, 11 January 2026.

4 Isaiah 42:6-7.

⁵ "Affirmation of Baptism," in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. XX? Ibid.

6 "In an Ice-Cold World, Mothers Become Targets," by A Country Pastor," post on Facebook, 8 January 2026.