Do Good

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Sermon of January 04, 2009 Dr. Jim Standiford Three Simple Rules: “Do Good” Romans 12:9-21

Lord Jesus Christ, shine the light of your love into our hearts so that we might live by that light all of our days. Amen.

The story is told that Thomas Edison at age 23 arrived in New York from Boston. His head was full of ideas for great inventions, but his pockets were empty. He had worked earlier as a telegraph operator so he headed for a Western Union office. Did they need an inventor? No, but they had considerable equipment that needed repair. He restored the equipment as an unsalaried trouble-shooter. General Marshall Lefferts, head of the company, was very pleased with his work and the vast improvement in company operations because of his efforts. One day Lefferts decided to “settle up” as he had promised. “How much do you think your improvements are worth?” he asked Edison. Edison said he thought to himself, “He will probably offer me a thousand dollars, I really need $2,000 to get out of debt, but I really want to ask for $5,000.” Being inexperienced in finances and knowing that Lefferts was known to be an honest person, Edison said, “General, what do you think?” Lefferts responded, “How would $40,000 strike you?” Gasping for breath Edison agree. Edison learned an important lesson that day. Lefferts’ goodness was greater than his own greed. Sometimes our relationship with God is similar. We demand special favors from God unable to wait patiently for God to act. We grab in greed. However, God’s abundance is far beyond our knowing if we will but only receive. God is good and giving. John Wesley, the founder of our Methodist movement, wanted those who converted to the Christian faith to continue to grow in faith in their daily living. He developed what he called the “General Rules” to guide their daily living. fumcsd.org/sermons/sr010409.html

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Last week we considered the first of these rules, “Do No Harm.” This week we are considering the second, “Do Good.” Wesley stated we are to do good because God is good, “Doing good reflects the ‘image of God stamped fresh on the heart’ for God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” We are to do good because God is good and because Jesus commanded us, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Luke 6: 27-28) For Wesley, doing good was a universal mandate. Everyone is to do good to everyone. On this Epiphany Sunday the choir sang of the wise men. The wise men are Gentiles who come to worship Jesus thus indicating that in addition to being the Messiah anticipated by the Jews, Jesus is also the Savior of all. As Jesus seeks to save all, we are called to serve all. One of Wesley’s most famous statements reflects this, “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” St. Paul, in our scripture passage today gives us specific examples of doing good: let love be genuine, hate evil, hold fast to good, love with mutual affection, out do one another in showing honor, do not lag in zeal, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints, extend hospitality to strangers, bless those who persecute you, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, live in harmony, do not be haughty, associate with the lowly, live peacefully with all, overcome evil with good. Wesley also gave specific examples that are recorded in our Book of Discipline, Do good to all men: to their bodies, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in prison. To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all with whom you have contact. By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith; employing them preferably to others; helping each other in business, and so much the more because the world will love its own and them only. (para. 103) Not only was doing good a universal direction, but it was to be a regular practice as well. Wesley insisted that Methodists engage weekly in direct work with the poor, both for the sake of the poor and for the sake of the spiritual health of Methodists. He knew that in order for the poor not to be sterotyped, romanticized, marginalized, or demonized, direct personal relationships were required. Some people do good but only with items they don't need or want any more and only in t.An alter nate model, more in line with Wesley's thinking, is given by the narrator in Marilynne Robinson's book Gilead, “My grandfather never kept anything that was worth giving away. He would take laundry right off the line. Mother said he was worse than a thief or a house fire. She said she could go to any town in the Midwest and see pairs of pants on poor people that she had patched for him. (p.31) Once again Jesus’ Great Commandment to love God and one’s neighbor as oneself is the basis for Wesley’s instruction. In his famous sermon The Use of Money, he encourages generosity to others, but he makes it clear if you give so much as to put yourself or your family on welfare nothing good has been fumcsd.org/sermons/sr010409.html

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accomplished. A person’s first responsibility in doing good is to take care of the needs (not to be confused with the desires) of one’s family. Rueben Job in Three Simple Rules writes, “Taking care of self and living selflessly are not opposites. Rather they are each essential elements of a healthy and productive life. To love God with all of life and to love neighbor as self is not to denigrate, deny, or devalue self.” (p. 46) Job also points out that our desire to do good may sometimes be rejected, ridiculed or misused but it is not limited by the thoughts or actions of others. We do good in response to God and God’s goodness to us in Jesus. Doing good is a part of our spiritual formation, essential for the growth of our spirits, our lives of faith, and our relationship with God. One of the reasons we are involved in hands-on mission work in our own community such as mentoring, tutoring, reading in the schools, and the Big Mission Project is to positively impact the lives of others. A second reason is to positively impact our lives as well. Our consumer culture is constantly luring us to take care of ourselves first. Of course, this is always accomplished by buying some product someone is trying to sell. We believe we take care of ourselves in part, and our spirits grow, when we do good for others. Doing good runs the scale from simple good manners toward others on one hand to the lifetime dedication of nurses, doctors, missionaries, teachers, and anyone else who serves the public good. When you bring food for the hungry, when you visit your sick neighbor, when you give time and energy to the Katrina rebuild project, you are doing good. In the reflections shared on our website Robert Oplinger writes of doing good through the Peace Corps, Emily Sernacker in her work with the Invisible Children of Uganda, Sam Dove of his work at a free dental clinic, and Arnie Sheets telling the story on behalf of Palestinian Christians. Frequently doing good is imbedded in your personal daily activities. Elbert told the staff of an incident when he was preparing his ordination papers several years ago. The Board of Ministry is adamant about the postmark deadline for submitting the book length amount of material required. Elbert finished typing, collated everything, packaged it all up, and walked from his church across the street to the post office. He knew the personnel there very well. Beamingly he presented them with his package announcing that finally he was finished. He then turned and walked out. About fifteen minutes after the post office closed, it struck him that he had not paid anything for the postage. He ran back across the street. The front doors were locked. He went to the back and banged on the doors. Finally a worker came. As Elbert was explaining that his package absolutely had to be post-marked that day, the window clerk walked up to him, handed him a receipt, said she had postmarked it, and that she had paid it for him. We live our Christian faith by overcoming evil, and even amnesia, by doing good. John Wesley developed three simple rules for daily living our Christian faith. So far we have considered two: The first is Do No Harm. The second is Do Good. May we live them faithfully. Thanks be to God.

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