Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Rules for Living: Do Good

18 months ago I posted the first sermon in a series on John Wesley's "General Rules". I realized today that I never posted the other two sermons. Here is #2. #3 will come in a few days.
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We are continuing our series on John Wesley’s “General Rules”. Wesley said that everyone in the Methodist societies should show evidence of “their desire of salvation.” They would show this evidence, he said, by holding to these three rules. 1) Do no harm, 2) Do good, & 3) Attend to the ordinances of God.[1] In these three rules we find a guide for what it means to live a life of discipleship.
Last week, we looked at the first rule: Do no harm. And looked at what it means to do no harm to ourselves, to others, and to God. I hope you used the affirmation I gave you last week. I hope you made an effort to “do no harm” this past week. If you did, I’m sure you realize it is not an easy thing to do. It takes a conscious effort to do no harm. 
You have to pay attention. You have to begin to see past stereotypes and prejudices. You have to actually see people that you may typically ignore. As you pay attention and “love your neighbor as yourself” not only do you avoid doing harm, you also notice opportunities to practice the second rule – Do good.
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James 2:14-18
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.[2]
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How important do you think it is that we do good? There were several verses and passages I could have chosen for this particular sermon. In Acts 10:38, Peter is talking to a Roman centurion, named Cornelius. He is telling him about Jesus. He told him, “Jesus traveled around doing good and healing everyone oppressed by the devil because God was with him.”[3]
In a letter written to Gaius, the author, thought to be the Apostle John, wrote of doing good. He wrote, “Dear friend, don’t imitate what is bad but what is good. Whoever practices what is good belongs to God. Whoever practices what is bad has not seen God.”[4]
And there are more. I chose to use this passage from James. Because it gives at least one example of what it means to do good. It shows us that what we, as disciples of Jesus, are called to is not simple good thoughts or good feelings. We are not called just to pray for those who are oppressed or less fortunate than us. We are called to DO good. “If you say to someone, ‘Go in peace; stay warm and eat your fill,’ but don’t meet their needs, what good is it?”
We are called to DO good. Doing no harm is only the beginning. Saying to someone , “Peace be with you; stay warm and get plenty to eat. Jesus loves you” Is nice. But what good does it do? Wesley says that we show “evidence of our desire for salvation” by DOING good. Not by thinking good thoughts. Not by being good. But by DOING good.
In his published General Rules, Wesley says we show evidence of our desire of salvation “By doing good, by being … merciful, as they have opportunity of doing good of every sort… to all men.”[5]
That included, he said, doing good to their bodies – giving food to the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those in prison. In other words, we are to take care of the physical and emotional needs. This sort of doing good is what John Wesley would call works of mercy. It is seeing the needs of someone and acting to meet those needs.
This comes directly from Jesus’ teaching in Matthew’s gospel. “I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.” “When you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me.”[6] It is, as James writes, “meeting the bodily needs” of those around us.
Wesley also said we are to do good to the souls of others – by instructing, reproving, or exhorting. In other words, we are to teach and guide one another in discipleship to hold accountable and to encourage others in their faith. How many of you have or had someone in your life that you view as a mentor in your faith? Someone who teaches you? Who encourages you when you struggled? Who cheers you on when you were doing well? Someone who holds you accountable?
How many of you have someone who you mentor? I encourage you to find someone – find a mentor and find someone to mentor. Find a small group of people who want to learn from one another and help hold one another accountable.
Those are a couple of ways Wesley says we should do good – physical and spiritual good. There is a quote that is often attributed to John Wesley, but likely came from someone else – but it sums up this rule of doing good pretty well. “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.”
I mentioned Ruben Job’s book, Three Simple Rules, last week. In that book, Job says that doing good is a proactive way of living. It is not simply helping someone when we see them in need, it is how we should live – seeking to do good. We don’t have to be, and shouldn’t, wait to be asked. Job wrote, “[We] do not need to wait until circumstances cry out for aid to relieve suffering or correct some horrible injustice.”[7]
Living out this rule of doing good is a choice we make. It is how we choose to respond to the world, but it is also a way of living. Job wrote, “I can decide that I will choose a way of living that nourishes goodness and strengthens community.”[8]
Living to do good, means living a life of love. It is loving God and loving others. When we seek to do good, we let God’s love guide us. “Every act and every word must pass through the love and will of God and there be measured to discover if its purpose does indeed bring good and goodness to all it touches.”[9]
We can think of this second rule as kind of a continuation of the first rule. When we live in a way that does no harm, it puts on the right track for doing good. Not saying or doing things that cause harm makes room for words and actions that do good. “Words and acts that wound and divide will be changed to words and acts that heal and bring together.”[10] Doing no harm also means that we do not participate in oppressive systems or agencies – that’s why John Wesley mentioned slave holding as one of the ways we do harm. Racism, classism, sexism, governments that deny their citizens basic rights. Doing no harm means we do not participate, but doing good means that we actively stand up to and speak out against such systems. Remember Jesus in the Temple? The economic system of the Temple was oppressive to the poor and Jesus spoke up and acted against that system.
            We have to remember that when we seek to do good, we do good to everyone. Bishop Job wrote, “[D]oing good is not limited to those like me or those who like me. Doing good is directed at everyone, even those who do not fit my category of ‘worthy’ to receive any good that I or others can direct their way.”[11]
            In fact, Jesus told us to love our enemies. He said, “do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.”[12] We are called to love and to do good to everyone. Jesus continued, “If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended?”[13] Anyone can be good to people who are good to them. Anyone can do good to those who do good to them. We are called to be kind and do good, just as God does. Jesus says, that God is “kind to ungrateful and wicked people.”[14] As followers of Jesus, doing good should be a way of life.
            We don’t do good because we expect congratulations. Or because we expect some reward. We do good because we are followers of Jesus – because that’s what we do. Because God loves us and as followers of Jesus we are called to share that love. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t benefit us or that we don’t enjoy it or that we don’t get thanked. We like to see people doing good. I wish we would celebrate the good a little more regularly.
This past Friday, I couldn’t help but watch some of the TV shows commemorating the events of September 11, 2001. It is easy to get sucked right back into the tragedy of that day. But I spent some time Friday watching shows about the heroes of that day. Some who lost their lives, some who didn’t. Of course, there were countless police officers and fire-fighters who gave their lives trying to save others. There are also stories of civilians who gave their lives helping others.
Welles Crowther was an investment banker in one of the towers. He reportedly entered and exited the building 3 times urging people to evacuate, carrying injured people, getting people to safety. He gave his life doing good – helping others.
We will probably never be in a situation like that – that sort of “doing good” will probably never come our way. Hopefully. But we can still do good in our own context. So how can we do good?
First, by living out the commandments Jesus gave us. Love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. Of course, that’s difficult. Loving people. Some more so than others. Some people are difficult to love. But it is our calling, it is our job as disciples of Jesus to love as he loved.
Doing good doesn’t have to be something big and grandiose. It can be as simple as being kind to someone – offering a kind word, a smile, a card. Small gestures matter, just as big acts of love matter.
North Wood has opportunities for you to do good. By helping or contributing to our food pantry. We distribute food to families and individuals in need almost every week.
We’re getting ready to help with Room in the Inn in a couple of months. That is a ministry that hosts people who are homeless or do not have adequate shelter during the coldest months of the year. This year we will, again, welcome guests who need a place to stay warm. You can help out by providing food (dinner and breakfast), by staying overnight, by providing transportation, or just visiting with the guests.
You can help with one of the ministries that are just getting started. Providing rides to church for people who cannot drive or have trouble driving. Visiting with our shut-ins or those who are sick.
You can volunteer at the Help Center. They always need people to help distribute food and clothing. Or to sort items that are donated.
There are countless ways you can do good. It is in your control. Living life in a way that does good. Rueben Job wrote, “My desire to do good is in response to God’s invitation to follow Jesus, and it is in my control.”[15]
This week, look for opportunities to do good. Look for ways you can actively live in God’s love. It may be small it may be huge. But watch and you will find our chance to do good.




[1] United Methodist Book of Discipline, 2012; ¶104, p. 76
[2] New Revised Standard Version, 1989
[3] Acts 10:38 – Common English Bible, 2011
[4] 3 John 11 – CEB
[6] Matthew 25:35-56, 40
[7] Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living; Rueben P. Job; loc. 310
[8] Ibid., loc. 317
[9] Ibid. loc. 323
[10] Ibid. loc. 361
[11] Ibid. loc. 298
[12] Luke 6:27-28
[13] Luke 6:32
[14] Luke 6:35
[15] Job, loc. 342

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