6^th Sabbath in Easter

April 25/27, 2008

Victor H. Nixon

DOING WHAT IS GOOD

1 Peter 3:13-22

Easter Sermon Series: Living Stones

Today’s sermon continues the Easter sermon series, "Living Stones," based upon the pastoral epistle of First Peter about the church. Peter’s encouraging letter was addressed to those who struggled to be faithful in an anti-Christian culture. Hence, much here is applicable to you and to me.

+

Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church is fortunate in many respects. Two of our greatest blessings are Kenneth and Elaine Hicks. Bishop Hicks, a retired former bishop of Arkansas, once gave me a little plaque with an engraved quotation from John Wesley, founder of Methodism:

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can,

In so many ways Bishop Hicks and Elaine embody that Wesleyan quote and inspire others to do good.

John Wesley believed and practiced the biblical admonition that genuine faith results in good works.(1 Tim. 6:18) In addition to preaching, teaching and writing, Wesley visited those in prison and was involved in prison reform, established schools and colleges, provided medical treatment and dabbled in medical research, among other good works.

As ecclesiastical children of Wesley, we have a great heritage of Methodist good works throughout the world, as witnessed by numerous colleges, universities and medical facilities founded and supported all over the world, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) that is always there when disaster strikes anywhere in the world, including Arkansas recently.

Our church is synonymous with faith and good works. Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church has a monthly mission offering to support good works, local and world-wide, everything from Methodist Children’s Home to Student Scholarships. Next month we send a medical mission team to Guatemala. Today we’ll hear a mission moment about a ministry for foster children. We are big on good works!

The lesson for today from 1 Peter exhorts believers to do good. "Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good?"(3:13). Reflecting upon the self-serving, revengeful frequently violent world in which we live, few would disagree that more people are needed who are eager to do good, that is, to make a difference for good in this life.

I witnessed people eager to do good yesterday on a field where Miracle League Baseballs teams were playing. Miracle League is for physically and mentally challenged kids. They have their own Miracle Field at Junior Deputy Park. Director Peggy McCall, a member of our congregation, invited me over to participate and be a buddy for one of the kids. Everyone was having a great time, including children, youth and adults who were assisting and families who were in the stands. Everyone played and every team won. It was inspiring and joyful. A slogan on the back of one coach’s shirt read, "Miracle League is about more than baseball." It certainly is. It’s about people eager to do good.

Writing to early Christians being scorned and verbally abused for their faith, 1 Peter encourages them, "Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but on the contrary, repay with a blessing" (3:9). Christians are called to do good even when being mistreated. That’s the hard part in this teaching. It also epitomizes the way Jesus lived.

The antithesis to that principal is played out in the Middle East and elsewhere, in our city streets and homes, and in the daily news. Injury, abuse, killing and violence abound in one form or another because, for the most part, we don’t really believe that doing good is the appropriate response to doing bad. We usually reciprocate in kind. Someone hits you, you hit back, you get even, or you tell your parents or teacher or President or Congress and they do it for you.

The distinguishing characteristic of Christians is not only that they believe in Jesus Christ but they also attempt to follow him, that is, to imitate his teaching and action. He never advocated reciprocating in kind, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," but taught non-resistance, turning the other cheek, going the second mile (Matt. 5:38-41). Revenge, getting even, is not our ethic; goodness is our ethic.

And that doesn’t mean being a doormat for malicious people to step on. It doesn’t mean going easy on those who commit crime, but actively engaging them in a positive way. As Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven"(Matt.5:44-45). Don’t let others who mistreat you determine how you will act toward them. Let the example of Christ determine your response. Do good, regardless!

What is this good that we should eagerly to do? Doing good means doing right—the literal meaning of our text in 1 Peter 3:13. It means reacting to accusers with gentleness and reverence. It means right conduct and moral behavior, even though others around us are behaving differently. It means seeking justice for the abused. It means having a clear conscience.(3:16, 21) It means remembering the good that Jesus did and suffered for us. It means remembering your baptism, the good that God has done for you.

Doing good means following Jesus as our model. He reached out particularly to those in need with good works that included feeding the hungry, healing the sick of body, mind and heart, reconciling the alienated and marginated people of his day. Jesus went about doing good in his society. Peter exhorts us to do good in our own society.

I’ve noticed that there seem to be more people than usual begging along city streets. I admit, I’m a soft touch for such people, and I’m sure it shows that I have difficulty passing them by. I think the trick is to keep your eyes down on the pavement, keep walking or driving, and don’t respond. I tried that recently but one person persisted in walking along beside me, talking to me, till finally I looked up at him. He stared at me and asked, "Do you think that I enjoy begging? I hate begging for money." I thought to myself, "I know. I beg the church for money all the time—and I hate it." I could see the hunger in his eyes, hear the desperation in his voice. He seemed sincere. I pressed some bills into his hand, hoping that he would use the money wisely and said, "God bless you." He thanked me and disappeared in the night.

Christ challenges us to do good. Many of you do good through your contributions, community service, and personal ministries. Your efforts make a difference to others and to you. If you haven’t done so, I challenge you to find some volunteer activity, some project from which you receive no personal benefit other than satisfaction, some endeavor that makes a difference for good in the larger human community. Perhaps it involves cleaning up the environment or the neighborhood, tutoring children, serving on a committee to improve the economy, helping mothers and fathers become better parents, reading to a homebound person or a pre-school child, spending the night here at the church with a homeless family, or a thousand other things. There are so many ways that you can make a difference for good. Do something good, run the risk of being called a "do-gooder," and I promise you that good will come to you.

Jesus reminded us that no one is good but God alone. Indeed, we all fall short. We cannot be saved by our good works alone. We need God’s grace. The good news is that God is good. Through God’s good grace we are transformed and become a force for good for Christ in our families, church and community.

I believe that without people of faith willing to stand up for what is right and good and decent, the world seems to go to hell in a hand basket. If you sell out Christian ethical standards for promotion or personal gain or pressure from peers, then you are not a force for good in this world.

Where people of faith model Christian morality in homes and jobs and relationships the quality of life improves, persons are treated more fairly and valued more highly. If you do what is right, regardless of cost, you may not always be the most popular but you will be respected and you will be a force for good in human life.

Indeed, God is good—all the time! All the time—God is good! Thanks be to God. Amen.