Going About

As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:36-38 ESV). For the most part my days are relatively the same schedule. It hasn’t always been like that for me. There were times when each day was filled with adjustments. Most of them came as a result of some crisis that would unexpectedly erupt. Those were the most challenging times of the ministry. I have vivid memories of those phone calls from my secretary, Barbara, saying, “Pastor, you need to be at the hospital right away.” I was fortunate to have such a wonderful assistant for so many years. She made sure I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there. However, those were not always the most rewarding of times. There were other times when I was merely doing the next thing on the schedule. It might have been some meeting or appointment; it could have been nothing more than going to lunch at the local hangout of that day with some high school students or a member of the church. One of those places was “Annie’s.” Annie was a wonderful Asian lady who made the best food from a small kitchen in the corner drug store on the square. There were only a handful of tables and it was always packed with students on their lunch break. It was one of my regular weekly stops. Annie never allowed me to pay for my meal; though I always went by the cash register and stuffed some money in it before I left. She would say as I was walking out that was not necessary, but it was. Did Annie need the money? I really don’t know. Did she deserve the money? Of course she did. The big issue was it was right to do. It set an example of doing good for the others who were there and conveyed a blessing to this wonderful lady. This is the example we see in Peter’s sermon from our reading; Jesus “went about doing good.” Someone once said, “The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.” I like that; it’s a great reminder. Most of us will fill our days with relatively mundane and ordinary tasks. We will simply be doing the next thing on the schedule. It is those times when so much good can done in the lives of those we interact with. It may a simple act of kindness, or a gentle word of appreciation. All of these things are so important to both others and us. The good deeds we do today may be forgotten tomorrow, but they then give way to the new good deeds of today. Go about doing good to all!