No Good Deed Goes Unpunished     EP4c‑04   January 28, 2007  

In our gospel reading, Jesus is at his hometown synagogue. Jesus was already well known, and all the people from his hometown were anxious to hear him teach in the synagogue. Perhaps the folks in Nazareth expected he would do some of the healing and miracles they heard he did up in Capernaum. All eyes watched his as he read from their holy scroll, from the book of Isaiah. It said, “I have come to bring good news to the poor,” and so on. Then he said, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

At first, the congregation was delighted. “This one of our own, Joseph's son. Isn't he wonderful!” But when they heard the rest of what he said, quickly their delight turned to rage when the heard the rest of what Jesus said. They suddenly became a lynch mob. They want to through him off a cliff. What did he say or do to deserve that?

“There were many widows in Israel," Jesus said, "but  Elijah the prophet was sent to a widow in the land of (far away) Sidon." "There were many lepers in Israel, but Elisha cleansed only Naaman the Syrian." Way back then, the Jews considered the Sidon a foreign country, and the Syrians as a despised enemy. Jesus was saying that God doesn’t play favorites, and neither would he.. The episode ends with these people from his own synagogue shouting, "kill him, kill him," trying to throw him over a cliff. But Jesus managed to escape.

This is a pattern in the story of Jesus. Jesus offered healing and redemption to all people. He never asked if they deserved it, he just helped them. He told them about Gods kingdom, which gives faithful people hope for the future. Wherever he went, he healed people and fed the hungry, and brought the good news of God’s kingdom to all. But in the end, his own people wanted to kill him. The Jewish authorities said that his idea of God’s kingdom was a lie, and charged him with blasphemy. For all the good deeds Jesus did, his own people punished him.

Did you ever hear the saying, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished? I first heard it from a friend, Pastor David Jones. Pastor said that in his visit to Disney World, (of all places!) He was in a line of about 100 people waiting for a ride, when he heard “Remember, no good deed goes unpunished,” booming from a loudspeaker. David was astonished because the man with the loudspeaker was an elderly African American, who was beaming from ear to ear as he said it. Then he finished by saying, “Those who care to, go home and feast of that statement for a while.”

Is it true? I heard it again at a seminar I attended. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. The context of that statement is that whenever you even try to help people there is a natural resistance and opposition from those we are trying to help, and those who are in our own hometown. Consider again the words, “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.”  

I tested it with the scriptures. The prophets often faced punishment and abuse. Moses was treated horribly by the people. He the way the people revolted against him and even against God. While God was giving Moses the Ten Commandments up on the holy mountain, the people began to worship a god of fertility and abundance. When Moses came down the mountain, he was angry and smashed the stones upon which God had written the commandments. God was not happy with Moses, and said that for doing that, he himself would never enter the promised land.  Although God continued to bless Moses and the people, Moses paid the price. In this world, no good deed goes unpunished.

Peter and Paul were two faithful apostles. Both did many good deeds. Peter healed several sick people by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul started several churches. But Peter and Paul were both crucified upside down in Rome to make a mockery of the cross of Christ.

Of course today, a punishment awaits good people who are trying to do a good deed. Owning a house is one such deed for which we will get a punishment before we get any reward. Now as many of you know, we’re bought a new house in Cresson, Texas. We also are under contract to sell our house. This is good. It’s a nice house; it’s closer to Marilyn’s university, and I’ll be just 25 minutes from church. I’m looking forward to inviting you all to an open house in the near future. In the process of all of this, I’ve learned a lot from my real estate broker, Charlie.

Charlie told me that some of the builders in this neighborhood near the church offered homes 0% down and a 4.5% interest rate on a 30-year ARM five or six hears ago. Today, interest rates on those ARM’s are more than 6%, so their payment goes up automatically. The price of electricity is about double from five years ago. When they get into any kind of financial bind for any reason, they are falling behind on their house payment.

If they wait till they get a foreclosure notice, the agent has to tell them their house is worth less than they owe, they’re what they call upside down. At that point, there’s nothing else to do but to go into foreclosure. So then all the values go down in the town, and the whole neighborhood gets punished, even though they were doing a good deed. That’s just another example of how sin and injustice punish all of us. No good deed goes unpunished.

But I have good news, too. Jesus also suffered injustice. When he was punished for his good deeds, God gave him, and us the victory of the resurrection. God raised Jesus from the dead. We already have a home waiting for us in His kingdom. Jesus wants us to tell everyone about this special offer. There’s no money down, 0% interest rate, and no payments due. How do we get that kind of a deal? You already have it singed sealed and delivered the day you were baptized.

I know what you’re thinking. There must be a catch somewhere. We have to pay something to own a home in the kingdom. No, it’s already paid and ready for you to take occupancy. All that’s expected is that you will return the love that the Lord gave us. Just live life being thankful, praising God by what we say and do. God ahead, do good deeds. Yes the world will punish us, but God has already given us our reward, a home with Jesus forever.

Amen