June 28, 2020 – Matthew 10:40-42
Matthew 10:40-42
A Cup of Cold Water
Lectionary 13A – June 28, 2020
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
I am part of a National Church committee that published a document last year called,
“Reimagining our Church.”
A foundational assumption of the document is that the church exists for the sake of
God’s loving mission to love, bless, heal, feed and set free this whole world and
every person in it.
At one point, we state:
The mission of God is to create loving communities through which each and every part of creation is loved and valued. And the church’s mission is to participate in God’s mission.
Take a moment to linger over those two sentences.
God’s purpose is to create loving communities through which each and every part of creation
is loved and valued.
And our purpose as the church is simply to participate in that purpose.
To be in mission is to be sent out with a purpose; the word “mission” simply means “sent.”
We are in a part of Matthew’s Gospel in which
Jesus is sending his disciples out in order to extend his ministry.
We have been reading consecutively from this chapter in Matthew for the last few weeks.
So we know that Jesus is sending the disciples to do as he has done:
to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.
(Matthew 10:7-8)
In other words, to participate with Jesus in bringing God’s reign of restoration and healing near.
Or, in the words of “Reimagining our Church”:
our purpose is to participate in creating loving communities through which
each and every part of creation is loved and valued.
That is what Jesus sends us to do, sending labourers to harvest healing and justice.
As we discovered in previous weeks,
Jesus tells the disciples at the same time what they can expect
when they follow his instructions.
It will not be easy.
They can expect resistance and hostility.
They can expect trials and difficulties.
They can expect rejection and division within families.
But, he says today, they can expect some positive things as well.
They will find fellow travelers.
They will find those who will support them.
They will find those who will encourage them and feed them and support them.
They will not find rejection only: they will also find welcome.
They will never be alone in this work they are sent to do.
At first glance, today’s passage is short and seemingly without much substance.
As noted in the devotion yesterday, it does for sure contain a powerful word: “welcome.”
And that is not insignificant.
But what else is there to this passage?
The key is in thinking about verses 41 and 42 and what they mean.
Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.
It says the same of a “righteous person,” perhaps a synonym for “prophet” or “disciple.”
And then it says the same thing again about the “little one,” possibly meaning a
person “young in faith” or new to the community and mission:
whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones
will receive the same reward as the rest.
Isn’t that interesting?
Jesus is saying that those on the “front lines” of the work receive the same reward as
those who support them in that work.
There is no “this person is more important than that person” in this mission.
There is no sense of “this person is doing the real work of Jesus while this other person isn’t.”
This is about the recognition that every single person has a role to play in the mission of God.
It takes an entire community of people with all their varied gifts and abilities to
properly extend Jesus’ ministry.
As I have said before, there are the people on the “front lines,”
then there are the “behind the scenes” people,
and finally there are the “behind the behind the scenes” people.
All have different gifts and abilities and interests and
no one’s role is more important than another’s.
And the ministry of welcome and hospitality in all this is absolutely essential.
This passage is primarily about the support people within the church community
provide one another as they engage in the difficult task of heeding Jesus’ instructions.
This is about the safe haven community can provide as we live Christian lives in the world:
at food banks, in our homes, in our workplaces, in our schools, with refugees and
immigrants and new Canadians, and in our communities.
We are called to be Jesus’ agents of manna-sharing and mercy-giving in all these spheres,
and often that is not easy.
Sometimes we encounter resistance, and sometimes it is just a lot of work.
And providing the hospitality and welcome within the community is also a lot of work!
All of us, no matter what our role,
need the support and nurture our beautiful community provides.
But friends, in our current context, this is a time I am really missing that support.
And I know many of you are, too.
We are all continuing to heed Jesus’ call in all the areas named above.
Our congregation is also continuing its ministry every single day.
Many of you are heeding Jesus’ call as workers and parents and grandparents and volunteers.
Indeed, in the face COVID-19 and isolation and racial tensions we are all continuing to
engage in the work Jesus sends us to do.
But we are all missing the support our gathered community provides.
I know I am.
Many of us are connecting in new and consistent ways and supporting each other that way.
The phone tree has been a wonderful experience for me with my two “FLC phone buddies”
I connect with every week.
I have enjoyed phone calls and text messages and emails with many of you.
But I would trade it all for receiving a cup of cold water from one of your hands any day.
There is something about looking someone in the eye and giving them a cup of cold water,
or a piece of bread, or a cup of wine and hearing the words:
This is for you. Keep going.
There is something about a word of welcome or greeting after
we have not seen one another in a while.
There is something about saying and hearing the words
“Peace – shalom, health, safety, well-being – be with you” accompanied by
a hug or handshake that is irreplaceable.
It’s tough to be a loving community through which
each and every part of creation is loved and valued when you can’t meet together.
Nevertheless, we are doing our best – and we will carry on.
We will make the most of this time.
As staff we will continue to nurture your faith and communicate the good news to you
through devotions all summer long –
with Melinda and Carolyn doing the heavy lifting so I can have a break!
Those of you who have been following the daily devotions will know by now that
this has been a deep source of learning and spirituality for you.
It is a significant way we can continue to support you in your journey and we are committed to it.
This, though, will be the last sermon you receive from me for the summer months.
We will all look forward to a day when we can meet together again – sooner, hopefully,
rather than later.
But our priority is keeping everyone – every single person in our community – safe
while still nurturing faith and community in the best way we can.
And when we come through this,
we will continue to need every single person in order to be the community
Jesus is calling us to be, and to participate in the Triune God’s mission to
create loving communities through which
each and every part of creation is loved and valued.
May the LORD bless and keep you all.
May the LORD’s face shine on you all with grace and mercy.
May the LORD look on you all with favour, and grant you peace. Amen
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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