6-28-26 Gospel: Matthew 10:40-42
[Jesus said to the twelve:] 40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
May the grace and peace from God, be passed along through you. Amen
Over the past two weeks we have heard how the mission of Jesus was to be continued by the disciples as they go out among the people. They are to proclaim the gospel through their words and deeds. Yet that message would not always be received with acceptance. Afterall there would be a challenge inherent in their words, it would be a demand to those listeners to get their priorities in order. There is a foundational assumption at the base of all Jesus’ teachings, concerning one’s priorities. We heard it laid out clearly when: An expert in the law, once asked Jesus a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:35-40) As we fear, love, and trust God above all else, we are then freed to open ourselves up to others. That is where all this talk of the need for welcoming comes into play. Welcoming is not only saying Hi, glad to have you here! It is opening one’s self to connecting with them, willingly involving yourself with them.
We perhaps know welcoming best from the other side. To be welcomed is to feel as if you belong as if you are wanted. To be welcomed is the first step of becoming attached. It may be a connection as with friends, it may be with a common purpose or mission. You can understand why this is essential when you realize what it is which Jesus has in mind for us. He calls us to follow him, as he called those first disciples. He knew firsthand it would not be an easy assignment.
There was a true story told on NPR’s Morning Edition in 2008, but it could happen at any time. It is a daring account of offering a welcome.
Julio Diaz, a 31 year old social worker, was heading home to the Bronz. As he got off the subway, a teenager, wielding a knife, demanded his wallet; Julio immediately handed it over. As the teen began to walk away, Julio said, “Hey, wait a minute. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.” The kid stopped in his tracks. “Why are you doing this?”
“If you are willing to risk your freedom for a few bucks, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you want to join me - hey, you’re more than welcome.”
Julio and his mugger went into Julio’s favorite diner and got a booth. The manager, the dishwasher the waiters and waitresses all stopped by and said hi. “You know everybody here. Do you own this place?” the teen asked. “No, I just eat here a lot.”
“But you’re even nice to the dishwasher.” “Well, haven’t you been taught to be nice to everybody?” Julio asked his assailant.
“Yeh, but I didn’t think people actually behaved that way.” So began a long conversation between Julio and the teen about hope and working for one’s dream. When the bill came, Julio told his mugger, “Look, I guess you’re going to have to pay the bill ‘cause you have my money.” The kid handed back the wallet without a second thought. Julio paid and even gave the teenager a 20. Julio did ask for something - the knife - which the teen gave to him.
Julio later said of the encounter: “I figure, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they will treat you right. It’s as simple as it gets in this complicated world.”
To imitate the love of Christ is to see Christ in one another. It is to serve Christ in one another, and to welcome Christ in one another. To imitate Jesus is to take up the cross and demonstrate what it means: unconditional forgiveness, an emptying of ourselves of our own wants and comfort for the sake of another, the spurning of safety and convention to do what is right and just. We are to seek every opportunity to use our talents, devoting the resources at our disposal to make the love of God real in each life we touch. (Connections June 2008)
You may not be as daring as Julio, that’s okay. You can find other ways to welcome. Remember what Jesus has said to his disciples: Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. As those who follow Jesus, who are doing the work of Christ, are welcomed, so Jesus is welcomed and not only Jesus but the One who sent him - the Father. All are interconnected, by the welcome. Jesus and the Father are welcomed as you are welcomed, when you are doing His work, His will. And when you are doing the welcoming, it also gets passed along, bringing that connection to God and His Christ to the one receiving that welcome from you.
That is where the reference to the reward,(not an earned prize but a free gift) that is passed along, comes into being. The reward of the prophet, the reward of the righteous, is entry into the kingdom of God. One receives the benefit of listening to the prophet’s word which is the message from God. Or one receives the benefit of the example of godly living that one can copy from the righteous. The reward is inclusion, an enduring welcome that brings one into the very kingdom of God. The giving of that cup of cold water, going out of your way and out of your comfort zone, to pay attention and provide for that lowly one, the one who has no status and will not make you a celebrity, is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. That is the very way Jesus has reached out and then offers to you a grace-filled welcome.