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Pastor Karen Crawford, June 29, 2014
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"Pastor Karen Crawford preaching at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Renville, MN June 29, 2014"
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Meditation on Matthew 10:40-11:1
June 29, 2014
***
‘Whoever
welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent
me. 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; 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.’ Now
when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there
to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.
***
As my
son and I stepped off the plane at Detroit airport, grabbed our suitcases from
baggage claim, and rode the escalator to ground transportation, volunteers from
local churches wearing teal vests met us with smiles. Before leading us to an
Indian Trails chartered bus, these members of COLA—the Committee on Local
Arrangements—tied colored ribbons around our luggage handles. Each ribbon corresponded
with the hotel where we were staying for the 8 days of General Assembly.
And
they said, “Welcome to Detroit.”
The warm welcome continued throughout our
denomination’s biennial gathering. We worshipped and celebrated communion daily
with more than a thousand people in the Cobo Convention Center. We enjoyed
delicious meals paid for by the Assembly for all voting commissioners, along
with our hotel and airfare. The welcome helped us persevere through a
challenging, tiring schedule. We stayed up late each night in plenaries or working
on committees charged with responding to requests or “overtures” from
presbyteries and synods. Each request stirred us to seek the Lord and put our
faith into action, interpreting the constitution of the PC (USA).
Every
morning, I got up early, showered and ate breakfast at my hotel before walking the
four blocks to the convention center. And every morning, COLA volunteers
greeted us at the entrance with smiles and offers of assistance. They said,
“Welcome!” and, after the first day, “Welcome back!”
In the evenings, after our work was
finished, we rode back to our hotels on the People Mover, a monorail that
circles the downtown. I walked only a short distance from the closest People
Mover stop to my hotel, thinking about the day’s activities and conversations.
But in that short walk each night, after I had been welcomed, well-fed, and
cared for by my brothers and sisters in the Lord, I passed strangers huddled or
sleeping under sleeping bags in doorways of tall, commercial buildings.
Throughout the city, many of the ornate but empty, boarded-up buildings revealed
the prosperity of the past and the persistent economic problems of the present.
I felt sad and wished that I could help the people without homes and proper
beds to sleep in. I wanted to show the love of Christ to them. But I didn’t
know how I could help them in my situation—without putting myself at risk.
At the same time, I knew that Christ
didn’t worry about his safety when He saw people in need. He gave His all for the
sake of a world that did not love Him in return—so that we who are broken and
sinful may be healed and forgiven. When He calls us to take up our crosses and
follow Him in Matthew 10:38, He is calling the Church to a self-giving ministry
of welcoming and caring for others as if we are welcoming and serving Him.
***
In our gospel reading today, we are nearing
the end of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples before sending them out to do His
work. Back in Matthew 10:7, Christ says, “as you go, proclaim the good news,
‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers, cast out demons.” He sends His
chosen to “towns and villages” not to stand and shout on street corners, but to
go to people’s homes and be with them where they live. This is an intimate,
relational ministry. And the disciples will have to rely on the Spirit, Jesus
says in verse 20, to guide them and speak through them because He won’t be with
them this time. After he finishes instructing them, Jesus goes out on his own
to teach and proclaim his message.
To prepare them for their mission, he
tells them that whatever town or village they enter, they are to “find out who
in it is worthy.” How does one do this
except by relying on the Spirit to lead them?! As they enter a house, they are
to “greet it.” The way one greets in Hebrew is to say, “Shalom!” which is more than just “welcome” or “hello.” “Shalom” means “peace, wholeness,
completeness.” In greeting with shalom,
one offers God’s peace—His loving welcome—a gift we receive by faith. Jesus goes
on in verse 13, “If the house is worthy, let your peace (shalom) come upon
it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace
(shalom) return to you.” The welcome
or lack of it is how the disciples will determine if the house is worthy! Jesus
is warning His disciples that they won’t always be welcomed! People won’t
always want to hear the “good news” of the kingdom—just like they won’t always
want to hear the gospel and follow Christ today. In verse 14, Jesus says, “If
anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words,” move on, “shake off the
dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.”
Christ warns his disciples of the dangers ahead
in verse 16, how they will be persecuted and hated because of him. “See, I am
sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves,” he says, “so be wise as
serpents and innocent as doves.” But they shouldn’t fear. Our loving God, who
knows when one sparrow falls to the ground, is still in control. “Even the hairs
of your head are all counted,” he says in verse 29. “So do not be afraid; you
are of more value than sparrows.”
In today’s passage, beginning at verse 40,
Christ emphasizes the importance of welcoming by using the word “welcome” 6
times in 2 verses! Welcoming connects and reconciles; it brings us into loving
relationship. In the act of
welcoming, we experience unity with human beings and our God who is Three in
One—Father, Spirit and Son. “Whoever welcomes you
welcomes me,” Christ says, “and
whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
Christ calls us specifically to welcome “the prophet”—those who proclaim the Word—and
the “righteous person” –those who live
out their faith. But Christ also speaks of helping people with needs, who may be
outside the church. He urges us to give “even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name
of a disciple.” In our service to the “least of these” as Jesus says in Matthew
25:40, we are serving Him. Mother
Teresa, in her book, Words to Love By,
speaks of encountering Christ in those living in poverty, in those who were
“hungry not only for bread, but hungry for love; naked not only for clothing,
but naked of human dignity and respect; homeless not only for want of a room of
bricks, but homeless because of rejection.” [1]
When the Lord speaks of giving even a “cup
of cold water,” he is encouraging us to be willing to make sacrifices to help
others and show hospitality. Jesus and
his disciples lived in a hot, dry climate without the luxuries of indoor
plumbing and refrigeration; cold water was difficult to come by! Most people
did not have their own wells. “The simple act of giving a cup of cold water”
might require “another arduous trip downhill to the village well to draw up
more cold water for the household.” [2]
Christ makes a promise to the faithful who
welcome His children, especially those in need. They will receive the “reward
of the righteous.” Whoever gives “even a cup of cold water to one of these
little ones in the name of a disciple,” Christ says, “truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
***
Reflecting on my experiences at G.A.—the
first I have ever attended—I can honestly say that I feel better about the
denomination now, though I may not agree with every decision that was made. But that’s part of being a
Presbyterian in a Church of 1.8 million people. We won’t always agree! But we
will find our unity in Christ, if we seek Him together and seek to be followers
of Him. And if we welcome and care for one another as Christ calls us to do.
Seeing G.A. through the lens of our Matthew
scripture about welcoming believers and caring for people in need as if we are
caring for the Lord Himself, I think that our denomination’s greatest witness
to the love of Jesus Christ may perhaps be found not in the debates or votes on
the floor. Our greatest witness may simply be the denomination’s decision to
meet in Detroit, a city in desperate need.
In doing so, the Church provided work for countless people and brought
hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue to area businesses, including the
convention center, airport, hotels, restaurants, shops, gas stations, public
transportation, and tourist attractions such as the zoo and museums.
And I’ll never forget the gentle COLA
volunteers, who really made us feel welcome. Nor will I forget the kindness of
the workers at the Detroit airport, which had the shortest line through
security that I have ever experienced and who didn’t ask to see my I.D. when
they checked my bags at the curb. They didn’t even charge me extra for my suitcase
that exceeded the weight limit by 6 pounds! The man slapped on the orange
“heavy” tag with a smile and said, “Thanks for coming to Detroit! Come back and
see us again!”
And I smiled and answered, “I will!”
Let us pray.
Holy God, our
Three in One, thank you for welcoming us into relationship with You through
faith in Jesus Christ, your Son. Thank you for your love that never holds
back—for always being faithful to your children and meeting our needs. Thank
you for being with us in Detroit and leading us by your Spirit to make
decisions about our Church and our lives of faith. We ask that you continue to
lead our Church to paths of righteousness, keeping us from arguing about things
that serve only to distract us from loving and serving you and loving and
serving our neighbors. Thank you for calling us to a ministry of welcome and
hospitality. Help us to care for one another as if we are caring for
you—because we are! Help us to see Christ in the faces of strangers in need.
Lead us to more sacrificial acts of lovingkindness to the poor. Give us courage
to not just walk by people with great needs, but to stop and help them, to
offer them even a cup of cold water. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
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