A text – Matthew 10:40-42
10:40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
10:41 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;
10:42 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.”
A reflection:
In Matthew 10, Jesus is preparing his disciples to go out and proclaim the Kingdom of God everywhere. They did this during their three years with Jesus and of course they did it after Jesus’s death and resurrection.
He has warned them that they won’t always be welcomed, and in fact that their own families and friends might rebuke them for living the life of a prophet or a righteous person, pointing the way to a solid relationship with God. Verse 40 is directed at his disciples: Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me – God the Father, Creator of the universe.
Verses 41 and 42 are spoken to the disciples, but are aimed at those overhearing this teaching, for Jesus wants the whole world to know the following things:
- Whoever welcomes a prophet or a righteous person will receive a reward from God, who loves that prophet and that righteous person.
- Whoever is kind or generous to the disciples will receive a reward from God.
Jesus wants his sent-out ones to know that, although they may face perils, those who step up to welcome them will be rewarded. God has their backs and the backs of anyone who steps up to welcome them.
Our churches are like Jesus’s disciples. We have a mission to proclaim the Kingdom of the Lord and to be evidence of that Kingdom on earth. We are to embody the love of God to the people God loves like children. And those who are good to us will be rewarded by God, the Creator of the universe. These words were meant to embolden the disciples, and they should also embolden our congregations to step out in mission, knowing that God sees how we are received and rewards those who are kind to us.
Let us take a chance this week and boldly step out to be disciples of Jesus, partly because it is our job to do so, but partly so that those who welcome us in that work may receive their blessing as well.
A prayer:
Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us a job. Thank you for asking us to embody your kingdom on earth. Help us to boldly do that job, and help others to welcome us and gain their reward from you. Amen.
Short Dwellings in the Word by Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison 