Sermon for Lectionary 13 A/ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost

Sermon

Text: Matthew 10:40-42

I spent 3 Spring Breaks while at Iowa State for Undergrad going to Virginia or Ohio for service projects. The first year we went to the westerly tip of Virginia with a organization called Appalachia Service Project. We spend our time there working on fixing up homes in the area. Appalachia is one of the poorest areas of the US, and so it felt really rewarding to go in and do something that we knew made a difference. The next year we went through a different group called Jackson Area Ministries, which worked in Jackson county Ohio, in the very south tip of the state, right on the edge of Appalachia. It was very similar to Appalachia Service Project, but closer, so we decided to come back to the same place the next year. But, it was different the second time. We spent most of the time working on an old school they were turning into a community center. The big task we were assigned to was moving stuff, literally stuff and junk, from classrooms into the gym so they could redo the classrooms, and then moving some stuff and junk back into the classrooms. It felt like a complete waste of time. We wondered out loud every evening why we were doing this, shouldn't we be doing something important? Instead of just moving this stuff, we should just throw it away. About the 3rd evening or so of this, my campus pastor, Fritz, piped up and asked us, why were we there? Were we there to do stuff? Or were we there to be with people?

I was reminded of this story while reading this weeks gospel lesson and the chapter leading up to it. This is the last section of what is called the Missionary Discourse of Jesus. It is the chapter where Jesus decides to send the disciples out into the surrounding area on their own. He gives them lengthy instructions on how they are to travel and live.

Matthew 10:9-10 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff;

Matthew 10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.

Jesus finishes with this section. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” After all these instructions Jesus gives the true message of what he is sending them out to do. To be welcomed, and to welcome. It could also be translated as to be received, and to receive. And Jesus expands, talking of welcoming a prophet gives a prophets reward. I found an interesting insight by the theologian Brian Stoffregen, he thinks that the rewards should be thought of differently than we normally think of them. We think, we do this so we get a reward, the reward is eternal life. But, he states the Greek suggest differently. We already have eternal life. The phrase prophet's reward should be the reward of a prophet, and is interpreted as the reward of having the prophet's presence. And connecting back to Jesus' first words having the prophet's presence gives us the presence of Jesus, and the Father.

This whole discourse tells us that we are called to welcome those around us. We are called to receive those around us. Not so that we can do enough good deeds to get to heaven, we have already received that through Christ's death, but we welcome and receive so we can more fully experience Christ's presence in our life. That is our reward, the life-nurturing relationship of Jesus Christ. Stoffregen says,

The welcomer is blessed with the presence of the prophet and/or the righteous person. The non-welcomer misses out on the reward of their presence. Given that welcoming "you" in v. 40 was the same as welcoming Christ, it could be suggested that welcoming a prophet or righteous person brings the reward of the presence of Christ through their words and deeds. Can we say that if we want Christ in our presence, we need to welcome his representatives? (Conversely, we who are believers, need to see ourselves as being the presence of Christ to those who welcome us.)

That last line brings me back to my initial story. In my trip, we students all felt that they needed to do something. That the reward these people were receiving was us fixing their homes, or their school. But, the reward was us being present with them, showing them the love of Christ through our actions. Showing them that we cared enough about them to show up.

Another story. In 2009 I was on internship and I had the joy of going to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering with the youth group from the church. This gathering was different than previous gatherings. On those there would be a service component, but it was always before or after the main gathering. So if you wanted to help you had to come early, or stay late, and most did not. This gathering had a primary service focus so the service projects were in the midst of the week itself. Some had heavy working projects, cleaning debris, pulling weeds etc. We went to a school and painted some benches, swept the sidewalks for a while. Then 6 or 7 day camps from the area all gathered in the gym, and we played with them for an hour or so. It was a Friday, and they gather like this every Friday and they put on performances for each other. They put a song on, have choreography, man they had choreography. There were some 4 year old kids with more moves than I will ever have. There were props and they were all involved. Then at the end they gave us cups with their logo and we spent an hour running around the gym throwing the cups like footballs to each other playing keep away with the kids.

It was wondrous and I will never forget it.

What was the mission we accomplished that day? Was it the benches we painted? The sidewalks we cleared? Or spending time with those kids, showing that they have not been forgotten, and we value them for who they are and Christ in them.

The mission of that time, and the mission of all times is to be with people. For that is when Christ is present to us most fully. In the laughter of Children, and even the laughter of adults. The importance of welcoming is that nothing about welcoming is doing, it is all being.

People of Immanuel, go out and be.

Let us pray,

God of welcome, bring us to you, show us that we matter, and send us out to welcome, and send us out to receive. But also send us out to be welcomed showing your presence, send us to be received, receiving your presence. Send us out to be, to understand that is what matters, the daring, caring act of being present in someone's life, as you were, and are, present in our lives.

Amen