Today we get the final set of instructions from Jesus to the apostles – to us – before they (we) go out on their (our) mission to proclaim, cure, cleanse, and raise. These instructions started two weeks ago when Jesus said to take no gold or silver or two tunics. They go on to warn about being dragged before authorities and to not be afraid of all that happens because of your proclamations. Those instructions end on a relatively happy note today with Jesus talking about welcome and rewards.
On the one hand, Jesus is talking about those who welcome the apostles – “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me . . .” He's basically saying that anyone who welcomes the apostles is opening themselves up to receiving the presence of God. But also embedded in this statement is that Christ can be found in all people – welcoming people means welcoming Christ. And that has implications for not only how we are welcomed by others, but by how others are welcomed by us.
“Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness'.”
Humans were made in the likeness of God. That means every human – black, brown, white, male, female, native, foreigner, old, young, and everything in-between – bears the imago dei, the image of God. For us, that means we need to remember that when we welcome someone into our midst we are welcoming Christ into our midst. More than anyone else, we should remember this and welcome people as if we would welcome Christ himself.
Jesus closes out these travel instructions by saying whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones will not lose their reward. There's a long tradition in the Church that Jesus isn't talking about children, but that “little ones” refers to those who are new to the faith. That could be new converts or people exploring and testing. The cup of cold water symbolizes the very least of what a person can give to someone in need. The implication isn't to give the absolute minimum, but that everyone can at least give something small. Kind of like our collection baskets for the Food Pantry. None of us are being asked to supply vast amounts of hygiene products, but you are being reminded that everyone can supply at least one hygiene item every time you go grocery shopping.
This bit about giving cold water also foreshadows Chapter 25 where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. In that final judgment the verdict from Christ rests on whatever you did or did not do the the least of these you did or did not do to Christ himself. Despite what some people may say and preach, we will not lose our reward by showing hospitality and welcome to people – even those whom society identifies as being outside the bounds of receiving hospitality.
All of this welcoming, however, is only the middle point of something much larger. It's also the easiest thing we can do. After all, how hard is it to welcome someone new to Saint Luke's? How hard is it to smile, say, “We're glad you're here,” help them find their way through the red book, blue book, and black book, and when to stand up, sit down, fight fight fight? That's the least we can do. That's a cup of cold water given to a little one. It's more difficult to do the other things.
We are apostles of Christ. We are called to proclaim, cleanse, cure, and raise. As I've been saying, we do those things through invitation. We aren't here to berate people or hit them over the head with our big, floppy prayer books. We aren't here to tell them what sorts of miserable sinners they are and they had better get their lives straightened out with Jesus.
We are here to invite them into a new way of being. We are here to eat and be with those whom society dubs sinners. We are here to share our story and invite them to join us on this journey. Doing that requires that we know our stories. We need to know our story of how we got here and why we stay. We need to be ready to show people a new way of being. And that new way is first proclaimed through invitation.
After the invitation comes the welcome. We invite people into our midst and then we welcome them when they accept that invitation. That welcome is honest, heartfelt, and not tied to drafting them to teach Sunday school or serve on the Reception Committee for ever and ever amen.
The last part of this scenario is connection. How do we connect with people in such a way as to make them part of this place? Because it's connection that will lead to people staying. Opportunities to learn about the parish, the Church, scripture, and the faith are critical. Not only must those opportunities exist, but those already part of this must be willing to participate. Having an outreach which the parish supports is also important because “church” is more than about us. Jesus didn't only eat with his twelve disciples, he ate with outsiders in an attempt to connect with them.
Connecting with people also entails learning about them – their likes, dislikes, history, and the rest. And then inviting them to participate more deeply or inviting them to be part of a team.
Using our time together to connect with each other helps bind us together. Last week I asked you to begin sharing stories of your faith. This was to help you develop your TED Talk so when the opportunity presents itself you'll be ready. It's also to help you feel comfortable in both asking and answering questions about faith. These stories are the glue that binds us together.
Finally, how do we connect with others already here Monday through Friday? Do we call on people if they've missed a Sunday or two? Do we invite church people to personal events? Connecting might be the most difficult of these three aspects because connecting with people, even people we know, asks us to open up, be vulnerable, and take risks.
We are apostles of Christ. We have been called to proclaim, cleanse, cure, and raise. We have been called to invite people into a new way of being. We have been called to welcome people into our midst as if we were welcoming Christ himself. And we have been called to connect with people in ways that bind all of us together just as our individual body parts are bound together in one body.
To borrow a famous quote, “Nothing worth having comes easy.” If this place and this faith is worth having, then we need to work at it. We need to do the work of inviting, welcoming, and connecting. We need to remember that we are apostles of Christ and we have been sent to proclaim, cleanse, cure, and raise. And we need to not be afraid.
So go forth from here, knowing you have been sent out by Christ to offer cups of water to a thirsty world that desperately needs a drink.
Amen.
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