Rewards for Actions (July 2, 2023) Matthew 10. 40-42

Like most people, I like rewards. They are nice. It is good to have something to work toward when the task is long and somewhat difficult. Take my training in seminary for instance. I took five years of classes on Saturdays. They were not always easy. In fact, most of them were difficult and taxed the mind and sometimes the spirit. But I wanted the reward that came with the hard work. And five years ago, this past Friday, I received that reward in being awarded the Master of Divinity degree. It was an exhilarating experience and one that I have not forgotten.

I still like rewards, though today they may be a bit different. Sure, there are the ones that come with the hard work that I put in like the feeling of a job well done when I do a good sermon or a bible study in which those listening learn something new. But some of the rewards are a little, let’s say, less taxing. You might have experienced those rewards yourself. What I am talking about are gas rewards.

These are rewards that one gets when one shops at any number of grocery stores for several gas stations. For every certain amount one spends, one earns five cents in rewards to go toward a purchase at the pump. It can even go up to a dollar for some. Now some of these rewards can expire so one has to be careful and use them in a timely manner. But use them we do. Now, it does not matter what car you use them on. You can use them on a hot rod, a Camaro, a minivan, a sedan, or even an old clunker. It does not matter. The rewards are there to be used and they can be used on any vehicle.

You may be wondering what gas rewards has to do with today’s text. I would wonder the same thing. But there is a meaning to the rewards.

Jesus has been telling his disciples whom he is sending out to the world what their mission is to be. They are to go out and tell the world that the one who they were waiting for, the Messiah, was now here and the long-awaited kingdom was coming near.

Along with this message that they were to proclaim, Jesus tells them that there will be trouble. They will be persecuted for the sake of the message. There will be those for whom the message does not bring hope, but rather a time of distrust and uncomfortableness. And even families will be divided and stand against those who follow the new teaching that is brought. It makes one wonder how the disciples felt about all of this as they are getting ready to be sent out into this harsh environment.

But then Jesus turns positive. He says that whoever welcomes a disciple welcomes him and the one who sent him, who would be God. This is a welcome relief. The disciples do not have to cling to their own authority, but rather to the one who sent them. This would be akin to an ambassador to another country. That ambassador does not represent only themselves, rather they represent the country. What the country does is reflected on the ambassador who is in a foreign land. Jesus is telling those with him that they represent Jesus and God and that whoever welcomes them (the disciples) is also welcoming Jesus and God.

Then Matthew switches gears on us a bit. Instead of Jesus speaking to the disciples who were to be sent out, Jesus turns to those disciples who are listening the story being told, those who follow the teaching of Jesus long after his time on earth.

They are told that “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…”[1]The prophet and the righteous speak of those disciples who are itinerant missionaries. They are the ones who are bringing the message, the ones who do not stay long in the place where they are proclaiming. But those listening know who they are, and they know that they are to listen to them. They are now told that if they welcome such a one, they will receive a reward for what they do. We are not told what the reward will be, but it is known from the discussion of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer that what is done in secret or without a lot of hoopla will be rewarded. The disciple who comes in the name of Jesus, again, represents Jesus and God. They are their messengers and the ones who will be sending the Message.

Finally, Jesus again speaks to those listening. He says that whoever gives a cup of cold water to “one of these little ones” will not lose a reward. A cup of cold water. How refreshing that can be. When one is hot and thirsty, when one has been walking or working for a long time, when one is parched, how far a cup of cold water can go. This was for those who came in the name of a disciple or, as some have put it, a disciple. The cup of cold water was only what some could give those who had been traveling and who were at the end of their travels. It showed hospitality to those who were from a different place than the village to which they came. And hospitality was a BIG thing in the Ancient Near East. It still is today. In fact, many home keep meals in their freezers for those “unexpected guest” that might show up and require hospitality shown to them. The cup of cold water would have shown that even the poor, those who could not offer a meal or a room, could and would offer some form of hospitality. And doing this to the “little ones” will be shown again in the Gospel in the parable of the sheep and the goats. Those who offer the cup of water will not lose that reward. Because when they give a cup of cold water to the one who is in their midst, they are giving it to Jesus and God even though they do not know it.

Rewards are what we look forward to. When we do a good job, we expect a reward. Sometimes those rewards are tangible and other times they are not. Sometimes it is in the form of bonus, a trophy or something else that we can see and display. Other times a reward comes in the form of word of thanks or a pat on the back. It can come in the look of gratitude that comes from one of these “little ones.” No matter what form it comes in, a reward is what we really want. Jesus does not tell us what form of reward we get when we show hospitality to those who are ones in need of it. He only says that we will have a reward. But what if we have a reward that changes us into new being from showing hospitality to those who are in need?

The fifth Great End of the Church is the Promotion of the Social Righteousness. In this great end we are called to reach out to the “little ones”, the least of these as Jesus calls them in the later parable. In the study that we had on Wednesday nights we heard how several churches were doing social righteousness. Some were reaching out to schools and helping kids with homework. Some had a soup kitchen and working with a local rehab center. No matter what they were doing, those who were doing the task said that they came away changed by meeting with people, not on the terms of those showing the hospitality where they controlled the narrative, but meeting the people where they were, be that homeless, addicted or wherever they might be at the time.

We are called to do the same as those churches. Yes, those churches were large and can afford to do those programs. Yes, they meet the needs of cities and not a small town. But we can reach out to those who are prophets, righteous and the “little ones.” We can offer a cup of cold water by filling the blessing box, by donating to Pilot Outreach, by helping the homeless in our area by discovering what they need and filling that need. We can go out and tell our community the good news and show that we represent the one who sent us. What are we doing? What can we do? The questions are many and the harvest is ready. Let us be the workers who go and do the work of God and who give a cup of cold water. Let us refresh one another and those who are in need. For then we will have our reward. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.