No. 05. PART C: "Well Deserved Reward"
Bothwell & Clachan, June 29, 2008
Matthew’s Memories of Jesus - No. 05. Part C: "Well Deserved Reward"
Scripture - Matthew 10:39-42
June 29, 2008
Who’ll Feed the Preacher?[1]
It was 1972. In the Fall of that year would come the historic Hockey Series between Canada and Russia; the one for which Paul Henderson would be forever remembered as he managed to score the desperately needed winning goal in each of the last three games.
But back in the Spring, a call went out to those who attended a large Baptist Church in a fairly small community. Was there anyone in their group who could help the young Music Director? He would be needing transportation to and from the nearby City’s Railway Station for the next four weekends. In addition he needed a place to stay on those Saturday nights, plus his meals on the Sunday. And as they still had a Sunday Evening Service he would also need a spot to lie down on Sunday afternoon. You see, during the previous month he had serious abdominal surgery and still tired very easily.
The Chrysler’s responded. Now they were not up-front, “in your face,” type of people. You never saw them lead anything. They were certainly not the chairs of any committees. In fact, as far as I know, they were not on any committees, period. But these grandparents did have loving hearts, and now that there were no kids at home, they also a spare room.
And so it was decided. Each Saturday, that April, they would leave their small town and drive the half hour into the city, to the Train Station, where they would meet the young fellow and then take him back home.
The Chryslers also provided the young man with home cooked meals and pleasant conversation throughout each weekend. Each Sunday morning the routine was the same: after an early Sunday morning breakfast they took him to the Church. The Choir had their weekly practice before the Morning Worship Service. After the services were over the Chrysler’s took him home for a full Sunday Dinner. Then he would go and lie down. He needed to regain enough energy to participate in the Musical part of the Sunday evening Service. It was always quite a rush afterwards to get back to the train station each of those Sunday evenings, but somehow they always made it in time.
April ended, and as agreed, so did the contract position at the Church and the short term arrangement with the Chryslers. From the big church in the small town the young man would be leaving to become interim pastor at a church in the nearby city. So they all thanked each other and then the young man was gone.
This time it was the City Church making the appeal. Could someone provide the new interim pastor with transportation to and from the railway station each Sunday morning and evening? In addition he would need a couple of Sunday meals and, oh yes, a place to lie down. It seems he was still recovering from Surgery he had endured earlier that Spring.
This time it took two couples in order to fill the bill. Ray, the very active and very busy church treasurer, arranged to be the driver, while Marvin’s in-laws provided the quiet home. The young man had known Marvin from high school, so was quite happy to spend the Sunday’s with Marvin’s wife’s parents. Like the Chrysler’s, they too were lovely, quiet, supportive, background-type people. You probably would not notice them in a crowd. But they were more than happy to share their Sunday meals and to make a Sunday afternoon bed available to the new, young, interim pastor.
They did that for the next two months. Each Sunday morning and evening, Ray, the treasurer would make the trip across town to the train Station. And each afternoon Marvin’s in-laws would open their home and hearts, and refrigerator to the interim pastor. Eventually at the end of June the Church was able to hire their next full-time Senior pastor. There was no more need for the young guest speaker to make those weekend visits. So they said goodbye.
Now why even mention the Chrysler’s and Marvin’s in-laws or Ray, this morning? What is it, if anything, that they have in common?
Bible Background - Matthew 10:39-42
Yes, I knew that you would spot the connection. They all gave loving service to someone who was trying to serve God. It all has to do with today’s verses that we read earlier from Matthew 10:39-42. These are very important verses, as important as those other, more troubling ones that we have looked at over the last couple of weeks.
Unfortunately these verses, as well as others in the Bible, are often taken out of their context so let’s make sure this morning that we really know to what they are referring.
He Was a Stranger and I Took Him In
As an example of misused Bible verses, the story is told of a man from Kansas who owned a general store. He was a well-intending man who made a habit of offering a verse of Scripture whenever anyone purchased something from him. The group of people who sat around the store in this rural area enjoyed the exchanges, because some of the purchases challenged the imagination.
One winter day a Texan stopped in, wanting to buy a blanket for his horse. The locals knew that the store stocked two types of blankets. One sold for $60, and the expensive one cost $89.95.
He showed him the first. "No, that's not good enough. I need something warmer for my horse." He showed him the second blanket for $89.95. "That's not good enough, either. Don't you understand? This is for my horse, and nothing's too good for my horse. Now show me your most expensive blanket!"
The store became very quiet as the storekeeper reached under the counter to the $89.95 stock, pulled out a plaid one, and spread it on the counter with great finesse. "This is our finest and the only one I have; Colorfast, 100 percent wool, with a very tight weave. It sells for $250."
"Now you are talking. I'll take it." He counted out the money, folded the blanket, and left with a big grin on his face.
As the shopkeeper opened the cash drawer and carefully counted the money, he said, "Matthew 25:35, He was a stranger and I took him in."
Like you, I don’t think that is what that verse is really about.
Jesus Directed these Words to Us
So first of all, please note that these familiar teachings are not to the crowds but to the followers of Jesus (Matthew 11:1).[2]
Therefore I believe that these verses are important because if you are a follower of Jesus they have something to do with you, no matter whether you are a “giver” or a “receiver.”
Jesus has been speaking to his disciples about their role in the missionary expansion of the gospel. During the events of Matthew 9, Jesus had been doing the ministry and the disciples have been watching. A hinge passage appears at the end of chapter 9 as Jesus says, basically, "I need some more help if the job is going to get done. Ask God to send more labourers into the field."
Over these last couple of weeks we have looked at Chapter 10 where Jesus further instructs his disciples with some dire words about what awaits them as they go out on these mission trips. He knew that they would be rejected by some and embraced by others. He warns them that Satan will not be happy with their faithfulness. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand the claims He was making on His followers. Those claims would take precedence over the closest family ties. Discipleship may mean separation from family members, but by losing their life they would save it. Jesus paints such a bleak picture that perhaps the disciples were wondering if anyone would hear them.[3] Can’t you just hear them asking: “What's in it for me, other than a cross?”
Motive is Important if There Are to be Rewards
But according to Jesus, the good news is that not everyone will reject our witness. After all, we are the King's ambassadors! Some will welcome us and they receive a blessing. Our King will see to it that they are rewarded for what they do. When people receive us, they are welcoming the King, for we are His representatives.[4] Paul wrote of this in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (The Message) “And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks! When you got the Message of God we preached, you didn't pass it off as just one more human opinion, but you took it to heart as God's true word to you, which it is, God himself at work in you believers!”
Jesus is also saying that yes there will be rewards, but these blessings or rewards are not automatic. They are governed by motives and attitudes. It all depends on the attitude of the host. If our hosts receive us as God’s ambassador or as a prophet (that is, as a spokesman for God), then yes, they get one reward; if we receive the servant of God as of a righteous individual, there is another reward. And even so simple an action as a disciple of Jesus offering a cup of water to some other so-called "insignificant" disciple, if given with the right spirit, brings its own reward.[5] These" little ones," probably mean any and all followers of Christ, but with particular emphasis on new followers.[6]
Different than the World around us
This is so different from the world’s idea of rewards. The world’s idea is shown in the story told of the minister and the taxi driver. The minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans.
Saint Peter says to this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?"
The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City."
Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn.
He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last 43 years."
Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute!" says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept. While he drove, people prayed."[7]
In the world around us repayment is normally expected to bear a direct relation to work done rather than to the motive behind the work. Moreover, the most prominent work usually gained the greatest reward. But it must not be so when we share the message of Jesus. Unfortunately this lesson has not always been learned in the Christian Church. We still have trouble believing Jesus when he says the one showing hospitality receives the same reward as the preacher; that the prophet who preached would not be superior to the host who entertained.[8] That is also why I wanted to tell you this morning about the Chryslers, and Ray and Marvin’s in-laws. You see, they represent just a few of the many people who have ministered to me over the years since those Spring days way back in 1972 when I was just a 22 year old Bible College Student.
And that really is the main point of these last few verses. You see, this passage is not directed at those who practice hospitality. In these verses we Christians are not really being urged to welcome prophets or righteous persons or little ones. On the contrary, as Jesus sketches out the rewards to be received, he is promising a blessing to his disciples. It is all about we Christians who are the ones receiving hospitality, being welcomed, being guests of others. These verses are written for those on the receiving end. It is not a directive but a promise, and it is a promise that we contemporary disciples still need to hear. In the midst of suffering there will be signs of God's favour.
Embracing the Gracious Gift
Writing in a book entitled With Open Hands; Henri Nouwen asserts that "The challenge of the gospel lies precisely in the invitation to accept a gift for which we can give nothing in return; for the gift is the very life-breath of God, the Spirit who is poured out on us through Jesus Christ. This life-breath frees us from fear and gives us new room to live."
Nouwen's words remind us that the Christian faith is founded not upon your action or my action, but upon God's action: God loving us with a love that will not let us go; God choosing to dwell among us in Christ, taking human form; God seeking relationship and reconciliation with all the world; God adopting persons of faith as daughters and sons. Our task is but to receive the gift, to recognize and live in the assurance that all that we have in life-and indeed, all that we are-comes as a gift from God. Once we embrace this gracious gift which we cannot earn and which cannot be repaid, only then are we freed to become gracious givers.[9]
CONCLUSIONS
And yes, it is difficult to acknowledge dependence on God or on other persons. But the fact is it is we who are sometimes the stranger at the door. All of us are needy at one time or another. The dangers to discipleship that we face may differ from those in Jesus' time, but they are still here. We may not have the threat of a life-or-death struggle, but we may face profound cultural indifference that can kill in another way. Yet, even within the tedium and discouragement that ordinary people encounter in living out their faith, Jesus promises gifts of grace.
Most likely you have experienced them. Perhaps you did not recognize them as such, but you had the experience: the concerned and encouraging word, the warm meal that fed body and soul, the unexpected letter that renewed your faith. Take them, our Lord says, you who are weary and disheartened; and receive this gift, this hospitality. It is a sign of God's favour. It comes with healing in its wings. Rest and be welcome. Let yourself occasionally be the cherished guest, for Christ's sake and in his name.[10]
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[1] Title of sermon by Mark A. Johnson, in THE ABINGDON PREACHING ANNUAL 1999,
Compiled and EDITED BY Michael Duduit, ABINGDON PRESS Nashville, pp. 223-225.
[2] Fred B. Craddock, PREACHING THROUGH THE CHRISTIAN YEAR Year A: A Comprehensive Commentary on the Lectionary (Trinity Press International Philadelphia, 1992) P. 346.
[3] Mark A. Johnson, “Who’ll feed the preacher?” in THE ABINGDON PREACHING ANNUAL 1999,
Compiled and EDITED BY Michael Duduit, ABINGDON PRESS Nashville, pp. 223-4.
[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, ADULT TEACHER Guide SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1990 MATTHEW (PART 1), BIBLE KNOWLEDGE SERIES (Scripture Press, Wheaton Illinois: 1990) p. 79.
[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, ADULT TEACHER Guide SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER 1990 MATTHEW (PART 1), BIBLE KNOWLEDGE SERIES (Scripture Press, Wheaton Illinois: 1990) p. 79.
[6] Mary Scifres, "WELCOMING AND BEING WELCOMED” THE ABINGDON PREA CHING ANNUAL 2002, EDITED BY Charles Bugg (ABINGDON PRESS: Nashville, 2001) p. 236.
[7] Ed Rowell, Franklin, Tennessee; heard from a friend
[8] Donald Guthrie, JESUS THE MESSIAH: An Illustrated Life or Christ (ZONDERVAN PUBLISHING HOUSE: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1972) P. 121-122.
[9] Joel D. Kline, The Blessings of Receiving
[10] Penelope Duckworth “HEAVENLY HOSPITALITY” THE ABINGDON PREACHING ANNUAL 1996
Compiled and EDITED BY Michael Duduit (ABINGDON PRESS: Nashville, 1995) p.228.