In preaching on today's gospel Matthew 10:40-42 - Pastor Michelle gave us some disturbing realities about the number of children in her small group at confirmation camp who had been homeless, were in families where their parents were divorced or were, at one time, food insecure. It was sobering news.
In regards to helping people she observed that knowing the affluence of our Creator community we were more likely to give the cup of cold water rather than receive it.
I am not sure I agree completely on her point there. Our lives are structured to insure we aren't forced to encounter those in more dire need than us. If this is a physical cup of water it is less likely that we would be present to see someone's physical thirst. If we did, we might not have the physical water available to satisfy the need.
Everything about this gospel is not easy for someone who lives the life most of our members do. Moving backwards through the verses take "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". It is difficult for many who are well off to act in the name of a prophet or a righteous person rather than ourselves. After all we deserve credit for what is done by our hands. It is easy to stray from the path of humility.
Then there is the "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." Likely we want on insert ourselves here in . We want to be the one who welcomes and not the one who is welcomed. Our sense of reciprocity for welcome is immediately brought into play. We are certainly not living like the disciples addressed by Jesus and so the odds are we will not engage in the deep trust that Jesus encouraged his disciples to demonstrate.
We want to be immersed in life as righteous people. As Pastor Michelle alluded to in her sermon, however, there are inevitably cracks in our lives lived like this and she quoted Leonard Cohen's Anthem "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in”. With this gospel verse Jesus pours cold water on all our aspirations to change the world simply by believing our hearts are in the right place and behaving that way.
Since this was July 4th weekend the service Sending Song was This Is My Song. The power of this song spoke to the pride and humility that fights in our souls in the conflict today's gospel laid bare:
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a song of peace for lands afar and mine;
this is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine:
but other hearts in other lands are beating
with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
and skies are everywhere as blue as mine:
O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
a prayer that peace transcends in every place;
and yet I pray for my beloved country --
the reassurance of continued grace:
Lord, help us find our one-ness in the Savior,
in spite of differences of age and race.
May truth and freedom come to every nation;
may peace abound where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
a world united, righting every wrong;
a world united in its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.
This is my prayer, O Lord of all earth's kingdoms,
thy kingdom come, on earth, thy will be done;
let Christ be lifted up 'til all shall serve him,
and hearts united, learn to live as one:
O hear my prayer, thou God of all the nations,
myself I give thee -- let thy will be done.
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