Sermon for July 2, 2017Proper 8A – RCL Track 1
Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes
me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 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; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these
will lose their reward.”
The one phrase that really stands out for me in
today’s very short gospel reading is “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to
one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of
these will lose their reward.”
The whole of this chapter in the Gospel of
Mathew is about being a disciple. Being
commissioned and sent our to cast out demons and cure the sick. To being welcomed back and warned that
discipleship is not easy. That the world
will not welcome the good news that God’s economy is different that the economy
of empire. We heard that turning society
back right side up will split families and communities. Because God’s economy is one of welcome. Welcome to those who feel unwelcomed.
Being a disciple sounds like hard work and not
for the feint of heart! It sounds like
something only a few are called to do.
But look at the disciples in our Gospel story. None of them are brave warriors ready to
battle and throw off empire. They are
tax collectors and fisher people. They are women and people who are generally
looked down upon by society. It is this
rag tag group of people that God is trusting his kingdom to. Not to the rich and powerful. Not to empire. But to ordinary fisherman. To ordinary tax collectors who leave a
lucrative – albeit despised position to help turn society right side up.
We come to the end of this description of
discipleship and it now sounds so simple.
Jesus says It is about welcome.
It is about vulnerability. And to
put a fine point on it Jesus says even, even offering a cup of cold water
ensures your place in God’s kingdom.
Even. Even welcoming those who society doesn’t welcome will get you into
the kingdom. Even offering a smile and a
hello to someone who is ignored and despised because they look different will
get you into the kingdom of God.
Conversely there are things that will make it
much more difficult to enter the kingdom – and in fact make it hard, if not
impossible, to see God’s dream for creation.
We do that by looking at people we don’t even know with contempt – or
worse. We do it when we assign motive to
people who we never even talk to or make any effort to understand their
situation.
The other day I read a post on our neighborhood
blog asking if anyone knew who owned the piano that sits out on a porch on H
street – on my route to and from work.
There is a man who plays the piano that sits on the porch. This man plays the piano beautifully and with
passion. I have heard Elgar and Bach
sing out into the street as well as a little ragtime. I wish I played half as well as he does. And every time I hear him play my steps are
lighter and a smile involuntarily comes to my face. But apparently not everyone
is enjoying the free concerts.
The post I read was a complaint. They complained that an unsavory black man
was playing this porch piano and wondered how to make it stop. Unsavory black man. Why unsavory?
Because he is homeless? Because
he is unkempt? Because he is black?
There was a rush to judgment about the character of the man just because of his
appearance. I was ready to write just
such a response to the post but I waited and was heartened that the neighbors
came to the man’s defense. One neighbor
asked why unsavory? That indeed we all
can be a bit unsavory looking from time to time. Many of the neighbors suggested that the
person complaining talk to this gifted – yet homeless – pianist. To get to know him before passing judgment
and asking to take away what may be one of his few joys. I did not have to post because the other
neighbors who live around the porch piano love his playing and defended it – and
noted that he got permission from the owner of the house before playing it!
How many times do we assign motive to someone
without even talking to them. How often
to we assume the person who passes us on the freeway at a high rate of speed is
just being a jerk? Perhaps they are on
there way to an emergency – maybe not but why judge? We judge because it is easy to do and I admit
to doing it too. But these gut reactions
are not what turns society right-side-up.
What turns society right side up are also not
the big things. Sure a huge feeding
program and housing for those who have no place to lay there heads would help
to fulfill God’s dream. But really it is
in the thousands of small acts that bring in God’s dream of love. It is welcoming the stranger through our doors. It is making sure that there is food at our
coffee hours for both our own important community time but also for the space
it makes for us to get to know those who walk through our doors looking for a
bit of sanctuary.
And walking through these doors takes courage
and makes the person vulnerable. This
little stone church speaks of empire. It
looks like empire. It is an imposing
building and the church in general does not always have a good track record in
welcoming the stranger. Many at St. Paul’s
make a noble effort to make this a welcoming place. But if you have not experienced that welcome
this is a scary place to enter. And many
people have been hurt by the church – not necessarily this worshiping community
but the church at large. It is a radical
act to offer hospitality to those society wished would go away.
It is in a thousand small acts that God calls us
to perform that brings God’s dream of a society that focuses on the goodness of
creation rather than on self aggrandizement to fruition. A preacher I follow, David Lose said “that
even our smallest acts of kindness and generosity reverberate with cosmic
significance. You never know the difference your faithful actions may have. And
it’s a thought – really, a promise – worth reminding [us] about: that [we] have
the opportunity to be Jesus’ disciples and make a difference in the world each
and every day and wherever [we] may be.”[1]
So when you hear the Holy Spirit calling you to
discipleship don’t worry that you will be called to do something huge. Do not fret that you are not big enough,
strong enough, or have enough time to truly be a disciple. Do not worry that your faith might not be big
enough. Because that is not what Jesus
is asking his disciples to do and is not necessarily what we are being asked to
do.
Our Gospel lesson summarized the call. We are called to provide welcome. We are called to open our ears to the
prophets and by extension to the Holy Spirit.
We are called to welcome those who call for radical reform that welcomes
the least into full fellowship. And we
are called to provide a cold drink – even a cold drink to the least among us to
ensure that we will not only enter God’s kingdom but that we actively create
God’s kingdom on this corner of 15th and J streets.
I see it happening on this corner all the
time. I see it in our midweek services
where out of 25 people last Wednesday at least 15 of them came here who society
would not welcome. Some of them might be
called by some as unsavory. Some of them
might be called worse by people who don’t know them. But they brave coming in the door. They hunger.
Not just for food but for welcome.
They hunger for a community that welcomes them to the table. The hunger for spiritual food and drink.
And thanks be to God they are welcomed and are
fed spiritually. And they are fed
physically by our wonderful altar guild that provides a hot balanced and
nutritional meal after the service. The
need is great and the gratitude for even a single good meal served at table is
huge. David Lose reminds us that we are “…
called not to heroic discipleship but to genuine discipleship, the kind of
discipleship characterized by what I’d call “everyday faith.” “Everyday” in
both senses of the word: ordinary, mundane even …, simple. But also each and
every day."
I give thanks that we can offer a drink and a
meal to those who are brave enough to enter into what from the outside is a
very imposing building. I give thanks
that many people here are called to be disciples and are following that call.
Because even a cold drink of water given
to one of God’s beloved creation will rock our society and help turn it
right-side up.
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