Matthew 10:40-42
In the fall of September 1921…about 105 years ago…Damon Runyon…award-winning journalist…sportswriter…attended a Yankees game and watched Ty Cobb come to the plate.
- Later…he wrote: The Jewel of Georgia [Cobb] got the old familiar Bronx cheer when he came to bat for the first time in the first inning.
- Tyrus would probably be sadly disappointed if he were not so greeted in New York.
- As far as we know…this comment in the New York American…September 21…1921…is the first recorded mention of the Bronx cheer.
- Today…it is not uncommon for a visiting baseball…football or basketball team to be booed when introduced to the home crowd.
- Or one person may be singled out for verbal abuse…
- Perhaps a former player who jilted the home team and left town after being wooed by a suitor from a rival city.
- The Lord be with you…
In the gospel reading for today…Jesus seems to be preparing his recently appointed disciples for both the insults and garlands that await them.
- His words are a gracious reality check.
- The disciples will not always be honored with parades and applause…
- The disciples will not aways be free from hostility and pushback.
- A mix of cheers and jeers will be the norm.
- Most of us…too…have felt the sting of disgrace when our commitment to Jesus and his values are made known.
- So…let us review how we got to the text before us…
Looking at Matthew 10…the newly called disciples cannot assume they will be welcomed enthusiastically.
- If anyone will not welcome you…or listen to your words…Jesus says…shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
- In other words…rejection will be a common response.
- The downside is real…Jesus admits.
- But there is an upside: Those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
- A life laid down for Christ will be raised up in Christ.
So…here…the tone shifts.
- Yes…disciples will constantly confront a cultural atmosphere of rejection…hostility and persecution.
- But they will also encounter hospitality…welcome and kindness.
- The world may be hostile…but not everyone is an enemy.
- Along the way there will be moments of welcome…open doors…open hearts and open hands.
- Jesus ends his commissioning speech not with another warning but with a promise:
- Their mission will be met with more than hatred.
- There will be welcome…and that welcome is a matter of eternal importance.
The first thing Jesus says is… Whoever welcomes you welcomes me…and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
- So…the disciples are not merely messengers carrying information…
- They are bearers of the divine presence.
- To welcome them is to welcome Jesus himself.
- And to welcome Jesus is to welcome the Father.
Now…think of what that means for ordinary disciples…
- It means that wherever they go…they carry the very presence of Jesus with them.
- Their lives are living visible signs of the invisible Lord.
- It means that the mission is never just about the messenger.
- It is about the One the messenger embodies.
- Hospitality extended to the least impressive disciple is hospitality extended to Christ himself.
Jesus goes further: 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.
- Prophets often faced rejection.
- Elijah was pursued…Jeremiah was beaten and imprisoned.
- Yet those who welcomed a prophet…those who gave shelter or protection to a prophet…shared in the prophet’s blessing.
- By supporting the mission…they became participants in it.
The same holds true for the righteous…those who live faithfully before God.
- Those who welcome and support them share in their reward.
- That is…the mission is not only for the sent ones…
- The mission is also for those who welcome the sent ones.
- Participation in the kingdom is not limited to apostles or prophets.
- Anyone who receives them…supports them…or encourages them…becomes part of the mission and part of the blessing.
Then comes the clincher: 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.
- How ordinary this is…a cup of cold water.
- Not a feast…not a house…not a large sum of money…just a cup of cold water.
But when Jesus spoke of giving a cup of cold water he was not talking about something ordinary at all.
- Giving someone a cup of water would have been pleasantly hospitable.
- But Jesus adds the word cold…a significant addition.
- Cold water was rare…if your host gives you a cup of cold water…
- It means she made a fresh trip to the well…hauling back heavy jars…
- So…a guest could have a cool drink late in the day.
- It was refreshing…it was costly…it took effort…and it was healthier than water that had become tepid/warm.
And notice to whom it is given: one of these little ones.
- Scholars debate whether little ones refer to children…to humble disciples…or to the vulnerable.
- Whatever the nuance…the point is the same…
- The smallest act of compassion toward the least significant among us is precious in God’s eyes.
In a chapter filled with persecution…hostility…and family division…
- The final word is about welcome…hospitality…and generosity.
- The kingdom does not move forward only through grand gestures.
- It also moves forward through small…simple acts of kindness…
- A door opened…a meal shared…a hand extended…a cup of water offered.
So…rejection is not the whole story.
- Along the way…there will be people who welcome us…people who are ready for change…
- People who will welcome those who show an interest in them.
- We should prepare for hostility but be ready to receive welcome and gratitude.
We need to remember that we carry Christ’s presence into the world.
- To welcome us is to welcome him.
- That means our lives are not trivial.
- Even when we feel small or unimpressive…we bear Christ with us.
- Every knock on a neighbor’s door…every visit to the sick…every word spoken in kindness is charged with divine presence.
Let us not undervalue the ministry of small things.
- It is quite natural to value and celebrate the big and spectacular.
- But Jesus elevates the small and ordinary.
- Not all of us can preach like prophets.
- But all of us can offer kindness…share hospitality…and live faithfully.