by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
v38Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. v39Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.
v40″Whoever welcomes you welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. v41Whoever welcomes God’s messenger because he is God’s messenger, will share in his reward. And whoever welcomes a good man because he is good, will share in his reward. v42You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.” Matthew 10:38-42
To fully appreciate the verses in our Gospel lesson, we must know the context. In this chapter, Jesus summons the twelve disciples and gives them healing powers and authority over unclean spirits (10:1-5). He then gives them their marching orders (10:5-15). He warns that they will face persecution (10:16-25). He tells them not to fear the person who can kill the body, but rather to fear God who has power over body and soul (10:26-28). He assures them of Gods love (10:29-31). He promises to acknowledge before the Father anyone who acknowledges Jesus before people (10:32-33), and warns that he has not come to bring peace, but a sword (10:34-39).
Therefore, when Jesus promises rewards to those who welcome/receive a prophet or a righteous person, the context is high-riska spiritual war-zone. The prophet and righteous person are taking risks for Christ, and those who help them assume similar risks. In addition to providing food, clothing, shelter, and money, they are demonstrating personal support for Christ and his churchand are serving as encouragers of those who stand on the front lines in the war against Satan and his minions.(sermonwriter.com)
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In the three years that I have retired from the diocese, I have been invited to preach and celebrate the Holy Eucharist in several congregations particularly in the Metro Baguio Deanery area. On almost all of those occasions I met or were approached by old and young people, most of whom I barely remember, telling me various occasions that I have ministered to them individually and as families. I am blessed, challenged, enlightened and humbled by learning how these people have grown steadily in Christian maturity. And I have come to understand something that heartens me beyond telling: they have grown to the full stature of maturity in Christ has almost nothing to do with extraordinary or cataclysmic spiritual events that change a person in an instant, for all time. I have learned that maturity seems to be about the daily commitment to be cups of cool water for a thirsty creation. Through their sharing I learned that they are fulfilling their commitment to their baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself and strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. Doing such is a cup of cool water for a thirsty creation.
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People who help others are healthier and live longer. That was the conclusion of a team headed by Stephen G. Post, professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, which evaluated fifty scientific studies of volunteers. One of the studies, from Cornell University, spent thirty years following 427 women who were married and had children. Researchers found that only 36 percent of women who regularly volunteered had experienced a major illness, while 52 percent of those who never volunteered had a major illness. Other studies indicated that those who volunteered their time lived longer than those who didnt. Frequent volunteers had a 44 percent reduction in early death when compared with non-volunteers. Scientists also identified precise areas of the brain that are highly active during emphatic and compassionate emotions. These brain studies show this profound state of joy and delight that comes from giving to others, Post said. It does not come from any dry action – where the act is out of duty in the narrower sense, like writing a check for a good cause. It comes from working to cultivate a generous quality – from interacting with people. There is the smile, the tone in the voice, the touch on the shoulder. Were talking about altruistic love.(The Science of Good Deeds,WebMD.com). Good health and longer life! What a reward.
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A cup of cold water is the smallest of giftsa gift that almost anyone can give. Jesus does not want our lack of affluence to be an excuse for thinking we cannot do much to help the Christian enterprise. But a cup of cold water is precious to a person who is really thirstyin some instances, the gift of life itself. While we would prefer, in the game of life, to be the centerthe heroJesus heart leans toward the water-boy or water-girl. Providing a cup of water is a valid vocation. God rewards even the smallest contribution. Jesus does not specify the nature of the reward for those who help little ones, but only assures us of its certainty.
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Cameron Hollopeter, nineteen, suffered a seizure while waiting for a train in a New York City subway station. As his body convulsed out of control, the young man stumbled down the platform and onto one of the tracks, directly into the path of an inbound train. Wesley Autrey, fifty, a construction worker who was standing on the platform with his two daughters, saw Hollopeter fall. He jumped onto the tracks and grabbed hold of Hollopeter. With only seconds to spare, he rolled with the younger man into a drainage trough between two tracks. An instant later, the train cars thundered over both of them. Amazingly, neither man was injured. In the ensuing days, Autrey was rewarded handsomely for his bravery. Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented him with the citys highest award for civic achievement, calling him a man who makes us all proud to be New Yorkers. He was given $10,000 from Donald Trump, a trip to Disney World, and a years supply of MetroCards from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. His boss even bought him a hero sandwich. Autrey is modest about his new status as the hero of Harlem. I Just did it because I saw someone in distress, he told reporters. Someone needed help. (Verena Dobnik, Associated Press).
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There was a very pregnant woman dressed in worn, mismatched clothing who climbed aboard a crowded bus. She struggled past several seats full of businessmen reading newspapers or talking to their cell phones. No one paid her any attention. Part way back in the bus, an elderly man stood up from his seat and, with a simple gesture, invited her to sit. The bus started, and it became clear that the man, while generous, was probably going to be thrown to his knees from the abrupt starts and stops of the bus. But the situation was solved when a high school student, complete with nose ring and droopy pants, stood up from his place and ushered the elderly man back into a seat. Two cups of cool water; the first inspiring the second. Two simple gestures of kindness, each easily within the capability of every person on that bus, of every person in any community.
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Our social structures encourage us to ignore such commonplace attention to one another. A vast cultural shift, powered by the social media in its various platform, which allows politically and economically expedient values to be widely disseminated across national boundaries, seems to have brainwashed most of us into believing that we are worthless unless we can make the grandest of grand gestures. We are no longer content to care about about our spouse or children, parents, friends, neighbors, or colleagues because that seems so pedestrian or common, so boring, when compared to the lives of important people.
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Jesus offers us a different value system, a value system that is neither politically nor economically expedient because it sees infinite worth in every creature. Jesus offers us a model of human behavior on which the realm of God can be built: a model discipleship that seeks to be in relationship with every soul we meet. Jesus reminds us that we matter – you and I – no matter how young or old we are. Our choices matter – whether we reach out to the tired pregnant woman on the bus matters. Jesus doesnt talk about important or large achievements. He told his followers, telling us, that being in community is not about being an extraordinary person doing extraordinary things that most of us cant manage. It is all about simple, common acts of kindness that anyone can manage, a cup of cold water.
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It is about humility according to Bishop Morneau of Wisconsin. It is that habitual quality whereby we live in the truth of things: the truth that we are creatures and not the Creator; the truth that our life is a composite of good and evil, light and darkness; the truth that in our littleness we have been given extravagant dignity. Humility is saying a radical yes to the human condition. Discipleship does not require extraordinary gifts, but steady commitment. Spiritual maturity is not dependent on extraordinary events, but on simple and consistent service. A cup of cool water.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 8 Collect, ECP-BCP)**
