CHRISTIAN REWARDS
Matthew 10:40-42
Introduction:
We are much more conscious in the Christian Church of punishments rather than rewards. As a church professional -- one who is charged to bring the Christian message to folk -- I am very aware that people expect words of judgment or criticism coming from my mouth rather than hearing good news.
Today I want to talk about the rewards for being Christian. The text for the message is from Matthew as Jesus continues to speak to his close disciples about their responsibility as leaders of the fledgling Christian Church. Jesus had called the twelve and commissioned them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. Last week we thought about putting first things first. Jesus is above all. It is enough for the disciples to be like their teacher. Today’s lesson expands more -- showing how we can and must be like our teacher.
I. Becoming like Jesus.
Trusting in God.
Jesus put absolute trust in God, his Father. As he was faced with the threat on his life, he contemplated it in the Garden of Gethsemane. And the story is that he sweated blood over this and asked God to release him from facing this lonely death on the cross. He was determined, however, to put absolute trust in God, and finally, prayed for courage to do what God wanted. He invites us to follow this same path of trust. "He who receives me, receives the one who sent me" - God. And there are rewards from this reception, which, hopefully, we will discover today.
Accept yourselves.
One of the conditions for accepting Jesus as Lord is first to accept yourselves. "He who receives you receives me." How can anyone truly receive you if you do not accept yourselves? I continually encounter folks who have a very low self-image. Evidently, they have been told frequently enough that they are worthless or inferior, or just don’t quite measure up to their acceptable standards, ... until they believe it. The ancient, tried and true summary of the Law for Christians is to love God with everything you are -- body, mind, spirit and your neighbor as yourselves. Think about it --- your neighbor as yourselves! The point is this: you have the power to love your neighbor in direct proportion as you love yourself. One of the classic tragic plays of our time is Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Well I remember Willie Lowman’s funeral oration, offered by his wife. Willie was a traveling salesman and his motto was: "you ride on a shoeshine and a smile, and, man, when they stop smiling back; that’s an earthquake." In defense of Willie’s tragic death by his own hand she concluded her oration with these climactic words: "No one dast blame this man, for he never really knew who he was." The tragedy of tragedies -- never knowing who we are. A huge block against our self-knowledge and self-worth is our desire for security. The opposite of security, however is vulnerability. Most of us think to be vulnerable is bad. To be secure is safe; to be vulnerable is weak. But I submit to you that the only way for us to know ourselves fully is to be vulnerable -- to be open to others is to be like Jesus, and Jesus was vulnerable. He took the risk of being radically open to God and other people. Now, that’s risky business at best because just as the word implies, you are open to being wounded.
The prophet Isaiah predicted it about Jesus: "He was wounded for our transgressions. He was despised and rejected by the people, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."1 He suffered for us, and yet he knew who he was -- the Messiah, the Christ, the savior of the world. If he had sought only security, we would not know of him today. If we are to put Jesus first in our lives, we must first receive his vulnerability and be willing to be vulnerable ourselves.
C. Be Open to Others.
In order to experience our Christian reward, we, therefore, must be open to others. I am told that the background of the handshake was to show a neighbor that your hand was empty and not carrying a weapon. We must reach out to others with open hands of welcome rather than with closed fists. That’s risky business because such vulnerability means you will often be ignored, rebuffed, or taken advantage of. And yet, we must reach out with our words, gestures, and a posture of openness to others. ... and whoever receives you, receives Jesus and God. We simply have to remove our masks -- uncover ourselves in order to win others. And in so doing we discover who we really are.
1
Isaiah 53:5-6, passim.II. The Rewards.
"This is all well and good, preacher, but what about the rewards you promised at the outset?" What is the reward for trusting God, believing in yourselves and reaching out to others? The reward is fellowship in the company and companionship of fellow sinners -- saved by grace through faith. I have said before from this pulpit desk: "We cannot be Christian alone." We must be in fellowship with others, committed to following this strange and unique man we call: "Jesus." The world will buffet us about -- more than not if we are open to the world – (the only security we should seek is in the fellowship of the faithful.) But that is a mixed blessing at best, not to mention the worst of it. Can we find security with this diverse group we affectionately call Georgetown Presbyterians? Not without the reward of forgiveness. We fail to be community to each other over and over, but Jesus came to us that we might receive forgiveness for our shortcomings. I was riding up the elevator at the hospital one day to see a sick patient and overheard two eager church men who were busy talking church business, oblivious of me and my little clergy badge. I tried not to eavesdrop on what they were saying except that it was about the church. What I was struck by was the tee shirt one of the men had on -- white sports shirt and where the logo or monogram often appears was a single engraved word "FORGIVEN." This displays a very important Christian reward for those identified with the company of the saints. And that is forgiveness.
III. So now what? What's next for our community of faith? Well, I'm thinking that this is a very exciting time for Georgetown Presbyterian Church in the summer months of 2005 .
You are all excited to hear the report and take action on the recommendation of the Pastor Nominating Committee whose report will come at the congregational meeting at the close of the eleven 0' clock worship today.
A number of Interim projects have been under way for the past several months in this transition time.
a. For some months we have been updating the responsibilities of the several divisions and committees of the church and the Long Range Planning Committee is reviewing these updates to make sure that there are no overlaps, duplications or gaps in division responsibilities and make its report at the July meeting of the Session.
b. In addition, for some months the Administration division has had a group developing a complete and updated employee handbook and will have that read for the July meeting of Session for implementation.
c. The employee handbook calls for thorough and up- to date position descriptions for all the staff of the church and these descriptions are very near completion as well.
d. The Organ Fund Committee is hard at work in the Session approved Capital Fund Campaign and gifts and pledges to date are at the $75,000 level.
3. The Lord has blessed us in many ways during these days of transition and you can be happy what you have accomplished and how you have continued to grow in faith and not standing still until new leadership is in place. I will grant you that this has been a rather whirlwind transition, much shorter than my own previous experience, but I hope and pray that you are ready and eager to welcome a new pastor and will give him support and encouragement in the weeks and months ahead. I have tried very hard to demonstrate by my presence here as your interim that the mission of this church cannot be accomplished by the staff alone but by everyone doing their part. Your new pastor cannot do it alone and will need your joint participation with him and the other staff as you move to a new phase of ministry here.
Conclusion:
When the text for today concludes with: "whoever gives to one of these little ones, even a cup of cold water, will be rewarded." I think of Jean Vanier who founded the L’Arche Community in Trosly, France – now an international organization committed to working with the poor and the handicapped. In his book, The Broken Body; Journey to Wholeness, Vanier says: "If you enter into relationship with a lonely or suffering person you will discover something else: that it is you who are being healed. The broken person will reveal to you your own hurt and the hardness of your heart, but also how much you are loved. Thus, the one you came to heal becomes your healer."2
When you are sharing the burden of another’s suffering and you, yourself, are healed, what greater reward can you have for being a follower of Jesus?
2
Jean Vanier, The Broken Body: Journey to Wholeness. Yvonne and I visited Jean Vanier in Trosly, France in 1986, the same time as Father Henri Nouwen was in training to become the chaplain for the international communities of L'Arche.A sermon by Dr. E. Thomas Miller, June 26, 2005, Georgetown Presbyterian Church.