Welcome you, welcome me [Proper 8A - Matthew 10:40-42]

 The Rt. Rev. Jeremiah Williamson

Matthew 10:40-42

 

Welcome you, welcome me

Trinity, Potsdam

 

Friends, you are all over this Gospel passage.  You play every part, like the star of a one-person show.  You are guest and host.  You are prophet and little one.  You are filling the glass and you are emptying it.

 

This entire tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel has been complex and encompassing.  It is a missionary commissioning; Jesus is sending his followers out of his shadow and into the world.  The exhortations volley between promise and warning, celebration and suffering.  Even last week in our Gospel we ran the gamut: biological families were at odds even as the household of God was coming together, life was lost and gained, words told in the dark found the light, whispers were shouted from the rooftops.  Life on the Gospel mission was hard, but every moment was held in the loving, attentive gaze of God.  Life with Christ promised to be emotionally baroque.

 

Earlier in the Gospel, the disciples were content to stumble and stammer along in the trailing footsteps of Jesus.  But now they are growing up.  The followers of Jesus, his disciples, are getting a glimpse of their future.  If the Jesus movement is to continue, they must continue to move it.  Jesus is getting them ready for their post-Ascension existence.  They are going out with a safety net now; no matter what happens, even if it is the worst, they can return to the loving arms and comforting smile of Jesus.  But one day soon, not long after this speech, at the Great Commission, they will go out unable to return to sender.  For now they still sit at Jesus’ feet, but Jesus is preparing them for the days after they watch his feet float out of sight.

 

We, the disciples of this present age, have not known the person of Jesus; we live with the Spirit of Christ.  The first disciples knew both.  They lived and walked and talked with Jesus.  They touched his scars and shared his food.  And then, after Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Ascension Thursday, they had to learn to be with Jesus in new ways – still true ways, but also different. 

 

And so it is interesting to think about how much the meaning and complexion of Jesus’ words changed for them based on the changing context, on the timing.  In those earliest days, when Jesus first spoke this Gospel to his followers, Jesus’ opening statement in today’s Gospel passage meant something very different than how we read it now.  Before the cross and empty tomb, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me” made sense because it was true.  Jesus and the disciples moved in a pack; they were always together.  Followers follow.  Leaders lead.  They traveled together and were therefore welcomed together: you, me, we.  And on the rare occasions they were sent out without Jesus, they represented him like traveling salesmen represent the home office.

 

But then things changed – from concentrated to dispersed.  They were all together until they weren’t.  Until the disciples were alone. Sent out two by two into towns that often slammed the door in their faces. Suddenly, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me” wasn't about a group package deal; it was a promise that when you are standing on a stranger's porch, trembling and isolated, the cosmic presence of Christ is standing there in your shoes.

 

They were sent out to be Jesus.  The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that healed the lepers, that loved the lonely, lived in them.  They no longer just represented Jesus; they were the Body of Christ in the world.

 

That is who you are.  Each person washed in the font, participates in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  Each person washed in the font, is sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.  Each person washed in the font, accepts the ministry of Jesus – carries the cross and reaps the heavenly reward.  Each person washed in the font, becomes a member of the Body of Christ.  When someone welcomes you, cares for you, loves you, they are welcoming Jesus, caring for Jesus, loving Jesus.

 

When you look into the mirror, you are seeing the image of Jesus.  Christ is in you and shines through you.

 

But it is your job not only to see Jesus in the mirror, but also to see Jesus in the other.  You are called to “seek and serve Christ in all persons.”  Because you are guest and you are host.

 

To be Christian, to be like Christ, it is imperative that you look at the world through eyes of love – to see others as Christ sees them.  It is not easy.  But Jesus never said it would be easy.  He said it would be rewarding.  Because love always is hard - but always worth it.

 

Our hospitality, our generosity, is an investment in the Jesus movement.  We carry on the work of Jesus in this world.  And we are called to ensure that the work of Jesus continues in this world.  And so we work and we give, we serve and we support others.  We do and we give so that others can do.  We tithe our money and we tithe our time.  We go and we proclaim the Gospel.  And also we welcome and give a glass of water, from our own tap. 

 

Jesus is still on his mission – meeting the needs of the world and loving the Kingdom come in, through, and with us.  Friends, you are all over today’s Gospel passage.  Because the Jesus movement is still moving and the work is not yet done.