LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT
Sunday, July 2, 2023
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Matthew 10:40-42
“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.”
What does success look like for you? What does success look like for this church? What does success look like for God?
Most of our ideas about what it means to be successful are defined by the language and concepts of advertising and consumerism. It’s about who is best and what is shiniest. It’s about market share and buying power. It’s about our choice of zip code and even what church we belong to.
You might be surprised (and a bit disheartened) to learn that the clergy are not exempt from this kind of thinking, not just in their personal lives, but in their professional lives as well. You should be a fly on the wall at a clergy gathering. The conversation always starts politely enough, with gentle questions about how long you have been ordained or what denomination you belong to or how many years you have been at your current church. But eventually, these conversations turn to boasting, although always with the pastiche of humility. Pastors of big churches will drop comments about the size of their membership, the size of their investments, the number of new programs and initiatives; while the faithful pastors of smaller congregations just stay quiet and feel like losers – because they’re not “successful.”
Of course, somewhere deep down inside of us, we all know that none of those measures of success has any real connection to faithfulness or even to effectiveness in spreading the Gospel of Jesus. In fact, one could argue just the opposite - that the modern church, with its elaborate structures and careful polities and professional clergy and business model mentality is pretty far away from anything Jesus had in mind when he first sent his disciples into the world.
And that initial sending of the disciples is the setting of today’s very short Gospel lesson. It’s the end of a much longer discourse in which Jesus tells his friends what ministry is and what success in ministry looks like. And he ends with these words: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me...” 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.”
Now, lots of people have heard this adage about “a cup of cold water” even if they don’t know where it comes from. It’s one of Jesus’s greatest hits. But far fewer people, including those of us in the church, have contemplated the deep spiritual wisdom contained in the fifteen words that that immediately precede the adage about the cup of cold water.
In them, Jesus masterfully summarizes the foundational truth he actually came to teach. In those fifteen words, Jesus makes no distinction whatsoever between himself and his disciples, between himself and us, between us and God. Listen again to what he said: “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.”
And that is the set-up for the teaching about a cup of cold water. The reason that cup of cold water is so important is because that thirsty person you give the water to is actually Jesus and everyone else you have ever known or could know. It’s all connected.
Jesus was teaching the absolute unity of all things. Now, I know that sounds like a bunch of New Age gobbledygook. And I know that the church has built most of its history on the idea of separation and hierarchy: clergy and people; people and God. In that system, the church is the mediator of the separations. The church bridges the gap. Therefore, the church holds a great deal of power – which it sometimes abuses.
But the idea that everything is connected; the idea of the absolute unity of all things is actually a very old interpretation of the Christian faith. Celtic Christians have taught it since at least the Middle Ages, as have the Franciscans. Modern theologians, using the insights of science and quantum mechanics, proclaim that this spiritual truth is built into the whole connected universe. And these insights have greatly influenced my own thinking as I live and grow in Christ.
And if you take that point of view, then these words of Jesus are meant to be taken quite literally. “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me (literally), and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me (literally).” It’s God in me and God in you and you in God and God in everything. And that means that our actions ripple throughout the universe, like a pebble dropped in a pond.
Maybe that’s why Scripture tells us that we are indeed our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers. Maybe that’s why Jesus said “Love your neighbor exactly as you love yourself.” Maybe that’s why the author of I John wrote: “Those who say, ‘I love God, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.”[1]
Which brings me back to the idea of success. What does true success look like for a church? Is it primarily about numbers or programs or activities? Or is it measured by acts of justice and love and kindness?
The Rev. Dan De Leon is a United Church of Christ pastor in Texas who told this story in a nationally broadcast sermon. Rev. De Leon and some of his parishioners had taken a mission trip to Mexico. While there, they met a man who had crossed the U.S. border illegally, only to be caught immediately and sent back. And here I quote Rev. De Leon’s sermon: “Penniless and humiliated, (the man) started over. He… took the horrendous journey again, and this time he made it into the United States where he found work. He worked ten-hour shifts with no breaks making less than minimum wage, never stopped even when he cut his hand open washing dishes... And since he couldn't speak English, he couldn't express his needs, let alone defend himself (from such) harsh treatment. After three years of saving up a little money under these conditions, he went back home (to Mexico), where he met his now three-year-old daughter for the first time.”
Rev. De Leon continues, “At this point I looked over at his wife. She was still knitting, still looking down; and then a tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, as if it (were) an enemy to which she refused to succumb. Finally, a student in our group, moved by the man's testimony, asked, "How can we help? What can we do…?" And (the man) looked at us and said, "Just be nicer. Don't treat us like we're horrible. Be kind."[2]
Be kind. No matter your political opinion about immigration or a host of other things: be kind. Kindness does not depend upon agreement. Kindness is not weakness. It is strength. And because we are all connected, kindness is a cup of cold water we give to ourselves, that quenches are souls and washes us clean.
“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me… and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
[1] I John 4:20
[2] “Hospitality: A Crucial Cup of Cold Water” – a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Dan De Leon, www.Day1.org, accessed on June 22, 2020.
Sunday, July 2, 2023
First Congregational Church of Cheshire
© the Rev. Dr. James Campbell
Matthew 10:40-42
“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.”
What does success look like for you? What does success look like for this church? What does success look like for God?
Most of our ideas about what it means to be successful are defined by the language and concepts of advertising and consumerism. It’s about who is best and what is shiniest. It’s about market share and buying power. It’s about our choice of zip code and even what church we belong to.
You might be surprised (and a bit disheartened) to learn that the clergy are not exempt from this kind of thinking, not just in their personal lives, but in their professional lives as well. You should be a fly on the wall at a clergy gathering. The conversation always starts politely enough, with gentle questions about how long you have been ordained or what denomination you belong to or how many years you have been at your current church. But eventually, these conversations turn to boasting, although always with the pastiche of humility. Pastors of big churches will drop comments about the size of their membership, the size of their investments, the number of new programs and initiatives; while the faithful pastors of smaller congregations just stay quiet and feel like losers – because they’re not “successful.”
Of course, somewhere deep down inside of us, we all know that none of those measures of success has any real connection to faithfulness or even to effectiveness in spreading the Gospel of Jesus. In fact, one could argue just the opposite - that the modern church, with its elaborate structures and careful polities and professional clergy and business model mentality is pretty far away from anything Jesus had in mind when he first sent his disciples into the world.
And that initial sending of the disciples is the setting of today’s very short Gospel lesson. It’s the end of a much longer discourse in which Jesus tells his friends what ministry is and what success in ministry looks like. And he ends with these words: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me...” 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.”
Now, lots of people have heard this adage about “a cup of cold water” even if they don’t know where it comes from. It’s one of Jesus’s greatest hits. But far fewer people, including those of us in the church, have contemplated the deep spiritual wisdom contained in the fifteen words that that immediately precede the adage about the cup of cold water.
In them, Jesus masterfully summarizes the foundational truth he actually came to teach. In those fifteen words, Jesus makes no distinction whatsoever between himself and his disciples, between himself and us, between us and God. Listen again to what he said: “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.”
And that is the set-up for the teaching about a cup of cold water. The reason that cup of cold water is so important is because that thirsty person you give the water to is actually Jesus and everyone else you have ever known or could know. It’s all connected.
Jesus was teaching the absolute unity of all things. Now, I know that sounds like a bunch of New Age gobbledygook. And I know that the church has built most of its history on the idea of separation and hierarchy: clergy and people; people and God. In that system, the church is the mediator of the separations. The church bridges the gap. Therefore, the church holds a great deal of power – which it sometimes abuses.
But the idea that everything is connected; the idea of the absolute unity of all things is actually a very old interpretation of the Christian faith. Celtic Christians have taught it since at least the Middle Ages, as have the Franciscans. Modern theologians, using the insights of science and quantum mechanics, proclaim that this spiritual truth is built into the whole connected universe. And these insights have greatly influenced my own thinking as I live and grow in Christ.
And if you take that point of view, then these words of Jesus are meant to be taken quite literally. “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me (literally), and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me (literally).” It’s God in me and God in you and you in God and God in everything. And that means that our actions ripple throughout the universe, like a pebble dropped in a pond.
Maybe that’s why Scripture tells us that we are indeed our sisters’ and brothers’ keepers. Maybe that’s why Jesus said “Love your neighbor exactly as you love yourself.” Maybe that’s why the author of I John wrote: “Those who say, ‘I love God, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.”[1]
Which brings me back to the idea of success. What does true success look like for a church? Is it primarily about numbers or programs or activities? Or is it measured by acts of justice and love and kindness?
The Rev. Dan De Leon is a United Church of Christ pastor in Texas who told this story in a nationally broadcast sermon. Rev. De Leon and some of his parishioners had taken a mission trip to Mexico. While there, they met a man who had crossed the U.S. border illegally, only to be caught immediately and sent back. And here I quote Rev. De Leon’s sermon: “Penniless and humiliated, (the man) started over. He… took the horrendous journey again, and this time he made it into the United States where he found work. He worked ten-hour shifts with no breaks making less than minimum wage, never stopped even when he cut his hand open washing dishes... And since he couldn't speak English, he couldn't express his needs, let alone defend himself (from such) harsh treatment. After three years of saving up a little money under these conditions, he went back home (to Mexico), where he met his now three-year-old daughter for the first time.”
Rev. De Leon continues, “At this point I looked over at his wife. She was still knitting, still looking down; and then a tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, as if it (were) an enemy to which she refused to succumb. Finally, a student in our group, moved by the man's testimony, asked, "How can we help? What can we do…?" And (the man) looked at us and said, "Just be nicer. Don't treat us like we're horrible. Be kind."[2]
Be kind. No matter your political opinion about immigration or a host of other things: be kind. Kindness does not depend upon agreement. Kindness is not weakness. It is strength. And because we are all connected, kindness is a cup of cold water we give to ourselves, that quenches are souls and washes us clean.
“Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me… and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
[1] I John 4:20
[2] “Hospitality: A Crucial Cup of Cold Water” – a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Dan De Leon, www.Day1.org, accessed on June 22, 2020.
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