St. Paul’s Sermon 2005

The Sixth Sunday of Pentecost - June 26, 2005

Lessons: Jeremiah 28:5-9; Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

“A Cup of Cold Water”

Introduction: Rewards

Rewards: A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the gate, checks him in and sends an angel to take him to his eternal mansion. As they walk down the golden streets, they pass huge, incredible mansions, the likes of which this man had never seen on earth. As they continue, they turn down one street after another, and the houses keep getting smaller and smaller. Finally they turn down a little one-lane alley, and the angel stops in front of a one-room shack with the porch tilting one way, and the roof the other. The angel says, “We’re here.” The man is dumbfounded. He says, “We passed row after row of mansions, and this is all I get for eternity?” The angel looks at him and says, “We thought we were doing pretty well with the funds you sent on ahead.”

Is that what our Gospel text is about? Does God give rewards? That was just a joke, and let me make clear that I really, really, really don’t believe that you’re purchasing your eternal home with your offering dollars. No matter what the Church Treasurer tells you.

Rewards: I got a note last week from Northwest Airlines telling me about my frequent flyer miles. I think I’ve got about a thousand. Only about another fifty thousand and I can get a free package of peanuts. With as much as I travel, that should happen sometime around 2075.

Rewards: My dentist came up with a good idea. He has a Visa card from an airline that gives him frequent flyer miles for every $100 he purchases with it. He buys all the supplies for his business on that card. Last year he flew his entire family to Norway, free.

Rewards: Whether it’s frequent flyer miles, rebates or green stamps years ago, a little reward goes a long way. If you give a rat a reward when he pushes a button a hundred times- he’ll push it ten thousand.

Rewards: Is that what Jesus is talking about? The Bible talks about rewards, but I’ve never heard a sermon on them. Does God reward Christians for obedience? Will there be ranks among Christians? Can we earn stuff for heaven, like frequent flyer miles? Let’s walk through our text, just those three verses:

II) Our Gospel Text

(P. 1512, pew Bible) "He who receives you receives me, These are good words for Jesus’ followers, both when he said them, and when Matthew wrote them down for the church of AD 85, a church that had already tasted vicious persecution. He promises them and us, that when we go in his name, receiving us is the same as receiving him. We’re part of Jesus’ body, so we go, as Luther would say, “as little Christ’s” to our neighbors. Jesus goes on:

and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. So, receiving us is the same as receiving Jesus, which is the same as receiving the Living God himself. That’s quite amazing. When you go forth in the name of Jesus, you are an ambassador of the Living God. Now it gets harder; listen to this pair:

[41] Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward,

and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.

So, the action of being open, of listening, even showing hospitality to these servants of God, not only do they receive the Living God, they also receive the same reward as that righteous man or that prophet. But what is that reward? Riches in heaven? Or will the reward be the same faith that the righteous man or the prophet will receive? Whatever that reward might be, the person who receives God’s messenger will receive the same good, that is clear. Then the text gets even harder:

[42] And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

This group of sayings are like those in the Proverbs- they’re sayings of Jesus that are gathered together on a common theme, but no necessarily connected to each other like in a sermon. Who are the little ones? They seem to be the vulnerable Christians, who have been persecuted widely. It may be impoverished or even orphaned Christians in Matthew’s time. Only Matthew has this saying.

The text is clear- God will extend kindness to those who care for Christians and listen to them. And Christians who receive the wandering prophets and holy teachers will be rewarded for their kindness and obedience. But how does this kind of reward work? In other world religions, they’re all about earning rewards. In Islam, for example, life is stuck on a balance scale. If you do more good than evil, you will be rewarded; you can even do a great deal of evil, just so long as you do more “good.” This is true especially of men, who are promised the companionship of many lovely young women for eternity. In Hinduism and Buddhism the goal is to do more good than evil, so you can be reincarnated to a higher form of being. Other world religions all are based on the scale. They have no way to deal with sin, all they can do is hope that somehow doing good will counterbalance the bad.

However, the Bible does speak of rewards to believer.

III) Biblical Rewards

What does Christianity teach? What does the Bible say? Let’s look:

II Corinthians 5:10 (p. 1799) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.

So, here Paul says that there will be judgement of good and evil for those in the church. Because in the church, there will be some who are false. They go through the motions, they go to church, but Jesus is not their Lord. Some will say, “Lord, Lord!” who don’t really serve Jesus. The false sheep, –“goats” Jesus calls them-- will be judged.

For the believers, it will be different: John clarifies this in John 5:24- (p. 1654) Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. So, for believers, there is no judgement; God knows our hearts, and believers are protected, hidden in him. Paul tells us more:

Ephesians 6:8 (p. 1824)...knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. So here again, we have this reward- like those who honor a prophet, will receive a prophet’s reward, here we’re told that whatever we good we do, we will receive that good back from the Lord. Paul goes deeper to explain this:

I Corinthians 3: 11-15 (p. 1774) 11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- 13 each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Paul says here that Christ is the cornerstone- everything the believer does in life is based on that; only from Jesus comes salvation, as a free gift; even so, each of us builds on that Christian life our own way of living it- like building a building of straw, or wood versus stone. Like the three little pigs! But Jesus says here that this stuff we build won’t be tested by a wolf huffing and puffing; no, in the fire of God’s loving judgement, stuff that is built of junk will burn up. The good stuff we built- the way we lived out our faith in good works, those things will remain. One of our members has a sign in her kitchen that sums it up well:

“Only one life, so soon ‘tis past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Even so, we’re not talking about a works religion here. In fact Jesus gives us the parable of the workmen, some of whom are hired very early, some are hired very late. All of them are given the same reward. Eternal life is the reward. If God rewards us beyond that, it will be of pure grace. Are there ranks in heaven? Will there be different sized mansions? Only God knows; and I think that if anyone receives them, they will be surprised. Like the faithful ones who answer:

(Matthew 25:37-40) (p. 1542) 37`Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' 40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

That’s the spirit in which our text is written today. In the joy of loving Jesus, he calls us to reach around us. It’s all part of the same faith. If we do it to get ahead, we’re not doing it for the right reason. If it’s real, God will take care of it, and his grace is sufficient. If all we’re interested in is getting ahead for eternity, I’m afraid we’re missing the point.

I suspect that if we were to sum up the New Testament idea, we could say:

Those who want to earn rewards on their own won’t.

Those who try to impress God and others, won’t.

Those who simply love Jesus and our neighbor will be surprised by the loving outcome.

Our call is not to earn merit badges or divine frequent flier miles. Our call is to be faithful. As that faithfulness grows, we’ll be surprised at the remarkable places God calls us to serve. We’ll be surprised by the wonderful way we’ll learn that God’s grace is sufficient. We’ll be surprised at how well he can provide. And we may even find ourselves answering: Lord, When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And he’ll smile and answer,

(Matt 25:21) `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.'

Only he knows what it is he will set us over. Our call is simply to be faithful.

Invitation, Amen.

Pentecost 6 - June 26, 2005

Jeremiah 28:5-9

Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. [6] He said, "Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD'S house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. [7] Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: [8] From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. [9] But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true."

Romans 6:12-23

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. [13] Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. [14] For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

[15] What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! [16] Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. [18] You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

[19] I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. [20] When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. [21] What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! [22] But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. [23] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 10:40-42

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. [41] Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. [42] And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."