We are at war. We have many leaders who have prophesied to the end of war, yet war continues.
Before the passage we read today, Jeremiah repeatedly warned about listening to prophets who lie to
you (27:10,14,16). Then reminding us of the doomsday prophets, who call for war and famine, before
affirming that the prophets of peace are the ones that God truly sends. Peace is of God.
Our gospel lesson is the conclusion of Jesus instructing his disciples for mission. The same chapter
with the roll call of the disciples, the Mickey Mouse Club, Club of Christ for mission sermon from two
weeks ago. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. But then Jesus warns of all the hardships
of following Jesus: you are like sheep to the wolves (10:16), father and son will be against each other,
and Jesus did not come to bring peace, but the sword (10:34-35). Yet Jesus concludes his instructions
with a more unifying and inclusive message.
Before I read this, I want you to recall a time when you felt truly welcomed. When you felt valued,
honored, accepted and seen. Maybe at your birthday party, everyone there came to celebrate you. Or
you were in a new place and unsure of yourself, but you are greeted with a warm smile, and you are set
at ease. Or after a conflict with a friend and you find your way back to each other, clear the air. That
peaceful feeling you get as you break bread together and it feels like old times once again. You are
respected, heard, loved and welcomed. READ Matthew 10:40-42.
I bet you noticed a connection between welcome and reward in our passage. First, we welcome Jesus
and in doing so we welcome God, the one who sent him. Then we hear about welcoming a prophet
and a righteous person with a promise of reward. At first this seems odd, because we welcome not for
reward, but to show God’s love. Yet when Jesus is sending his disciples out into the harvest this is
very dangerous work, discipleship is costly. “Jesus just preached on the rupture of the disciples’ most
important relationships as they take up the cross and follow (him) (34-38). Now, (Jesus) affirms first
the relationships between disciples, Jesus, and God (40) and then the certainty of the reward due to
those who welcome prophets, the righteous, and the little ones (41-42). (Working Preacher, Stanley
Saunders). The last thing Jesus instructs his disciples to do is to welcome and offer a cup of cold water
to the little ones.
For several weeks, Mrs. Sherman’s first-grade class had waited for the field trip to the observatory.
Notices had been sent home with instructions about the bus, lunch, and times of departure and return.
To the students, waiting for the field trip was like waiting for Christmas.
Finally, the day arrived. We grabbed our lunches and coats and lined up for the bus. In the back of the
room, one boy began to cry because he had forgotten to bring a lunch and would have to stay behind
with another teacher. In a few minutes, the other children shared their sandwiches, fruit, desserts, and
drinks until the boy had a feast for his lunch. With new tears, this time tears of gratitude, he grabbed
his coat, lined up, and climbed onto the bus.
We had given him a cup of cold water. Acts of service are not always dramatic or earth-shattering.
Simple caring is all that is needed. Discipleship means being alert for opportunities to (welcome) and
care, to demonstrate God’s loving-kindness, and to teach others to do the same (Sermons.com).
So how does welcome connect to peace? Welcome and hospitality are foundational. “In the ancient
world identity was tied to family and community. It was understood that in showing hospitality, one
welcomed not just an individual, but implicitly, the community who sent the person and all that they
represent. Therefore, welcoming a disciple of Jesus would mean receiving the very presence of Jesus
himself and of the one who sent him, God the Father” (Working Preacher, Elisabeth Johnson). What
would that be like today? Maybe it would be like the people in Minneapolis who welcomed their
neighbors who came from Somalia or Mexico. Who welcomed them with bringing groceries, so they
did not have to face ICE. Who welcomed them by recording the ICE agents who abused them because
of the color of their skin or where they were from. Who, like Renee Good and Alex Peretti, welcomed
them even to the point of death, as Jesus said the disciples might have to do.
Welcoming here means seeing the humanity of another person, not their color or country of origin, or
the language they speak. Simply welcoming another human being and treating them the way we
would want to be treated if we were in their shoes. Remember welcoming means we see value, worth,
dignity. Not because they look like us, but because each person is made in the image of God. It is one
thing to say that in church, it is quite another to live that way as an individual, as a community and as a
nation. God loves every person, because every person is created in God’s image and Jesus came to
love and save all of us. For us to end war we must welcome countries, see their citizens as people with
value, dignity and worth which would make bombing them impossible. As we offer welcome, God
could make us channels of God’s peace.
Henri Nouwen, the great spiritual writer was going to a monastery for a retreat. The monks observed
vows of silence and the retreat was to be meditative and prayerful. Nouwen was delayed and was late
getting to the monastery on that miserable, rainy night. He rang the bell, well after bedtime, and was
met at the door by one of the brothers. The brother warmly greeted him, took his wet coat, brought him
to the kitchen and made him a cup of tea. They chatted in the late night hours and Nouwen began to
relax and feel ready for the retreat. But he knew this monk was supposed to observe silence, so he
finally asked him, ‘Why are you willing to sit and talk with me?’ The monk replied, ‘Of all the duties
of the Christian faith and the rules of my order, none is higher than hospitality (and welcome)’
(Sermons.com, J. Burton Williams).
I will end with a cautionary tale told by a pastor about a man in his mid-70’s with thinning silver hair
and a neat brown suit. The pastor, saw this man in the church for the first time on a Wednesday. Many
times in the past, the pastor had invited him to come to church. Several other Christians had talked to
him about the Lord and had tried to share the good news with him. He was well respected, honest, a
man of good character. He acted much like a Christian, but he never came to church. After the pastor
got to know him well he asked him if he had ever been to a church service.
The man hesitated. Then with a twisted grimace told of an experience he had as a boy. He was raised
in a large family. His parents survived the depression, but they struggled to provide food and clothing
for the family. When he was around ten years old, a friend invited him to go to church.
He went – the Sunday School class was great. The songs were fun to sing and the stories, oh the great
Bible stories, were exciting to hear. As class ended the teacher pulled him aside and said, “Son, please
don’t come again dressed as you are now. We want to look our best when we come into God’s house.”
He looked down at his old hand-me-down overalls that were certainly worn and tattered. He thought
about that for a moment and said softly, “No ma’am I won’t ever.” Then he looked at the pastor and
said, “And you know what… I never did.” It was clear that he was done with that conversation.
The pastor reflected, I am sure that the Sunday School teacher meant well sharing a common feeling in
that church. But what if, what if she had put her arms around the little boy in the ragged overalls and
said, “Son, I am thrilled that you came this morning and I hope you will come every chance you get to
hear more about Jesus because he loves you so much.” Moreover, what if she would have talked with
her pastor or her friends in the church and mobilized an outreach effort to help this family make ends
meet. What if that church would have thought, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever
welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Or whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones in the name of a disciple will receive a great reward” (40, 42).
The pastor ended the story like this: Yes, I saw the man in the church house for the first time on
Wednesday and I cried as I looked at the immaculately dressed old gentleman lying there in his casket.
He was looking his best. But all I could think of were those words of an impressionable little ten-year-
old boy echoing in my mind, “No ma’am I won’t ever” (Sermons.com, David Wiggs).
Welcome can change lives and end wars, if only we will give peace a chance. Amen.
