For Sunday
Proper 8A
Collect
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
Reflection
This passage is the end of a great sending of the disciples: when Jesus calls the twelve and says to them that they will go out into the world to do the Jesus work with people: the work of healing the sick, exorcizing demons, and proclaiming the good news. And he says that they should anticipate being welcomed. Remember that. Welcome and be welcomed.
Then he talked about how hard it is, that they are to labor in the fields. That some will want to keep them from laboring. And that some of the people doing that may be members of their own family! But that is the price of the work, of trying to seek reconciliation in the world: not everyone wants that.
This is what leads to the talk this week of reward, which is more like reciprocity and reconciliation. It is what comes of the work, which is to say that it isn’t why we’re called to do the work, but it is outgrowth of doing things. Of welcoming and being welcomed. Of loving and sharing and trusting in God.
We must be careful not to therefore emphasize the reward, for we often take it for the primary motivation. But its more like the byproduct. Like when we say “good things come to those who wait.” We aren’t saying that there are people who walk around giving people rewards in hospital waiting rooms, “Good job!” We are trying to make virtue out of sacrifice. Whereas Jesus, on the other hand, is saying that welcoming strangers is the point. Because giving water to the one weakened by thirst is itself good. Loving people who need love is good. Being good is good!
Too much Christian witness has valorized struggle, reward, and certainty: of winning people for Jesus or even doing good things for selfish reasons when the gospel keeps speaking to doing good things for the sake of those good things and saying yeah, that’s still the point, actually. To love people.