Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

June 28, 2026 / Pentecost 5 (Lect. 13A)

Matthew 10:40-42

I’m wondering . . . just off the top of your head, how many rewards clubs do you belong to?  I came up with four without working too hard at it.  On both our credit cards, we earn rewards points.  It’s why most of my clothing comes from LL Bean, and it’s how we hope to fund part of our vacation this fall.  I am also a big fan of Ocean State Job Lot, with their crazy deals and coupons that come with their rewards club.  And our latest discovery in Western Mass is Hot Table.  I don’t know why it took us so long to find them.  What great paninis they make!  And last week, I got one free because of the rewards club!  Everybody likes a deal.  Everyone loves to earn rewards.

The subheading in my Bible for the passage I just read is Rewards.  And that begs the question:  Is being a Christian like being a member of a rewards club?  Upon reading Matthew chapter 10, one might draw that conclusion.  Just a reminder of where we are in the Gospel:  This is the third week in a row that we have heard from this same chapter of Matthew, the chapter in which Jesus names and then sends out his apostles.  Jesus’ calling the 12 by name gives the distinct impression that they are part of a special “club” of people.  Then he tells them the cost of membership in his “club” – and unlike all the rewards clubs that I mentioned, this disciple club costs something.  Costs a lot, actually.  Jesus forecasts that they will be arrested and beaten and possibly even killed.  That’s the cost, Jesus said, of being on his team.  The natural question would have been, and I don’t think I’m being cynical here, just realistic – the natural question that arises is . . . What’s in it for me?  Where’s the reward?  I join rewards clubs for the benefits I will receive . . . like a free sandwich!  I wonder if the 12 were disappointed when Jesus clearly explained the rewards because, honestly, they sound more like rewards for the people they would be serving and not for the ones he was sending.  He says that those who welcome prophets – as the disciples were as they spoke in God’s name – those who welcomed the prophets/the disciples would be rewarded.  And those who accepted the righteous – which is what they were – would be rewarded.  And those who offered them assistance – like a cup of cold water – would be rewarded.  I wonder if they thought, “Wow, that’s great for everyone else . . . but what about us?  What’s our reward for the high price we will pay?”  Hearing what Jesus says about who gets rewarded . . . I have to say that if being a disciple of Jesus Christ is a rewards club, then it’s not a very good one.

Except that it is.  Being a Christian has a wonderful rewards program – and I’m not talking about heaven.  Heaven is not a reward we get for good behavior.  It’s a promise we receive because we belong to Christ.  The reward that I believe Jesus is referencing, the one that comes from playing on his team, is one that we receive right here and right now.  Listen again to v. 40:  Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes you (who are disciples) welcomes me (Jesus), and whoever welcomes me (Jesus) welcomes the one who sent me (God).”  We’re all in this, quite literally, together.  The one receiving God’s messenger also receives Jesus, also receives God – and we are one with Jesus, with God.  So God is woven throughout the relationship.  The reward is in the relationship formed in the welcoming.

Think of it this way.  We know that, when we do something for someone because we are Christians, Christ is in us.  Christians are little Christs, embodiments of his compassion and love.  So Christ is in us.  And we also know that Christ is in the ones who are being served.  Jesus makes that quite clear later on in this gospel when he says “Whenever you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”  When we act with compassion toward others, we are showing compassion to Jesus, himself.  Christ is in both the server and the served.  And by extension, God is in both the server and the served.  And though Jesus doesn’t mention the Holy Spirit here, we know that the Spirit is also in both the server and the served, quite possibly as the force that compelled us to serve or empowered us to be gracious receivers.  And so we all become wrapped up in, entwined with one another – God and Jesus and the Spirit and you and me and all the other people whom we will serve or who will serve us, all in relationship, all in unity with one another.  That’s the reward:  the holy community that is formed.  That’s the kingdom of God.

As often happens, I really like The Message translation of these verses.  “We are intimately linked in this harvest work.  Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you.  Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me.  Accepting a messenger of God is a good as being God’s messenger.  Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help.” 

Wait, what?  Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help?  That’s hard to swallow.  We want to be the giver because that puts us in the driver’s seat, puts us in control.  I was speaking to someone recently who is considering moving into an Assisted Living facility.  They were really struggling with what it will mean to give up some of their independence.  We talked about how, getting more help with daily living will allow them to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible.  We talked about how having their physical needs taken care of by someone other than their family members will give them and their family more time and energy to focus on the things that really mattered – like spending time together.  But as we talked, I could tell that they were not convinced.  They were used to taking care of themselves, or being the person doing the helping, not the one receiving the help.  I wish I had had this passage of scripture in my back pocket, so to speak; I wish that I had had Jesus’ words at the ready to talk about kingdom living.  Because in God’s kingdom, accepting help and giving help are all the same – the reward is in the relationships that are formed, the relationships that are strengthened, the relationships that are sustained going both directions, because Christ is in us all.

In so many ways, life in God’s kingdom doesn’t work like life in this world.  We want to retain at least the illusion that we are in control, that we are the ones doing the giving, not the receiving.  We want to serve, not to be served.  And God smiles benignly on us, and says, “Isn’t that cute?  You think you’re in control.”  We can do nothing but receive.  And as Jesus says in Matthew 10, we receive rewards when we welcome others.  Accept one another.  Enter into relationship with one another, even with the ones whom we aren’t naturally inclined to, even those whose stories are very different than ours, even the ones who don’t relate to the average Lutherpalian’s sensibilities.  Because the reward is in the relationship.  That is where we meet Christ and become one with him – in the people we welcome, and the people whom we allow to welcome us.