A Sermon preached in Christ Church, Grosse Pointe,
Michigan
by The Reverend Vicki Hesse, Associate
by The Reverend Vicki Hesse, Associate
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost | (RCL Proper 8, Year A)
2 July 2017
2 July 2017
Listen Here
May the
words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be always acceptable to
you O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
Amen
The other day I heard a story about five
people who were blind and went to “see” an elephant.[1]
“What is this?” asked the first one, who had run head-first into its side.
“It’s an elephant,” said the elephant’s keeper, who was sitting on a stool,
cleaning the elephant’s harness. “Wow, I’ve always wondered what Elephants are
like,” as they ran their hands up and down the elephant’s side. “Why, it’s just
like a wall… a large, warm wall!”
“What do you mean, a wall?” said the second
person, wrapping their arms around the elephant’s leg. “This is nothing like a
wall. You can’t reach around a wall! This is more like a pillar. Yeah, that’s
it, an elephant is exactly like a pillar!”
“A pillar? Strange kind of pillar!” said
the third one, stroking the elephant’s trunk. “It’s too thin, for one
thing, and it’s too flexible for another. This is more like a snake. See,
it’s wrapping around my arm. An elephant is just like a snake!”
“Snakes don’t have hair!” said the fourth
person, pulling the elephant’s tail. “I’m surprised that you missed the hair.
This isn’t a snake, it’s a rope. Elephants are exactly like ropes.”
“I don’t know what y’all are thinking!” the
fifth one cried, waving the elephant’s ear back and forth. “It’s as large as a
wall, all right, but thin as a leaf, and no more flexible than any piece of
cloth this size should be. I don’t know about all of you – who could mistake an
elephant for anything except a sail!”
And as the elephant moved on, they found
the truth, that an elephant is, well, an elephant.
Perspective, right? Today’s short gospel text begs for such an
introduction that invites perspective and context. The whole of Chapter 10 of
Matthew’s gospel is about discipleship
– that’s the perspective. A few weeks
ago we heard how Jesus calls and commissions the disciples.
Then Jesus gives disciples authority over
unclean spirits and power to heal and minister to those who are sick. He sends
them out to proclaim good news and to bring about the Kingdom of God. He also gives them warnings of coming
persecutions and trials, telling disciples whom to fear and whom to
ignore. You may recall last week’s
sermon by Fr. Drew, explaining that living into the gospel message might spark
division sometimes, even while Jesus seeks peace and unity. And, here at the end of the chapter, Jesus’
promises rewards for faithfulness.
There, in the last line, comes the
clincher: whoever gives “even” a cup
of cold water to one of these little ones… none of these will lose their
reward. Even a cup of cold water. In
the Greek, this little word monon
means only, or alone. So: only a cup of water. With this tiny word, Jesus emphasizes
something as small as a cup of water for
the Christ is of cosmic importance.
Taken in perspective, this cup of water
symbolizes gospel – it’s not only what it takes
to be a disciple but rather what it means
to be a disciple.[2]
·
It means empowerment and struggle.
·
It means welcome and rejection.
·
It means division, persecution and the call to
faithfulness.
Perspective – having it and keeping it. This
is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus – both then and now. The rewards?
It is not about how one earns
the reward but how one recognizes the
reward. Here, Jesus is not talking about the actions the disciples are supposed to do.
Jesus talks about those who
welcome them, the ordinary little
ones that Jesus has commissioned. The
ones who welcome those disciples – even just giving them a cup of cold water –
those who welcome with a small gesture are now welcomed into the mission of the
disciples and of Jesus.
That means
·
just smiling at and really seeing strangers
instead of ignoring them.
·
Even offering to sit with someone and to listen
to their story of heart ache.
·
Even offering your own story of heartache, being
mutually vulnerable, and inviting someone to listen to you.
·
Even helping with summer starters on Sunday.
·
Even pulling weeds at Buckets of Rain on a
Thursday.
·
Even volunteering for one morning during
Vacation Bible School.
·
Even bringing extra supplies for your kid’s
teachers at the beginning of the school year.
·
Even speaking up for someone who is being
bullied.
These are small gestures, yes, and in the
Kingdom of God, there is no small gesture when it is done in faith. Each act of loving kindness has a cosmic
impact, affecting our hearts, those of others, and the ones who welcome them.
And even
as we celebrate our nation’s Independence
this week, today’s readings remind us that we live interdependently. Our gospel of grace has at its core a
mutuality: with each other, with the whole of creation and with God. This is a fundamental truth about ourselves,
that we can hear “even” in this small text – in our welcome, when we receive
one another, God receives us – that God upon whom we are dependent.
On the 4th of July, while we
celebrate, we can remember that Jesus calls usnot to a way of independent self-sufficiency. Jesus calls us to a welcoming
way of discipleship that is interdependent: for God, for our neighbors,
for our enemies, for ourselves.
And that is today’s promise – we have the
opportunity to be Jesus’ disciple and make a difference in the world. Every.
Single. Day. And God receives us. Every. Single. Day.
Today’s good news is that we are called not
to heroic discipleship, but genuine, authentic, faithful, consistent, daily
discipleship. Just, even, only
discipleship. This will make a difference beyond what we see – and that is
God’s perspective.
Through Christ, *even* this will
reverberate out and be used by God for the dream of God’s kingdom come.
Amen
[1]
Cited at https://betterlifecoachingblog.com/2010/07/23/five-blind-men-and-an-elephant-a-story-about-perspective/
on June 30, 2017
[2]
David Lose, “in the meantime” cited here on June 30, 2017: http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/pentecost-4-a-even/
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