Welcome - Rev. Jonathan Warren

Our community is certainly blessed and uh has a joy in having Dominic LaSalle.

He's the JS band teacher.

And uh he's played here before, but it's it's a joy and great thing.

Uh they have concerts in the spring and the winter uh combined, uh choir and band, and they have a very uh gifted teacher and him and a very gifted band.

Um and so our community is quite blessed.

Thank you, Dominic.

Our gospel reading today comes from Matthew chapter 10.

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Just a few verses, verses 40 through 42.

Let us listen to the word of God.

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me.

And whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.

Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous.

And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Years ago, when our family boarded the high-speed train from London to Paris, we could finally put up our feet and rest.

After a busy morning at a museum, we were looking forward to quiet time, catching up on our journals, maybe a nap.

But the Brits who boarded the train a few seats down pulled out champagne and more champagne.

And eventually I wandered about and discovered that all the other cars were nice and quiet except for ours.

It didn't take long to realize that the train car we were riding was the party car.

Needless to say, for the two hours of our trip, our cur kids weren't able to rest that much.

When the poll when the train pulled into the Parish train station as everyone was exiting, our kids were tired.

And Siobhan was absolutely livid that this group was so loud that entire time.

One of the Brits noticed that we had children and apologized to Siobhan on behalf of his group for being so loud and obnoxious.

Noticing that Siobhan uh didn't even move or change or acknowledge the apology, he exclaimed, Apology not accepted.

His recognition of her frustration was enough to break the ice, and Siobon burst out into laughter.

We were traveling with a family in a faraway place, and we just wanted rest.

And a group of young Brits on their way to Paris.

They wanted to have a fun weekend together.

The train was just the beginning.

And this apology not accepted reminded us of a small act of hospitality.

In today's scripture reading, Jesus continues to send out his disciples out, and he's getting them ready for this wide open world, and he's instructing them on how to act as followers of God.

Out of the 17 words, he says he repeats one word five times.

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

Whoever welcomes a prophet.

Now just to make sure we're all on the same page.

Welcomes matter a lot to Jesus and to God.

It's as simple as what Mr.

Rogers spent his whole life teaching children to do, to welcome our neighbors, to care for one another, to simply be hospitable.

It's so simple the children can be taught to be welcoming.

And yet somehow it's harder than it should be in the world that we live in.

Instead of a welcoming and opening spirit, we live in a world that elevates scarcity and fear, hatred and pain.

The world teaches us to erect walls and draw lines in the sand.

The world gives power to bullies who stomp their feet and kick their feet around in fear.

The power hungry in our world take from the weak and the needy.

The wealthy and the beautiful in our world seem to receive rewards that rarely get shared with the poor.

It's likely why Jesus teaches his disciples that God wants us to live differently.

Jesus gives a simple example of this welcoming spirit when he says, Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of the little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

It's as simple as common manners.

When you meet someone or welcome somebody, all you have to do is offer them a drink, a cup of cold water.

A cup of water becomes a symbol of something much greater than just a drink.

We see it happen in 1 Kings 17 during the middle of a drought when the prophet Elijah meets a widow in Zarephath and asks her for a drink of water.

And she's uh she's on her way to go get the water, but remember they're in a drought.

And he also asks her to bring him a piece of bread.

And then she breaks down and telling him all she has is a handful of flour and a jar, and she's using it as a last meal for her her and her son.

That we may eat it and die.

She says.

God works differently than our world.

Instead of one last loaf of bread, God provides a jar that never goes empty.

While the world brings drought and death, God uses the cup of water to show us the widow's welcoming spirit and hospitality.

While the world focuses on scarcity, God gives abundance that never runs dry.

And this cup of water symbolizes life and abundance.

Juneteenth was the day slavery was abolished in 1865.

As great as our nation was at its founding, not all men were actually considered to be created equal.

Black men and women were sold as property, and families were broken apart.

LeVar Burton shares a book in the show, Reading Rainbow, and he says, in spite of the hardships, enslaved Africans built new families, new communities.

Traditions were kept alive, children learned the stories, games, and dances of their people, and always there was music.

The hope of someday being free was not enough.

The best way to escape was under the cover of darkness.

But how could they find their way north at night?

Escaping slaves sang a song about those stars that led them to freedom.

It was a song called Follow the Drinking Gourd.

Slave owners knew it as the Big Dipper.

But that group of stars also looked just like their drinking gourd.

The long handle and a bowl at the end.

And since it held the North Star, the drinking gourd directed them north to freedom.

And Burton continued, songs like Follow the Drinking Gourd led the way north for many slaves.

Music did more for African Americans than lead us to freedom, expressed joys and sorrows that lifted our spirits and gave us hope.

In this sense, the drinking gourd provided more than just a cup of water.

It provided a literal way for enslaved black people to be free.

Sometimes all it takes to break down barriers is a cup of water.

This cup of water pointed an enslaved people toward freedom, giving them life and abundance instead of death.

Let me share another story about the power of a cup of water.

Our church has a long-standing history of sending funds to Marion Medical Missions, which builds wells in Africa.

These wells provide a sustainable source of clean, safe drinking water.

I want to share a story from missionary Tiffany Howie, who shares part of her experience.

She says this last year was my second trip to Africa with Marion Medical Missions.

I remember the previous year I felt the familiar pull of the Holy Spirit.

You want me to go where, Lord?

I felt so unqualified.

When I finally arrived, I was so overwhelmed by the things I saw.

There was need everywhere.

What difference did it make if I was there?

It didn't feel like I was going to do much.

This year I remembered getting out of the truck and seeing a sea of tiny faces staring back at me.

At first, a lot of the kids were afraid of me, but by the end of the dedication of a new well, I had made seven new friends.

When we finished, I said goodbye to my friends and hopped into the truck.

When I opened the door at the next well, I was surprised to see my same seven friends smiling at me from ear to ear.

And somehow they had raced way ahead of the truck and beat us to the next well.

And they did this five more times that day.

On one of the longer walks, one of the girls stopped and took a drink of water out of the old water source.

This wasn't my first year, so I shouldn't have been surprised to see this, but this girl was my friend now.

This was a girl that I had played with, laughed with, skipped with, and who, Lord willing, will never have to drink that contaminated water again.

Sometimes the need seems overwhelming.

Sometimes we wonder if what we are doing is really making a difference.

But we worship a God who sees everything.

He saw the need of my friend in Africa and allowed me to be part of answering that need.

There is no need too big for our God to handle.

He will empower you to do the things he has called you to.

Trust in him and watch him do the rest.

These wells bring clean water to children and families in Africa.

These cups of water bring hope and wellness and life to so many people.

Water is a rich symbol in Scripture and in the story of humanity.

It means life and abundance, safety, it means health, welcome and freedom.

And something as simple as a cup of water can change lives.

It has a ripple effect.

And when Jesus instructs his disciples to give a cup of cold water, he's teaching them to welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome five times, welcome.

Because it's an opening for conversation, an invitation for hospitality, welcomes relationship and community.

Where in your life is someone asking for a cup of water?

It might be a literal cup of water.

It might be an invitation.

Who is a person you know who needs this welcome, a reminder of God's abundance, an invitation to walk beside a friend.

Something as simple as a cup of water that leads us all to hope, to freedom, to life, to abundance, and to so much more.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

If you found this podcast inspirational and would like to support the First Love Ministry programs at First Presbyterian Church, please send any contributions to First Presbyterian Church at 870 West College.

Jacksonville, Illinois.

Our phone is 217-245-4189.

You can contact our Secretary, they are 20 hours of nine.