Rewards

Matthew 10: 40-42

Judges 15: 1-5

2 Timothy 2: 11-13

Rewards

We’ve all seen the big, hairy Viking oaf who is the spokesman for the CapitalOne Visa card: ”What’s in your wallet?”

He demands to know, because if it’s not the credit card he is hawking, you are missing out on all the rewards you could be getting. Every credit card company out there is trying to convince us that running up even more debt is a “rewarding” thing to do. We will be the recipients of all these wonderful “rewards” if we just use their card for all our purchases. Discounted merchandise, frequent flyer miles, room upgrades, even cash back formulas, are all promised by various cards as our “reward” for jacking up our monthly bill.

But for the most part, all those perks and presents are trotted out in order to draw our attention away from our ever escalating balances and the bank’s stratospheric interest rates. This “final reward” was described best in the old folk tune “Sixteen Tons” — where the miner admits he is just “another year older and deeper in debt . . . I owe my soul to the company store.” A “reward” shouldn’t suck your soul away. A “reward” should set your soul soaring.

Remember how good it made you feel to be “rewarded” for memorizing Bible verses in Sunday school? Remember how you coveted your friend’s perfect attendance Sunday school pins that made his coat look like a 4-star general’s uniform? Whether you got “Awana Bucks” or plastic jewels to put in your plastic crown pin, or stripes on your sleeve as you rose in rank in “the Lord’s army,” the real reward was feeling the joy of a “mission accomplished.”

As Jesus prepared his disciples to go out on their first missionary journey he didn’t sugar coat the situation they would be facing. He warned them that pain and persecution, criticism and complaints, disgrace and even death, would accompany their efforts to serve as messengers of Jesus. But in his final words to them Jesus promises rewards, rewards that would transform his disciples and rewards that would extend out to others…

There is an old legend about Satan one day having a yard sale. He thought he'd get rid of some of his old tools that were cluttering up the place. So there was gossip, slander, adultery, lying, greed, power-hunger, and more laid out on the tables. Interested buyers were crowding the tables, curious, handling the goods. One customer, however, strolled way back in the garage and found on a shelf a well-oiled and cared-for tool. He brought it out to Satan and inquired if it was for sale. "Oh, no!" Satan answered. "That's my tool. Without it I couldn't wreck the church! It's my secret weapon!" "But what is it?" the customer inquired.

"It's the tool of discouragement," the devil said.

In the text Jesus is talking to the church about their attitude and deportment toward the prophets God sends among us as shepherds. He speaks frankly about acceptance and rejection, about kindness and trust.

One of the greatest deterrents to our spiritual progress is our inability to shake off the things done to us by others. We can't get on with our lives because we are still angry and hurt by another's sin against us. We must find ways of redirecting our antagonism into something higher. We must channel our hurt, our anger, our despair, and our disappointment into something positive. Let go. Unpack the baggage.

Jesus exhorts his disciples in Matthew 10,  saying in effect, if the people do not receive you, don't get stuck. In other words, he is saying, stop wallowing in the quagmires of the past. Get your passport stamped and move on to higher ground, to your next destination.

One way to do that is to find more ways to serve others with God’s love. Individuals and congregations who are caught up in service to their community, reaching out beyond the church, are congregations who become vital and more and more immune to discouragement and conflict within.

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. The kids all grabbed their 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 had contributed extra 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.

Those students 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 care, to demonstrate God's loving-kindness, and to teach others to do the same.

This past week, a bunch of Phil Campbells descended on the small town of Phil Campbell, Alabama to revive an annual gathering that has been ongoing for some time. This year, though, the Phils have a bit of a mission. They are gathered to help out the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama after the devastating tornado of April 28th, 2011. The Phils are extending themselves to their namesake town in a spirit of camaraderie and good will.

“It’s an odd privilege,” said Alaska Phil, a pastor from Juneau. “Just because of the happenstance of my name, I have a chance to do some good.”

If a bunch of guys can gather to do good works because of the coincidence of their name, how many places can we find good works to do because of our choice to be called Christians? How many ways can we pull ourselves together, put ourselves out there, and gang up for good? The rewards of doing so are great.