Proper 8 A St. Matthew 10:40-42 June 29, 2011 Chris Rose A Cup of Cold Water “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. It doesn’t sound like very much, giving someone a cup of cold water, but it can mean everything to somebody, especially on a hot day at this time of the year. There are many who cannot afford to buy a bottle of water and have no place to get a drink of it when they are away from their homes. To them, a cup of cold water would mean so much. Most of the people who are homeless and live out of doors have no source for water other than the local fast food restaurant, and they might just as well want to blow them off as they see their presence as a hindrance to other customers in the dining area. Giving a cup of water is an act which is so simple, and yet reveals the heart of the giver. It is a simple act of kindness and caring. It readily acknowledges the humanity of the recipient. And what does it take to fetch a cup of water? What great interruption of our time? And for that price, what a difference it could make to a thirsty soul whose yearning was noticed and sated. Conan O’Brien, that great theologian of late night television was quoted in Guideposts magazine recently, sharing this worthy pearl of wisdom: “Work hard and be kind and amazing things will happen.” What little does it take for us to be kind to others, to share that cup of cold water when it is needed, to comfort the broken hearted and disappointed, the hurting and the longing soul? Kindness costs us little or nothing. However, the converse of kindness costs us much. Consider the story of Lazarus and Dives in the Gospel of Luke chapter 16: [Luke 16:19-31] There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich mans table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores. Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. Im in agony in this fire. But Abraham said, Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. Its not like that here. Here hes consoled and youre tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us. The rich man said, Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they wont end up here in this place of torment. Abraham answered, They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them. I know, Father Abraham, he said, but theyre not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways. Abraham replied, If they wont listen to Moses and the Prophets, theyre not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead. This simple parable suggests the high cost of ignoring the needs of human souls around you, and the price one will pay in the next life for doing so. It is a disturbing image which should move us to action. What does it take to share a cup of cold water with a thirsty soul? A cup of cold water is simple relief from the stress of heat, bringing a smile to Lazarus in the gate, that someone noticed his plight, acknowledged his humanity, and cared enough to relieve his suffering. A simple cup of water, that’s all it takes. It’ doesn’t require a gift of lots of money. It doesn’t ask much of us in the bank of our time. Just a cup of cold water. Cold water can also be a metaphor for something else a thirsty soul might long for. The word of God is not heard as much these days and there are many who long to hear a few spiritual words that will touch their souls and answer their questions and longings. A word from God can be like a cup of cold water when you are very thirsty. Have you every awakened parched, longing to pick up some passage in the scriptures or perhaps your copy of Forward Day By Day, hoping for a word of wisdom to start your day and inspire your soul? What would you do if God asked you for a cup of water? We have one glimpse of what might happen in this scene from John’s Gospel: [John 4:5-15] “So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacobs well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him, Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it? Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” So the water which Jesus gives us is a living water which will gush up to eternal life, and we will be thirsty no longer. The water we drink in this life when we thirst, will only quench our thirst temporarily and we will be thirsty again, but the living water that God offers us will satisfy us for a lifetime. Such is the sort of water of which I spoke earlier, which I seek each morning to refresh my soul. What would you do if God asked you for a drink of water? Well, he did, from the cross, while he was dying for us. He said, “I thirst.” And the response of those gathered at the foot of his cross was to dip a sponge in vinegar, and hold it to his lips for him to have a drink. No cup of kindness or relief for Him, but just a sour, reviling wetting of his lips with a bitter draught of liquid. No kindness or compassion here. Amazing God would command us to give a cup of cold water in His name to a thirsty soul. What does it take to show your compassion? A simple draught of water. But to do so, your heart must be turned to others, and watered with the living water of Jesus. AMEN
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 21:26:51 +0000
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