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Karen Hollis | June 28, 2026 5th Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 10:40-42 “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.”
Let us pray . . . May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be reflections of your word to us today, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen
This is a curious little text. It’s a mystery as to why the lectionary committee pulled these 4 verses out to stand alone, but for such a short reading, there is sure a lot to unpack. I had to look up like half a dozen words before I started planning my reflection. Let’s begin with a question that is important to ask of any text: why was it written this way?
This question invites us this morning not into the text itself, but the world in which this gospel was written. You may remember last week’s text, which comes right before this one. Jesus sends the disciples out, bearing the good news, with instructions to stay where the good news is welcome and move on where it is not. The long chapter ends with this brief teaching on hospitality.
The text talks about 3 groups of people: prophets, righteous people, and little ones. First, prophets: “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” To unpack this sentence in the context in which it was written, we turn to the Didache, a Christian catechism from the 1st or 2nd century. It describes Christian teachings of the time, practices, and the shape of Christian community. The Didache defines prophets as wandering representatives of Christ who should be given hospitality for only short periods of time, so that they would not settle down but continue traveling and sharing the good news (Didache 11:3-6).
This kind of prophet wouldn’t have existed during Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is new, everyone is learning from him and about him for the first time, and even his closest followers are still struggling to get their feet under them. The context in which the text was written, however, moves us forward in time some 100 years. There are lots of prophets who fit this description, like Peter, Paul, Philip, and many more who are unnamed.
The second group of people are translated: the righteous. These are also itinerant Christians needing hospitality along the way, though they travel with a different gift. The Greek word here suggests they practiced justice and solidarity.1 Perhaps they travel around making sure people have what they need.
With these 2 examples, the text is actually telling us about the importance of hospitality for these people. Luckily at this point there are also lots of small communities who follow the Way. There are households who have been following now for generations, households of people who have wrestled with their faith, put their learning into practice, and can receive a prophet or righteous one in their name, because the hosts are also ambassadors for Christ. These verses speak particularly to these followers of the way who can offer hospitality – in the case of prophets – just long enough for rest and restoration, before sending them out again to share the good news. These verses speak of hospitality as an equal role to that of itinerant ministry. Both are needed to spread the gospel in any kind of sustainable way. We are one in Christ, and it takes all of our gifts and callings working together to bring about God’s kindom in every time and place.
The last group mentioned in the text is the “little ones.” Some people cringe at this term (I get that) . . . here’s some context: lists of 3 are common in scripture and the third is often surprising and the most important.2 Here we have one who shares the good news, one who stands in solidarity for justice, and little ones . . . and they are perhaps new to the faith, and they are perhaps vulnerable. These are the most important. They need encouragement, they need kindness. They need connection and genuine care. In this season of learning and building a firm foundation beneath them, a gesture or kindness that seems small and insignificant can make all the difference.
Let’s circle back to welcome. The passage opens: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” The text invites those receiving visitors to offer a welcome that is holistic. In this biblical context, to welcome is to grant someone access, to receive favourably, and to learn or to make something one’s own.3 So, welcome operates on all levels. It’s an openness to someone’s physical presence, their God, their stories, ideas, experiences, emotions, theologies, and spirits.
Of course, it’s a little trickier than that in practice. The landscape of Christian theology was as vast then as it is these days, with deserts and canyons separating some of us. It sometimes feels like we are practicing completely different religions. In the liberal/progressive church that doesn’t hold central a particular set of doctrines, we’ve wondered along the way where the theological limits are. I continue to resonate with the idea of a focus, a center, rather than a dividing line. A Christ-centered space where those who want to be there gather round, as close or as far from Christ as each of us prefers. We gather around the warmth of Jesus’ teaching of justice and peace, and God’s love for all that don’t just appear in one verse, but echo throughout scripture.
Even after we ground ourselves theologically, we’ve still wondered along the way: are there limits on our welcome? At this point in the exercise we go to extremes to name what is and is not ok within our community of faith. There do need to be healthy boundaries on our welcome . . . but I don’t think it’s a question of who is welcome, rather a question of behaviour. A colleague reminded me recently of a distinction that I find very helpful. He said: all people are welcome, but not all behaviours are welcome. I love it. All people are welcome, but not all behaviours are welcome. So, for example, while you can bring your particular theology and ideas, the boundary is around sharing respectfully and making equal space for all.
As Christian community, we’re at our best across time and space, when we hold Christ at the center, share our ideas about where God is present, how God is working, and listen for Christ speaking in our fellow followers. At our best, there is a coming together, there is an exchange and within the exchange, even if it is brief, there is blessing. We know this from our own experience.
The text says that within this exchange there is reward. That’s a little weird, isn’t it? Is God’s economy transactional? If it’s “do this and get a reward,” is it also “don’t do this and get punished?” Doesn’t sound like the way God shows up to us. I liked what I read about the Greek word here for “reward.” It said the reward is the natural result of our actions. The reward is the experience that flows from our authentic fellowship, sharing, and exchange. One commentator notes that speaking of rewards at all suggest that the mission of those sent out will be successful, because the mission is ultimately in God’s hands.
I didn’t plan it this way, but we could think of this service today is a kind of commissioning of us all to be ambassadors for Christ and Comox United as we go out to our neighbouring churches in July. All of our churches are sent out, and we all find places of rest with each other. Each congregation participating is unique, each has a specific call that is different from the others, each has a particular way of lifting up Christ at their center, each is imperfect, and each is blessed. It takes all of us to bring about God’s kindom in this time and place. So, I encourage you to participate in as many of these services as you are able, even if it’s online. Christ’s gifts to us are boundless, so it is impossible for one congregation to live into all of it. So, let’s go with curiosity and openness to learn about Christ and Christian community and what gifts we may exchange with our neighbours and siblings in Christ. Thanks be to God.
1 enfleshed July 2, 2023
2 enfleshed July 2, 2023
3 Blue Letter Bible https://www.blueletterbible.org/