Whoever receives a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward…
We are defined by our acts of kindness!
Whenever, in the Second Book of Kings, the prophet Elisha comes to Shunem, he is treated with kindness by a woman of influence who, along with her husband, recognizes Elisha as a holy man of God. Appreciative of her repeated kindness and upon learning that she has no son, Elisha promises the woman, This time next year you will be fondling a baby son. Although she is at first skeptical, the woman will come to cherish this divine gift and sing the goodness of the Lord, following Psalm 89.
Did Jesus have this story in mind when, in Matthew’s Gospel, he says, whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward? Speaking to his disciples, Jesus sets forth a series of challenges, each of which contains both an invitation – Whoever… – and a clearly defined consequence: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of my disciples to drink will surely not lose his reward! Jesus is sending his disciples out into the world to proclaim the good news, and he wants them to know that for every condition he sets forth for discipleship, there is the possibility of a lasting recompense. The conditions of discipleship are not always easy: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, Jesus says. But to put Jesus first is to open oneself to absolute, infinite love; it changes you and it changes your capacity to love. If the disciples go forth with such love for the lost sheep of Israel, that love will reach out and draw those to whom they speak into relationship with Jesus. And the rewards are infinite: eternal life!
Our baptism into Christ Jesus has the power to draw us into the death of Jesus so that we can then rise with him to new life. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live in him, as the Letter to the Romans states. Baptism redefines us; it redefines the parameters of our existence and of our identity, allowing us to enter more profoundly into the life to which he calls us. We, like the disciples, are on a journey to do just this: to open our hearts to the Lord in such a way that our hearts are also absolutely open to everyone in our life and in our world. May we, like the woman of Shunem, be defined by our own acts of kindness, as we come to know the fullness of life in him, and become conduits of that life to all.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
