A Cup of Cold Water

I have already covered today's Gospel lectionary reading in what I have written over the past few days. However, it is good to go back over Scriptures we think we have understood. There is always something new to see....

Matthew 10:34-11:1Jesus said, 'Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.'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.'Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their cities.

The words that stood out the most to me in reading over this text again today were these:

... 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.

So often I find myself wanting to do great things for God and his kingdom. However, as Mother Teresa said, "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

Thus, today, maybe the best thing we can do is to look for opportunities to simply "give a cup of cold water" to someone.

Here was what I read on Sacred Space today about this passage....

Jesus is speaking about the cost of discipleship and puts before the twelve the challenge of taking up the Cross as a condition of following him. The litany of references to welcoming suggests that it is often through the small things we do – such as giving a cup of water to somebody in need of it, that we can build the kingdom of God.
Perhaps I sometimes consider the cross as something that weighs me down or as a symbol for the difficulties of modern day life which I can experience. Lord, help me to remember that you carry the cross with me during all of my struggles.
Lord, I pray for the grace to go forward in faith with you by recognising your face in the poor, the suffering, the needy and reaching out to them with the same unconditional love that you love me.

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