Matthew 10:40-42 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 10:40-42 on biblegateway.com
Verse 40"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Verse 41Whoever 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; Verse 42and 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."
Devotion
Go drink a glass of water. Seriously, go do it. I’ll wait.
There. Feel better? Chances are, if you are like me and most Americans, you are probably low-level dehydrated most of the time. In college, I had a teacher’s assistant whose first and last statement to us each day was always: “Make sure you drink enough water.” She knew that we would not be our best if we were not, first and foremost, well hydrated.
In this week’s gospel reading, Jesus says: “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.” Jesus says the act of giving water to someone is a profound act of discipleship. Now I’m not a doctor; I’m a pastor. But today I’m going to share with you a deep spiritual insight: Drink water. Stay hydrated, and encourage others to do so as well. You’ll feel better, and you’ll treat your neighbor better too.
Prayer
Compassionate God, you nourish our souls with living water. Stir us up to take care of ourselves and drink physical water too! Amen.