 Monday, December 17, 2001 REWARDS Read: Matthew 10:40-42 The bible writers evidently understood long ago that we need to be rewarded for our efforts, or we quit working. (No pellets, no bar pressing, thank you!) I love the simple assurance of the Wisdom writers (Proverbs 22:4) -- The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. (So how come I didn't win the lottery? Especially since I promised to go 50-50 with the Lord? Not enough humility, you think?) But the prophets were very different. No moneygrubbers in this bunch. But also, no "rewards" that most of us would appreciate. The prophets, Jesus pointed out, were beaten, tortured, mocked, and killed, often at the hands of the priests and /or governments who claimed to serve God. Because we don't often see these promises fulfilled in our lives, many Christians have turned to promises of reward such as found in Daniel 12:13: "But you, go your way, and rest; you shall rise for your reward at the end of the days." This echoes in Matthew: [5:12] Rejoice and be glad [when you are treated badly] for your reward is great in heaven. . . . " As a seeker after social justice, I find this putting off of rewards "till we all get to heaven" to be problematical. Are we to live with injustice, hoping for that old "pie in the sky by and by"? Also unsatisfying is the assurance that "virtue is its own reward." I want something more. I want to see my efforts succeed. I want a payoff for all my hard work, all the risks I've taken, all the time I put in. Nothing motivates me to work as much as seeing success. But God pushes me [as God so often does] to look again at the beginning of this passage: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and . . . the one who sent me." A little promise of the Presence of God, those little moments in the midst of a good work when we are somehow certain that God smiles at us, even though we have seen no success. Those nights when we sink into bed, muttering a prayer under our breath asking God to "please fix" and hear God say, "I've got it. You get some sleep now." Those days when we groan in frustration at plans gone wrong and hear an echo of our sigh from the "other side." The reward is not in the work itself, nor in the success of our efforts, nor in the symbols of that success. The reward is much greater than that it is the sense that God labors beside us, granting us the strength of the Spirit, and the comforting Presence of the One Who has called us. The reward of the disciple is a cup of water from the Fountain of Life. And you were hoping for? Sandra Herrmann |