A small cup of water in Jesus' name

XXVI SUNDAY “B” Mark 9, 38-48 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

I love this line in the gospel today because it is so simple and so true. To give a drink of water to someone who is thirsty…it cost nothing but can be so important. How many times has someone given you a drink of water, loaned you a tissue, a cough drop, given you a direction, a pen to write an address, a hello or a good morning from a stranger on the street? And how many times have you done the same? A drink of water, a tissue, a cough drop, a direction, a pen, a hello or a good morning? They are all small and simple gestures but so very important. What Jesus is talking about is these little gestures of kindness and they tend to get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things that we do. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. They are things that bring faith to life. They are the things that make the world a better place, a kinder place, a more human place. They are small miracles and Jesus says, “don’t hold back on these miracles.” No, Jesus wants to encourage them, to spread them, He asks us to go through life, our everyday life, encouraging all these little signs of love as signs of his own living and active presence in our world. The readings today talk about jealousy. Joshua didn’t want Eldad and Medad to be prophesying because they weren’t on the list of “approved” Prophets. In the Gospel John tries to prevent someone from driving out demons because they weren’t a part of the “group” Moses and Jesus will have none of it. If someone is doing good in the name of Jesus don’t stop them in fact the opposite is true. Don’t stop people, encourage people to do good. I think that that is why Jesus gives this example of giving a cup of water. It is something that everyone can do, it is something that everyone should do. We are all called to be missionaries. We are all called to be people of kindness and compassion. Now you may wonder, how can I be a missionary? What is it that I can possible do? Like Medad and Eldad maybe you can’t be a prophet, like the unamed exorcist in the Gospel maybe we can’t drive out demons but we can all give someone a cup of water. The act of giving a cup of water is a recognition that the other is a person it is a small miracle and that is what our world is in need of. I think that we can say that the Gospel message today has two points, one: to work these small miracles, these small bits of kindness, and two: encourage others to do the same. It is great that we have these different acopios in our parish to help others who are in need, but God forbid we would never try to stop someone from doing good because they come from a different church. In fact the way to encourage others to do good, is by doing good. You say hello to a person on the street and they might just say hello back. You allow someone to go ahead of you who is waiting in line and they might do the same thing for someone else. If we give even a glass of water in the name of Jesus we will not go without our reward. So lets start giving out those cups of water, let us start these small acts of love and kindness and soon the world will be a better place.