The Rector writes...
What does Jesus offer as a 'reward'?
At one stage of his journey into faith, St Peter was moved to ask Jesus, "What is going to be my reward for all this?" Also, the mother of two other disciples was moved to ask if her boys could sit either side of Him on his throne in his Kingdom.
This idea that there has to be a material reward for our righteous activity has persisted down the ages and given rise to all kinds of corruption in the dealings of mankind.
From the sale of indulgences in the middle ages to religious extremism in the present time. The idea of an after-death 'prize' has been dangled before people - often to make them conform to ideas laid down by those with material power over them in this life.
The suicide bomber has nearly always been convinced by someone that a material reward, a paradise, awaits to give him endless pleasure once he is dead.
But what does Jesus offer as a 'reward'? He simply offers us his companionship.
When Peter asked "What is in it for me?", that was the answer he received - that Jesus would be with him for ever, wherever he found himself. And that is indeed the reward. St Paul found it to be a gift beyond measure, and it is true for us who live now as well.
We who share Christ's company every day, come to know in time that his interest in us (his love for us) is live-giving: a taste of eternal life now! - enabling us to live constructively with the events that make up our days.
Our calling is to trust him now in this moment, for dwelling in the experience of his care is our final destination. There is nothing greater or beyond that!
It gives us the certainty that when we step through the gate of death, he will still be the loving companion he has always been.