Sent to Love: Ready or Not
Posted on Jun 18, 2017 by David Whetter
Last Sunday we read about Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This Great Commission as we call it, came after Jesus had spent many years with his disciples in mission and after his death and resurrection. Jim Rehor offered us a great interpretation of this scripture last week when he spoke about how we might go about this difficult task of making disciples.
But, this Great Commission is hard to do and it is something we all struggle with. How do we make disciples? How do we get new people involved in the church? After all, that is what Jesus’ commission was about. Inviting people into the church and teaching people what it means to be the church. Here at Salem we are in the midst of talking about how we grow our community. But most of the time when the question comes up, we avoid the topic. We don’t want to go out and talk with people. We don’t want to share our faith story, or talk about what God is up to in the world. That is hard. We’d rather talk about sports, or the weather. We’d rather talk about and implement things that we know are more comfortable doing. It’s easier to talk about offering a different kind of worship, than it is to go out and talk to people about coming to worship or about our faith. It is always easier to do what we are confident in than to do something that is challenging, unfamiliar, and hard.
Right now, with all the challenges we are facing, many of us have said we cannot sustain the mission we are doing without growth, and I agree, and Jesus would agree. IN fact, Jesus knew, even in his day, the church could not grow and sustain itself without new disciples, so, before he left this earth he commanded his followers, “Go, grow my church, share with the world the joy and heartache of the church and do not be afraid to do this, for I am with you always.”
Just as God selected the Israelites in the days of Moses to be his people, to be a light to all nations (Exodus 19), Jesus selected specific people in his life that would go out to the world and continue his work. Now, when Jesus said, ‘go make disciples…” I have to wonder, what did the disciples think? Well, depending on which gospel story you read, they either immediately started do what Jesus said, or they waited awhile but in either case, eventually, we know they took this commission to heart and they went about spreading the good news and attempting to grow the church.
But, how did they get to the point that they could go and do this work? Well, today we go back to when their ministry started. In the gospel of Matthew, as Jesus begins his ministry, he called a few disciples and then immediately began preaching and teaching and for Matthew it all started with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. And when that was over, we are told of more healings and the call of the rest of his disciples, which is where our story beings today. The disciples were new to this work; they had watched Jesus but they haven’t had to do anything. Then, suddenly, without warning Jesus does what every student dreads. Like a master teacher, he says, OK, it’s time for the test. It’s time to see what you know. He sent them out to do the work he had been doing. Ready or not, it was time to test the waters. IF people reject you, keep moving and keep telling the story.
Now, he didn’t send them just anywhere. He didn’t have them go to places where Gentiles and Samaritans were, that would have been too difficult. They weren’t ready for that, but he did send them out amongst other Jews. That would be a good starting point and safe start, right?
“See, I am sending you like sheep into the midst of wolves;…” (10:16). Apparently, there is no safe place to talk about God and God’s reconciling work in this world. Talking about God and God’s call for all of our lives is dangerous because it requires us to challenge the world, and ourselves, to be different. It requires us to challenge the status quo. It requires us to look at our work and our own way of living and to challenge those who claim to be like us to do the same, and usually when you do that, people don’t like it. Jesus says, they become like wolves, and wolves hunt in packs, and they will descend on those trying to bring about change, attempting to devour us. That image makes you want to go right out and be one of those faithful disciples, doesn’t it? Now, we will hear more about Jesus’ words of warning next week, but it is important to note that even though Jesus knew how hard and how dangerous this work was going to be, he didn’t wait to send out his disciples. He didn’t accept excuses like, we need more time to learn what to do. We need more money, we need… No, instead, he said, ready or not, I am sending you out to do this. Go, tell the good news, heal the sick, cast out demons, and do not be afraid of those who will make fun of you or persecute you, because where you go, I will be there too.
We, too, fear and question our ability to live out God’s call for our lives, don’t we? Heck, we even question whether or not we can live up to God’s challenge for us right here in our own community and in our personal lives. The countless self-help books and resources available today are evidence that many people don’t feel up to every task of life.
And when we think about Jesus’ commission to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” the immensity of that task makes us wonder whether we are, or will be, good enough. After all, it is hard enough to talk about our faith with our own loved ones, let alone with strangers. After all, God doesn’t expect us to do something that we are not equipped to do, right? Well, to prepare his disciples for such a task, Jesus sent them out in the very beginning, and he didn’t let them use excuses or their doubts to stop them.
And although we might doubt our abilities to grow God’s church, God doesn’t. God uses us where we are needed most and where our gifts and graces will bring God’s kingdom here on earth. God calls us to bring light to the darkness, and good news to the world. This work isn’t easy. Ready or not, God sends us into places and ministries that will make us very uncomfortable and even scared, but God doesn’t doubt that we can do it. God’s call causes us to stretch ourselves in ways we thought we could never be stretched, but in doing this we will grow.
As a faith community, we are in that place today, aren’t we? We are challenged now to go and make disciples so that we can continue God’s work. To do this, we must focus on growing the church. It is hard to know what God expects of us at times when it comes to specific issues or decisions, but the truth is, what God expects of us is that whatever we do, it is first and foremost about making disciples. Ready or not, Jesus says to us today, go! Are you ready? Amen.