World wide communion meditation 100211
Psalm 19; Matthew 28:;16-20
Margaret Scott
Our psalm today tells us about God—no kidding. Well, more accurately, it tells us THAT God is….without a word spoken, the whole cosmos tells us God is, God says
It’s a wisdom psalm—it offers two sources of wisdom: the cosmos tells us God is, and tradition/teaching that tell us what God says.
It’s this last, God says, that connects that ancient song with the later gospel words….God speaks. And it’s God speaking that brings good news: in the face of the vast, cosmic, unspoken existence of God, comes God’s words, God’s teaching, God’s personal message for little old me. From “the heavens are telling” to listening to God’s word, “I shall be blameless” says the psalm, and this same cosmic God gives us Jesus, known as the Word of God, spoken in real life, to real people, in real relationships….then tells this Jesus to pass the divine word along to the disciples, to us, to all the world…it’s huge. This is known as the Great Commission, and it’s a divine word, from God, and a commission, not a suggestion: we are to follow Jesus in training others in this way of God, instructing them in the practice of a God-life.
This making disciples commission comes right out of Jesus’ mouth—say the gospel writers, a divine word acted out for centuries since.
it’s in our UMC and annual conference mission statements- ours not so much—ours leaves more space for interpretation. I wonder why? Could it be that this commission makes many of us squirm a bit. First because we’re uncomfortable with the idea of ‘making disciples’, and most of us haven’t the foggiest idea of what it would look like to take Jesus seriously, so rather than struggle with the connection between faith and daily life, we ignore it.
Or maybe we don’t think the world really needs this any more; we’re a so-called Christian nation, our little corner of the world is just fine the way it is.
Some of us have some kind of browbeating, Christianizing army image of ‘making disciples’, and we don’t want to be seen like that, and don’t believe that was Jesus’ way either.
Maybe we need to re-think what making disciples is…. Not Christianizing the nations, but sharing the Jesus lifestyle and mindset contagiously, by our lives…the translation can also be made: make disciples FROM all nations, and for sure,
there are people in other nations, of other faiths, who consider following Jesus’ way quite acceptable: Ghandi, for one, saw Jesus as eminently followable. It was Christians he had trouble with.
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
Mohandas Gandhi
And, Making disciples doesn’t always involve preaching or teaching people, most of us are poorly equipped and even turn down opportunities for training—why else do we have trouble finding SS teachers to share the faith in this building, let alone people willing to share faith in ordinary life places like home or work or school?
It means making people want to follow Jesus; and I know there are times I don’t set much of a Jesus example…
But let’s take heart from this text—it’s wonderfully encouraging, not guiltmaking at all!!
Let’s look at these disciples: they’re a motley crew. They have imperfect pasts, and present doubts. They’re moving ahead not knowing what lies ahead.
Sound familiar?
We bring our imperfect pasts with us this morning; we bring our doubts. We joke at the beginning of worship about saints and sinners, but it’s profoundly true. We are works in progress; we don’t have our act together.
What’s encouraging and meaningful is that Jesus is undeterred by doubting disciples with imperfect pasts, and present excuses. God gives THEM a task. They are to be part of something BIG, something divine, something world-wide, something practical, not theoretical. That’s wonderfully meaningful for life!
And they don’t have to be perfect or have their act together to do it! That’s wonderfully encouraging for life.
And what Jesus commands, Jesus enables:
‘as you go’ he says, I will be with you. You are not alone
As you go, not before you go. Christ’s Present Presence is promised. That’s wonderfully empowering for life!
Our UMC takes God’s presence into all the world; our participation in FUMC helps that happen…even as far as Kamina in the DRC as we heard at breakfast this morning. But every bit as importantly is who takes God’s presence into YOUR world, your family, your class, your workplace. Who goes to make disciples in our SS? At learning links? On Culver Rd at Covenant?
Here in this holy place, on this momentary mountain, we meet Jesus again, here again we are commissioned to be part of something BIG, here we are empowered to go and make disciples, maybe just one baby step at a time.. A little bread, a dip of juice, shared around the world at this moment, are the very life of Jesus, the promised presence empowering and equipping us – will we take a little step and go? Will we show Jesus in our life?
Will someone see in you, in me, something THEY need and be inspired to follow Jesus?
Can we share what you have found in the Jesus life?
Will you teach about the Jesus life?
Lots of ways to live this out…. Opportunities abound to learn AS we go - opportunities to study, to teach, to serve – that’s why we call our children and youth ministries leaders ‘co-learners’.
Go and make disciples the St Francis way, preach the gospel everywhere you can, if necessary, use words.
Or go and make disciples the John Wesley way
Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can.
Above all, hear the words of Jesus: as you do these things, I am with you.
The cosmic God is as close as that.
Make disciples?
Yes, we can.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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