Believe It! You Are Being Sent!
Do you see yourself as an apostle?
Isaiah 43:1-7, John 20:19-31
Can you recall the last
time you filled out a comment card? The
kind you find at hotels, restaurants, and other retail locations? They
are usually the size of index cards and have questions about quality on them
followed by little boxes nestled next to the words “poor,” “average” and
“excellent.” Some of us like to fill
these out as a way of expressing our appreciation or our dissatisfaction about
such things as the cleanliness of our room, the quality of the service and the
food, and the value of what we purchased.
Others of us just ignore these opportunities to provide a little
feedback. For both large and small
companies, comment cards are an inexpensive and convenient way to do some
research from a patron’s perspective into what’s working well and what needs
improvement.
We’re all important
members of the same company – the company of believers in Jesus Christ. We don’t sell a product, of course. But we do provide service. We don’t focus on money as our bottom line. But we do strive to make good investments that
grow the love of our Lord. We don’t go
around making sales pitches. But we do go about humbly and honestly
promoting what our faith holds as true.
In order to help evaluate how well you are representing
Christ’s highly diversified, international company -- here in this local branch
that is FPC and elsewhere -- how would you feel about being given some comment
cards to pass around after worship and then to everyone you interact with each
day this week? Just say something like,
“Would you mind giving me just a few minutes of your time to let me know your
thoughts on how well I’m doing representing Jesus?”
I suspect that for many
of us, this would be quite an uncomfortable thing to be asked to do! Generally speaking, being judged in any way by
others can produce a good bit of insecurity and anxiety. No need to worry, though. You won’t be handed any kind of comment card
as you leave this time of worship today.
Yet I do encourage you to spend time today and this coming week commenting
to yourself. Faithfully consider how well you are modeling
your life after the example of our Lord.
Reflect on how fully loving and accepting you are of family, friends,
neighbors and strangers … how comfortable you are communicating and acting on your
compassion for folks in great need of holy hope and healing … how often you help
folks get to know more about the kingdom of God, perhaps just by inviting them
to visit our FPC website, attend our time of worship, or be part of a mission
opportunity. What would you mark as
“poor,” “average” or “excellent?”
Before you do this, though, be reminded of how Jesus
sees you. A helpful way to do this is
by spending more time with this morning’s Scripture readings …
How do you think the
very first Christians might have evaluated themselves and each other as they
gathered behind a locked door following Jesus’ gruesome death? They’d gone into hiding in a house. They’d sat fearful of the future and of the
Jewish leaders who had led the charge for crucifixion. And we
can imagine they’d sat condemning themselves for having betrayed Jesus.
There would be the check mark next to “poor” for not
truly trusting that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and that all who
believe in him, even though they die, will live (John 11:25). There would be another such check mark for
not fully believing Jesus’ promise that he would not leave them orphaned, that
he would come to them (John 14:18).
And, my goodness, if Thomas had handed them all a comment card what
might have been written down in the additional comments section?
But take notice of what comment Jesus made three times
in this brief biblical scene. In
resurrected form that is utterly undeterred by locked doors, he appeared to
those first followers in that time of crippling fear, terrible doubt, and soul-crushing
shame. He didn’t come back in this
miraculous way so he could negatively comment on them all for being poor or
average followers. He did so to give them the empowering blessing
of holy peace. This wasn’t for the
purpose of helping them to just feel all tranquil and forgiven in their
hearts. It wasn’t offered so they’d
consider staying sequestered from the risk-filled world beyond the door. “Peace be with you” was said three times to
summon them out of that fear, that doubt and that shame. It was said to reassure them his resurrection
power, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was fully with them. It was to send them out of hiding and into
the world to declare and demonstrate the Good News. Have you ever felt summoned and sent like
this?
The biblical way to say this is that Jesus called on
them to be his apostles. We don’t use this word “apostle” a whole lot. Usually only when we mention Paul, right? We are more comfortable describing ourselves
as church members. We might be open to
seeing ourselves as disciples, that is, as Jesus’ students. But how many of us see ourselves as modern
day apostles?
The word simply means “one who is sent forth” in the
sense of being commissioned. Believe
it, you are being sent out this very day to be Jesus’ apostle! You are being sent forth to offer witness to the
life rescuing love of God the Father that Jesus the Son walked upon the earth
to fully reveal to us. Any x marks next to “poor” or “average” you
may give yourself don’t matter. Believing
that the boundless peace of Christ is with you through the power of the Holy
Spirit is what matters for your daily mission as an apostle. Do not fear, you are reminded in Isaiah, for
you have been redeemed and called by name.
God who created you honors you, finds you precious and loves you. When passing though fearful times, the Lord
is intimately and powerfully present so you will not be totally overwhelmed and
tempted to hide.
In the international, highly diversified company that is
the church, we are all different kinds of apostles. The way you prayed for and actively
supported your brother in Christ during his rehabilitation … excellent! All your effort in promoting the church event
that brought in a great crowd to the Community House … excellent! When you sang that inspirational solo that
praised God so beautifully … excellent!
When you painstakingly painted the fellowship hall and saw to other property
care improvements … excellent! For the
countless hours spent working on our congregational finances … excellent! For actively being involved with our hosting
of IHN … excellent! For smiling, and praying and offering that caring ear when it
was most needed ... excellent!
Next Saturday, I’ll
be going with my wife Stefanie, daughter Anna and some one hundred forty others
from this area as we all travel to Tennessee to participate in the Appalachia
Service Project. We aren’t going just as
volunteers who’ll make impoverished homes warmer, safer and dryer. We are first and foremost going as
apostles. The official ASP theme for
this summer is called “Apostello: Life on Purpose” and is based on John
20:21. The study guide available to all
apostles on the trip[i]
sums up this purpose for being sent to Tennessee very well. It says, “At ASP, we see a glimpse of what it
means to be sent out into the world as signs of Christ’s hope, and we remember
that this is Christ’s dream for the church. We are praying, and earnestly
believing, that you are sent into the world as Christ’s hands and feet. Be
sent…beyond your comfort zone, beyond stereotypes, beyond every boundary.” We are being sent by Jesus to make both physical
and spiritual improvements to the lives of our Appalachian neighbors. I can’t wait for us to share our comments
with you as we stand together as apostles before you during communion worship
in the Community House on the 27th.
Where are you being sent out by the Lord today? This week?
As you consider this, may you hear the holy words “Peace be with you”
whispered to your heart. Amen.
