Rev. Richard Smith
Eastertide: Celebrating The Impact Of The Resurrection
| John 20:20-21 The disciples were overjoyed when they saw Jesus was alive. Jesus said to them, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ |
In the Gospel of John, Jesus appears to the disciples in the Upper Room and after showing them that it is really him, says, As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.
You’ve got to be kidding? This is laughable. The persons he plans to send into the world is this band of disciples? Keep in mind that they’re not gathered there to rally for the cause of Jesus and to go share his name in the world; they’re gathered there out of absolute fear. They’re afraid the Jewish and Roman authorities will do to them exactly what they did to Jesus. They’re literally cowering in fear. They’re doing all they can to keep hidden. This is by no means a picture of a group of stalwart followers.
How could these beleaguered and frightened disciples become Jesus’ witnesses out in the world? Because they will be empowered, as Jesus promises, by the presence of God’ Spirit. As one Christian thinker rightly puts it, God will never ask us to do what He does not offer us the power to do. As Jesus sends them, he is assuring them that God will be with them every step of the way helping them be the faithful witnesses He needs them to be.
Like those early disciples, we are limited and we are flawed; and yet, we are the ones Jesus intends to send. He has no problem sending us because he knows we can be empowered by God’s Spirit each step of the way.
You see, it’s not ultimately about our own resources or our own wisdom; it’s about the Holy Spirit at work in us and through us; it’s about what the power of the Holy Spirit can accomplish in spite of our very real limitations and flaws.
So, we first recognize we are called and we are being sent. Then, we then give thanks to God for the strength, wisdom, and courage to fulfill our callings!
