Mission

Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm Evensong, Sunday 08/10/06
Trinity 17 (Proper 22) - Evensong
Readings: Joshua 3:7-17 Matt 10:1-22


Our gospel reading today came from Matthew Chapter 10, which is Matthew’s Handbook for Mission. In this parish, as we think more about “Going for Growth” we find that we are thinking more and more about mission, so the gospel reading is particularly appropriate for us. With this in mind I would like to offer you a few reflections about our own mission, and on how today’s gospel reading might help us.
In this gospel reading Jesus gives the disciples special authority and sends them out to proclaim the message, “The kingdom of God is near”. The word “Mission” means “Sending” so when we think about mission we are thinking about the things God wants us to do as he sends us out into the world. We often think of mission as proclaiming the gospel and to converting souls to Christ. Certainly this is part of it. However, first and foremost mission has to be about love and practical service to our fellow human beings. Jesus does not simply tell the disciples to proclaim the kingdom. He also tells them do some important acts of practical service. He says, “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Probably it was because the disciples were unusually good at doing these very difficult things that the people wanted to listen to their message.
I don’t know about you, but my personal track record on healing the sick and raising the dead is not all that impressive! Certainly it is not as good as the NHS’s. However I can find lots of other ways (all be they much less dramatic) of loving and serving the people around me. It is very important that I always practice loving and serving the people around me, before I start to talk about the gospel. If I am not loving and serving then my message about Christ has no credibility.
One important thing to note about the mission of the twelve disciples is that it was requested by Jesus and done out of love for Jesus. It was Jesus himself who sent them, and Jesus who gave them their instructions. This is very important. We have to do the mission that Jesus asks from us. Not the one that sounds glamorous or the one that looks important. Not the one that we feel “ought” to be done, because of some worry or because of guilt. No, we need to be attentive to what God asks personally of us, through our prayer life and by listening to the people around us. God calls each one of us, and has a mission for each one of us. In each present moment we need to discover what it is.
Another point is that God provides us with the grace necessary to do what he wants from us, just as he provided the disciples with the authority to drive out evil spirits to heal the sick and to raise the dead. We must not worry about our mission, but rather we must trust in God’s grace and use the gifts that he gives us. Jesus tells the disciples, “Take no gold or silver or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals or a staff; for labourers deserve their food.” (Matt 10:9-10). This phrase totally inspired St Francis 800 years ago. He realised that God was calling him to take the phase completely literally and start a new life as a wondering preacher. Must of us are not called to that, be we are called to move forward trusting that God will take care of his servants and not worrying too much about the different things that we need. (E.g. Matt 6:25-33)
Who were the disciples sent to? They were sent out to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Only much later was the church sent out to the Samaritans and the Gentiles. This is very characteristic of the mission of God. We are usually sent out to love and serve the people closest to us first; our family, our local community, the friends that we see regularly, the people we meet at work or at the school gate. God might call us on to other things later, but how can be the love of God for someone far away, if we have not first been the love of God for the people who are near?
Jesus says to the disciples, “You received without payment; give without payment.” This is very important. Our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. It is because we are loved by God that we seek to love others. It is because Jesus came to serve us that we want to serve other people. It is because we are grateful for our knowledge of the gospel that we want to share the gospel with others.
And sometimes this can be difficult. Perhaps we don’t feel loved by God. Perhaps we experience our Christianity as a burden rather than as a joy. If this is the case then we need to keep reminding ourselves of God’s great love for us, that he created us out of love, that he calls us to a great destiny in heaven, that he forgives us always, and that Jesus died on the cross so that our sin could be overcome. As Fr Patrick has suggested in today’s pew sheet, we need to practice saying “Thank you” to God for all the good things we receive. Reminding ourselves of God’s love and saying, “Thank you” helps us to see things from God’s perspective and helps us to realise how blessed we are. Of course the more blessed we feel, the easier it is to share our blessings with others.
So lets quickly summarise.
Mission means sending. Just as God calls us to himself, so he sends us out to love and serve others and to spread the good news of his kingdom. We do the mission that God wants from us, as part of our love for God. God provides the grace that we need for mission. We do it trusting in God rather than in our own strength. Usually our mission is first to the people immediately around us, and then later to those further away. Finally, our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. If we can remember these things then it will stand us in good stead for “Going for Growth”.