When Jesus showed up in a locked room with his disciples on Easter evening, he gave them more than a good fright. He gave them his peace, and he gave them a mission. And then he gave them the only resource they would need on that mission, the Holy Spirit.
“When it was evening on that day... Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
That very peace of Christ has been passed along, person to person, generation to generation, all the way from that room on Easter night to us. It is the peace that “defies understanding,” that comes to us by prayer in the most unpeaceful circumstances. It is a peace that can help us move through the hardest of times, so that others remark on our serenity. It is that peace we share during The Peace in our Eucharistic services – at least, it is what we are meant to be sharing, when it doesn’t devolve into a chat-fest.
That peace of Christ comes with a mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” Jesus said. Jesus’ statement may be general, but the actual sending is always to a specific place and people. Where are we sent? Wherever we feel the Spirit of God beckoning, enlivening us, getting our attention. Wherever we sense the Spirit of Christ already at work. We don’t have to start things. We just have to come along and participate in what God is already doing. What freedom and joy that can be.
When we think of “mission” as something we are supposed to discern, prepare, and go out and “do,” it can feel daunting. I think that’s why many Christians think it’s a big hurdle and stay in their pews. We think we’re supposed to be on top of it, ready, equipped, holy, have all the answers.
Wrong! The only thing we need to be is willing to let the Holy Spirit work through us. The minute Jesus told his followers they were sent on on a mission like his, "...he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
It’s not a light thing to receive the Holy Spirit, but neither need it be heavy. It’s the gas that makes our cars run when we’re about the Mission of God to reclaim, restore and renew all of creation to wholeness.
Where do you feel sent? To whom? Do you have a nagging desire to address some need or injustice? Are you excited about certain kinds of ministry? That’s how you’ll know the who and the when and the what and the where of it.
And do you feel you are carrying the Peace of Christ? Have you claimed the gift of Holy Spirit passed along to you?
I’m kind of relieved that we adopted the ritual practice of sharing Christ’s peace with each other in worship rather than breathing upon one another; that could get a little gross. But we can be sure we have already received the Spirit with Christ's peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment