And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
”William Temple once said that “The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members.”
A man went out on a starry night and shook his fist at the heavens yelling, "Oh, God, what a lousy, rotten world you’ve made. I could have done much better." Then a voice boomed from the clouds saying, "That’s why I put you there. Get busy." In these verses Jesus puts us in charge of his mission and of his work, promising to be always with us. Prayer can also be a time of asking and discovering where each of us can work in this world.
Yet here’s a further complication: the church is not an entity outside of me. I do not stand on the outside looking in. I am as much part of the church as (in the words of Paul) a hand is a part of a body. And when we see this truth we also see God’s power because, in this body of Christ, we find a place where we can be gloriously and devastatingly human. We find a place where we can fail and repent and grow and receive grace and be made as we see our part in God’s mission.
The name of God at our baptism is the name of love: the Trinity exists in a community of love. Such love has brought us into being, has introduced us into the community of Jesus in the church, and love in Jesus Christ is with us all our days, and with God's world until the end of time.
Lord, you are with me whenever I speak of you to others. Give me the courage to be church to others. Amen
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