Empowered for mission
Commentary
God's Easter people were called into being for a purpose. Their task was nothing less than continuing the mission of Jesus on earth. Slowly, it dawned on the disciples that Jesus was counting on them to be witnesses to the resurrection and to the saving power of God. Like a lot of us, they no doubt had feelings of inadequacy -- an inability to fully understand the enormity of winning a world for Christ, and a feeling of powerlessness in the face of so much opposition.
Power -- that is still our great need in the church today. We seem to have everything else: principles, people, preachers, programs, but not power! Someone has said that modern Christians go about their task with weak flashlights; no wonder there is so little light in the world! How great is the contrast with those first Easter people who seized the task given to them by their living Lord, and who were empowered by God to turn the world upside down with their new faith. J.B. Phillips in The Young Church In Action, wrote, "We in the modern church have unquestionably lost something .... We cannot help looking wistfully at the sheer spiritual power of the minute young church .... People are being changed: cowards become heroes; sinners are transformed; fear, greed, envy and pride are expelled by a flood of something over and above normal human experience."
The readings for this day speak to us not only with their vision of a world for Christ, but with the promise of God's empowerment for mission. In the Acts passage, Peter's message following the healing of the paralyzed man tells us how we as the followers of Christ today can bring that same liberating power to bear on the paralytic in us and those around us. From Peter, we learn that this power to heal is released power. Clearly, the disciples of Jesus are ordinary people who have received something. The energy of God is at work in them. They have become live wires, so that they carry out God's purposes.
The text from 1 John 3 speaks directly to the inadequacy we all feel as the followers of Christ given such a worldwide mission. John reminds us of the privilege of being the children of God in the intimate and loving sense of the term by an act of God's initiating grace, and the response of our own hearts. John then reminds us of the great hope of the Christian life -- that we shall see God and be like God. With that great aim and goal before us, he urges us to resist the temptations to sin, and to press forward in the great work Christ has given us in bringing the world to Jesus.
The words in Luke's gospel represent a kind of final briefing that the risen Lord gives to his followers. He wants them to first understand fully the meaning of what happened to him during his ministry on earth. Then he outlines their task of preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ to all nations. Anticipating their wonderment at such a task, Jesus promises them the power of the Holy Spirit. They are now empowered for mission to the world.
OUTLINE I
Liberating power
Acts 3:12-19
A. vv. 12-15: This text suggests three things about the liberating power that the first Easter people possessed. The opening verses tell us that the power of God is released power. It is not the same as a rush of adrenalin. It is the energy of God set free in the hearts of believers to bring healing and wholeness to the world. It is not self-produced, but is made possible by the God who has come close to us in Jesus Christ. In contrast to our feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy that says, "I can't," this power says, "I can because he can, and because through him, I am able."
B. vv. 16-18: We also learn that this liberating power is purposeful power. It is not given to the believers as an end in itself, but as a means of empowering the ministry we are called to carry out in the name of the living Christ. To many persons, God is no more than a taskmaster who says, "Thou shalt do this," or "Thou shalt endure that." But the good news is that our God not only gives us a job to do but the power to do it. That's why Paul could say, "God is more than my taskmaster; God is the strength of my life."
C. v. 19: God's power is conditional power. The secret of having this power released in us is repentance -- turning away from our own devices and resources so that we are wholly dependent on the power of Christ. Only as we let go of our old life can we experience God's liberating power at work.
OUTLINE II
The privileges, possibilities, and problems of discipleship
1 John 3:1-7
A. v. 1: John is speaking to disciples who may well have been discouraged and disheartened by the enormity of their assignment of bringing the world to Christ. He reminds us all of the privilege of being Christ's disciple. It is a privilege to be called children of God. Here John is clearly thinking of much more than the fact that all human beings owe their existence to God. We are the children of God in the sense that God took the initiative to make the Hebrews his covenant people, and in Jesus Christ, has made it possible for us to become adopted sons and daughters.
B. vv. 2-3: John goes on to remind his hearers of the possibilities in the Christian life. He holds out the great vision that in Christ, we will become like God -- we will at last bear the image and likeness of our Creator. Not only will we be like God, but we will see God. The end of all devotion is to see God. This is not just some intellectual satisfaction to satisfy our curiosity. We are to see God so that our hearts can be pure. What a great vision of encouragement John gives to those who only see through a glass darkly!
C. vv. 4-7: John faces the fact that sin is what keeps us from realizing our goal. He tells us that sin comes when we fail to abide in Christ. It is when we forget Christ and focus on self that we lose sight of our goal, and of the great task God has given us in this world.
OUTLINE III
Final briefing
Luke 24:36b-48
A. vv. 36-46: Before the risen Christ returns to the Father, he holds a final briefing session for those who must carry forward the mission on earth. Jesus begins by reminding his followers of the meaning behind all that happened to him. In our text Jesus says, "Everything written about me in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." The cross and resurrection were not accidents. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. God's plan from the beginning was for the Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world. God has been wooing humanity from the moment of creation.
B. vv. 47-48: With this understanding Jesus now lays out the task his followers must accomplish on the earth: "That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Not everyone accepts the fact that repentance is necessary. Sin has become an accepted style of living in America. Yet that call to repentance must be proclaimed as well as the good news of God's mercy and forgiveness.
C. v. 49: Although the lectionary does not include this verse, I believe it is essential for an understanding of this pericope. For here is where Jesus promises the power for this mind-boggling task of reaching the whole world for Christ. The power to witness comes only from God's spirit.
Power -- that is still our great need in the church today. We seem to have everything else: principles, people, preachers, programs, but not power! Someone has said that modern Christians go about their task with weak flashlights; no wonder there is so little light in the world! How great is the contrast with those first Easter people who seized the task given to them by their living Lord, and who were empowered by God to turn the world upside down with their new faith. J.B. Phillips in The Young Church In Action, wrote, "We in the modern church have unquestionably lost something .... We cannot help looking wistfully at the sheer spiritual power of the minute young church .... People are being changed: cowards become heroes; sinners are transformed; fear, greed, envy and pride are expelled by a flood of something over and above normal human experience."
The readings for this day speak to us not only with their vision of a world for Christ, but with the promise of God's empowerment for mission. In the Acts passage, Peter's message following the healing of the paralyzed man tells us how we as the followers of Christ today can bring that same liberating power to bear on the paralytic in us and those around us. From Peter, we learn that this power to heal is released power. Clearly, the disciples of Jesus are ordinary people who have received something. The energy of God is at work in them. They have become live wires, so that they carry out God's purposes.
The text from 1 John 3 speaks directly to the inadequacy we all feel as the followers of Christ given such a worldwide mission. John reminds us of the privilege of being the children of God in the intimate and loving sense of the term by an act of God's initiating grace, and the response of our own hearts. John then reminds us of the great hope of the Christian life -- that we shall see God and be like God. With that great aim and goal before us, he urges us to resist the temptations to sin, and to press forward in the great work Christ has given us in bringing the world to Jesus.
The words in Luke's gospel represent a kind of final briefing that the risen Lord gives to his followers. He wants them to first understand fully the meaning of what happened to him during his ministry on earth. Then he outlines their task of preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ to all nations. Anticipating their wonderment at such a task, Jesus promises them the power of the Holy Spirit. They are now empowered for mission to the world.
OUTLINE I
Liberating power
Acts 3:12-19
A. vv. 12-15: This text suggests three things about the liberating power that the first Easter people possessed. The opening verses tell us that the power of God is released power. It is not the same as a rush of adrenalin. It is the energy of God set free in the hearts of believers to bring healing and wholeness to the world. It is not self-produced, but is made possible by the God who has come close to us in Jesus Christ. In contrast to our feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy that says, "I can't," this power says, "I can because he can, and because through him, I am able."
B. vv. 16-18: We also learn that this liberating power is purposeful power. It is not given to the believers as an end in itself, but as a means of empowering the ministry we are called to carry out in the name of the living Christ. To many persons, God is no more than a taskmaster who says, "Thou shalt do this," or "Thou shalt endure that." But the good news is that our God not only gives us a job to do but the power to do it. That's why Paul could say, "God is more than my taskmaster; God is the strength of my life."
C. v. 19: God's power is conditional power. The secret of having this power released in us is repentance -- turning away from our own devices and resources so that we are wholly dependent on the power of Christ. Only as we let go of our old life can we experience God's liberating power at work.
OUTLINE II
The privileges, possibilities, and problems of discipleship
1 John 3:1-7
A. v. 1: John is speaking to disciples who may well have been discouraged and disheartened by the enormity of their assignment of bringing the world to Christ. He reminds us all of the privilege of being Christ's disciple. It is a privilege to be called children of God. Here John is clearly thinking of much more than the fact that all human beings owe their existence to God. We are the children of God in the sense that God took the initiative to make the Hebrews his covenant people, and in Jesus Christ, has made it possible for us to become adopted sons and daughters.
B. vv. 2-3: John goes on to remind his hearers of the possibilities in the Christian life. He holds out the great vision that in Christ, we will become like God -- we will at last bear the image and likeness of our Creator. Not only will we be like God, but we will see God. The end of all devotion is to see God. This is not just some intellectual satisfaction to satisfy our curiosity. We are to see God so that our hearts can be pure. What a great vision of encouragement John gives to those who only see through a glass darkly!
C. vv. 4-7: John faces the fact that sin is what keeps us from realizing our goal. He tells us that sin comes when we fail to abide in Christ. It is when we forget Christ and focus on self that we lose sight of our goal, and of the great task God has given us in this world.
OUTLINE III
Final briefing
Luke 24:36b-48
A. vv. 36-46: Before the risen Christ returns to the Father, he holds a final briefing session for those who must carry forward the mission on earth. Jesus begins by reminding his followers of the meaning behind all that happened to him. In our text Jesus says, "Everything written about me in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." The cross and resurrection were not accidents. The Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. God's plan from the beginning was for the Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world. God has been wooing humanity from the moment of creation.
B. vv. 47-48: With this understanding Jesus now lays out the task his followers must accomplish on the earth: "That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." Not everyone accepts the fact that repentance is necessary. Sin has become an accepted style of living in America. Yet that call to repentance must be proclaimed as well as the good news of God's mercy and forgiveness.
C. v. 49: Although the lectionary does not include this verse, I believe it is essential for an understanding of this pericope. For here is where Jesus promises the power for this mind-boggling task of reaching the whole world for Christ. The power to witness comes only from God's spirit.
