MATTHEW 28:16-20
Rev. Dr. Anita Farber-Robertson
Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20
Selection:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Meditation:
What an anti-climax. The passion story has unfolded. Our beloved teacher, guide and friend has been executed. He has miraculously reappeared, and risen. And we are left behind. He had asked us to leave the life that we knew, our jobs, our family and friends to follow him, and we did. But he has risen. We cannot follow him there.
We are like “empty nesters” who, after having devoted so much time and life and energy to these children of ours, find they have grown up, flown the coop and left us to our own devices. .What is our raison d’etre now?
While our children do not presume to answer this question for us (as well they shouldn’t), Jesus on the other hand, does. This last passage in the Gospel of Matthew is called the Great Commission, and it is the last instruction from Jesus to us, his followers, of what it is we who have been left behind, should do.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
We don’t like that- most of us Unitarian Universalists don’t like the Great Commission, which seems to be instructing us to proselytize- a behavior we would generally eschew if not abhor. Making disciples of all nations seems imperialistic, domineering, disrespectful, even.
But what if making disciples of all nations did not mean converting non-believers to Christianity, as it has come to be understood in our common culture? What if it meant that we were to take the wisdom and the teachings of Jesus out into the world? What if it meant that we were make disciples of the Golden Rule in all nations? What if it meant that we were to take Jesus’ call to bring healing to the sick, justice to oppressed, housing to the homeless, relief to the poor, to all nations? What if the Good News was that there is a better way to live together, a better way to treat each other, a better way to nurture life and love and justice, than what we have done before? Surely that Good News, that Gospel, is one to spread and share among the nations.
It is not a far-fetched notion. The Great Commission after all comes in the same Gospel that just three chapters earlier had Jesus say:
Then the king will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me, Then the righteous will answer him: Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? And the king will answer them, “Truly, I tell you, just as you did it to the least who are members of my family you did it to me. (Gospel of Matthew, 25:34-40)
So, my friends, as we live together in the aftermath- the aftermath of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, we have to decide- what does it mean to be followers of Jesus? What does it mean to claim that life and walk that walk?
Jesus told us:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
We know that the best way to teach is by being a living example. It is a more difficult task then simply scouting for candidates for baptism, and it is more rewarding. Jesus has extended to us the challenge of Christian living. And he has offered to help.
“…remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Focusing Questions:
What does the Great Commission mean to you? What does it demand of you? How does it unsettle you? Where are the resources from which you can draw to faithfully respond?
Prayer:
Gracious God, living God in whom we live and move and have our being, God who sustains us as we struggle, who walks with us as we seek to find our way, who pushes us to move beyond the known and the comfortable, and who promises to be with us always to the end of the age, what can we say but thank you. The way of faithfulness is difficult. The world is full of suffering and we are easily overwhelmed. Yet you have called us out to be your hands and feet, your heart and mind, holding, healing, cherishing, loving all that is- the ugly and the beautiful, the unloved and the loveable. Be with us in these long, long after-Easter days. Grant us wisdom, and grant us courage as we face them in faith, together, with your grace.
Bless us and keep us, in your loving hands. Amen.