Loving God, you pour out your Holy Spirit and empower your people to follow Jesus and to share his life with others.  Help us to experience that power as we gather together today, and send us out in the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    There is one sentence in today’s gospel that I suspect most people can relate to better than any other.  Verse 17: “When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted” (Mt. 28:17).  Isn’t that how most people come to Jesus and to worship?  We come, and we worship, and we doubt.  It is a normal part of discipleship.  It is a normal part of following Jesus.  Additionally, if you knew the situation the disciples were in at the time, it wouldn’t surprise you at all to know that some of them had doubts.

    In the gospel of Matthew, this meeting with Jesus on the mountain top happens before any of the disciples have seen the risen Jesus.  Earlier in the same chapter, the risen Jesus did appear - but that was to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary after they had seen the angel at the tomb.  And so, from the disciples’ perspective, they have been told by the two Marys that Jesus is alive and that he will meet them in Galilee, but they haven’t seen Jesus for themselves.  Thus, the disciples travel from Jerusalem to Galilee, having heard from Mary and Mary where it is that Jesus will meet them.

    When they see Jesus, who is risen from the dead, they instinctively know that this one is worthy of worship.  They know that only God has power over life and death, and they saw this same power at work in Jesus to raise others from the dead.  Certainly, Jesus is worthy of worship, and at the same time they still have doubts.

    Interestingly enough, though, Jesus does not say to them, “Here - let’s clear up some of those doubts and make sure that all of you are fully on board.”  Instead, Jesus gives the same commission to all of them.

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 (Mt. 28:19-20).

It is a command that comes with Jesus’ authority and also with a promise: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

    So, here’s a question for you to consider: “Who, would you say, is this great commission directed to?  ‘Go - make disciples - baptize and teach.’  Who is Jesus sending out?” [possible responses: the eleven / all subsequent followers / the church / us; Does it include us?] In the text, of course, it’s directed to the eleven disciples – the twelve, minus Judas Iscariot, who is no longer in the picture.  However, when we think in terms of going to all nations, it seems highly unlikely that Jesus would send only eleven people.

    And so, what is our response when we hear this commission from Jesus?  Do we assume that he’s talking to somebody else?  Do we assume that only trained professionals should dare to make disciples?  Do we think that it probably does apply to us and then feel guilty about it?  How do you feel when you hear the great commission? [responses?]

    At a recent workshop entitled “Back to Church Sunday,” presenter Michael Harvey talked about the simple act of inviting somebody to come to church with us and the reasons why we don’t invite people to come.  A number of different reasons were given, many of which are based on fear.  What if I ask somebody and they say “no”?  What if they are offended?  What if they start to ask me questions and I don’t know the answers?  What if they bring up all the bad things about the church that have been in the news?  What if... What if... What if....  What if they say “yes”?

    Michael Harvey also brought out how, at base, we really don’t believe that God is going to do anything.  He said that our job is simply to invite people – or even one person – and it is up to God how that person responds.  We cannot make anybody come to church any more than we can force somebody to become a disciple of Jesus.  It is the authority of Jesus that sends us out, and it is the Holy Spirit who creates a positive response in people.  Why wouldn’t we want to invite people to join us for something that is important to us?

    Yet, we still have that “guilt” response to deal with for the great commission.  Perhaps part of the problem is that we assume that it is all up to us.  It’s all up to us, and we’re just not equipped for this, and we feel like miserable failures.  However, it’s not all up to us, and the gospel should set us free rather than burdening us and “guilting” us into things.

    When the disciples were sent out by Jesus, they did not go out full of guilt and fear, making disciples simply because they should.  Instead, they went out with joy - empowered by the Holy Spirit and aware of the abundant life that had come to them through the resurrection of Jesus.  They also went out, sent by Jesus’ authority and knowing that Jesus went with them.  As they went, there was never any guarantee that people would listen to them - and many didn’t.  However, at the same time, God changed many people’s hearts, and spoke to them through the Holy Spirit, and brought them to faith in Jesus Christ.

    The good news of forgiveness and new life through Jesus set those first disciples free to go out and invite people to join them in this new life in Christ.  And when they did meet with opposition, they knew that it wasn’t all about them, but about God.  Any positive response was up to God, and their role was to continue sharing the story with whomever would listen.

    For us, too, the gospel of Jesus Christ sets us free.  The gospel says that we are forgiven and put right with God through our faith in Jesus.  God says that we are precious and forgiven and empowered and gifted and worth the death of God’s Son.  So are we going to listen to God, or to people who might put us down or scoff at us?

    Jesus sets us free to go, make disciples, baptize and teach.  In fact, it is God who makes disciples through us, and it is God who speaks to people’s hearts and causes them to say “yes.”  So, can we start expecting God to do something through us? - Even as we remember that Jesus remains with us, right to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20).  Amen.

The Holy Trinity (A)                                Matthew 28:16-20
June 19, 2011
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2011 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved