Who Is Navigating Our Mission Strategy?
Good Morning Friends,
Over the weekend my computer shut down prematurely when I was updating Windows and then crashed erasing all the files and programs. Everything poof!! So, after the purchase of a new computer I am going through the process of getting things in order and learning a new way to maneuver the writing and emailing of a devotional. Today, more as a routine than anything else, I have turned to the preselected Catholic Lectionary readings. And it comes on the heels of the reading about Doubting Thomas yesterday in church. Interestingly, today’s devotional is about what we believe and how we interact with those who doubt. And that brings us to today’s question. Who Is Navigating Our Mission Strategy?
Scripture: Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him. Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” At that point, Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1 (NRSV)
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
John 16:12-15 (NRSV)
Message: Well the answer to today’s question is the Holy Spirit but it is never so simple for it also must include scripture and our relationships with others as well. The whole idea is complicated on the one hand and simple on the other. It is mission but also the strategy. It is love but also theology. In the context of the body of believers on the road to Pentecost, is about being sent by Jesus to carry the implication of Jesus to others with an effective plan of how to share the Good News. And in carrying out the plan it soon becomes obvious that we need to listen and obey God so that our actions are part of God’s plans. You see it is not just about making mission plans and asking God to bless them and then carrying them out. And it is not a job we can differ either. It is not the work solely of religious professionals, but rather it is about all of us who are members of the body of Christ. So, here is the deal, we must get better at this work. The Gospel is clear that this is a job for all of us, so we need to all learn the necessary skills to spread the message if only in small ways. Thankfully our reading from Acts shares an example of someone who had a mission strategy and carried it out while making changes as necessary to ensure that he could easily get his message over to the people who were hearing it. Each of us also interacts with a unique group of people hoping for their response to the Gospel and each situation and each group provides us with an opportunity to share the message. What Paul learned was that you need a starting place to begin the conversation. The same is true for us today. For we do need something new that extends beyond the weddings, and baptisms and funeral and worship services to tell the message of Jesus. Thankfully we will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit as John explains in today’s scripture. And with this relational gift we can reach out into the community both corporately and as individuals. Friends, as I read our task, we are sent out into the world to tell people about God and Jesus through words and actions. We like Paul are to get to know people on an individual basis and then larger crowds. We are to get to know the people and place so we too can better relate to it. We are to see how people are struggling. We are to see who is lonely and isolated. We are to see who is facing illness in their families. We are to see into the lives and hearts of others and be guided by the Holy Spirit in the mission we have been given.
Pray we realize that Jesus’s words…. the Word made flesh will be a great help to us in navigating our role in Evangelism. Pray we engage people in what is familiar to them. Pray we realize that imitating Paul imitating Jesus is not a bad approach. Pray we help others discover what was once unknown so that they might experience a more abundant life. Pray we are guided by the Holy Spirit. Pray our message touches both mind and heart. Pray we realize that each situation is different but that the message of Jesus is always the same.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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