GOING

 

One of the characteristics of being a follower of Christ is the desire and action of reaching out to others with the hope and redemption offered by Jesus to the world.

Recently, I was out at the Pitt's farm for a "blessing of the fields", setting them apart and asking our God for a fruitful harvest. While we were walking around on the homestead, Jack pointed out a particular gas vapor farm light that they used for security reasons. This light was no longer needed on one part of the property, and so, he had moved it to be better used at another location.

Now, if that same security light had been purchased, put into the machine shed, unpacked, and left unconnected, what good would it do? For the lamp to fulfill its design and purpose, it had to be installed outside of the machine shed and connected to an electrical source so that it could have an appropriate place to have any influence.

Outreach is not something that the baptized Christian is supposed to do first of all; it is to be an evidence of who we truly are. Our genuine character will reveal itself through habitual patterns, whether good or bad. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter five that "we are the salt and light" of the world. He goes on to say that we "should not hide our lights under a bushel-basket". How are we developing our full character in Christ?

This Sunday, we are looking at Luke chapter ten. Jesus has already sent out the 12 disciples to bring the good news of the Kingdom of God to various Jewish villages. In Sunday's text, he is now sending out 72 other disciples to attempt a similar mission. How does this text apply to the people of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church?

God is not asking any of us to be something that we are not.  However, he is asking us to claim who we are in Christ, and through the gifts and strengths that he has given us, bring the light of Jesus to a world in need of God's love.

(See the YouTube Channel for Father Thomas Reeves for the video sermon: "GOING")