Sent by the "Sent One"

John 17 "Just as you sent me into the world so I send them into the world."

The Greek verb "apesteila(s)" (you sent)/I sent is used both of Jesus and of us. It is a form of the Greek root apostello which means to order someone to go to a certain place, to dismiss, to send off. It is where we get our word "apostle" in English. Most of us associate the word with the "12 Apostles" or St. Paul. It was a surprise to me the first time I read Hebrews 3:1 ("Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our faith"). It seemed like a demotion to  hear Jesus called an Apostle. It was a long time before I got comfortable with the idea.

The Biblical world is not so neatly integrated as the world of my imagination. There is a great deal of up and down imagery. Whether it be Moses on Mount Sinai or Jesus and the Ascension, the bi-leveled world of heaven and earth (actually tri-leveled once you factor in Hell) has much going and coming. Seeing Jesus as Someone who was Sent here by God and Who has now returned there is not the way my mind works. I have always talked about Jesus being here with us. In recent years I do that less and less. As I have shared before, I have taken on a more apocalyptic view. I await (impatiently) His return when He sets all things straight. I long for the time when the Kingdom of Heaven (God's realm) busts in and conquers this world.

By taking more seriously the fact that Jesus was sent, I can begin to understand what it means to be a missional church. We are sent, just as He was sent. Our identity is connected to mission. What is that message? It is tempting, for some, to build a community and learn to love within that group. It is tempting for others, to send missionaries to 'far off' lands with a message and a demand. In other words, it is tempting to see it as one or the other. I think Jesus did both. He was a Son of Israel, faithful in Jewish worship and Jewish religious practice. He was also a Son of God, faithful in bringing the fullness of life to those outside the highly (and overly) structured religious world of His contemporaries. He healed the sick, exorcised demoniacs, forgave sinners, instructed the common folks; He made God's covenant available to the outsiders. But what He offered was entrance into a people, a reformed People of God. A people which included Gentiles.

To be sent, like Jesus, is to do the hard work of community (faithful & loving). To be sent is to welcome others into the fellowship. To be sent is also to find others, the ones who do not easily fit into our understanding of what it should look like. It is to invite them into the same life which we share. This begins with the simple declaration of God's mighty work in our midst: evangelism, proclaiming the Gospel. This entails much teaching. Our natural urges and desires are often sinful. We must learn what believing entails. It also means that we scan the horizon for those who have not heard and do not know. We are sent to them as well. As church, we all do not have to go, but we all have to be involved in the process. We all have to pitch in and support the work.

Jesus was sent. We are sent. The ministry of Jesus continues, here and now, in and through us! It is an honor, a blessing, and a task. We do it together.