ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
November 19, 2021
I preached a sermon a few years back from the 28th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel where the Resurrected Jesus says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” As I said then and want to reiterate here, a lot of energy is spent discussing “all nations” and the Trinitarian concept. Those discussions are all interesting and worth examining, but we tend to miss a very simple word amidst the theological and geographic brawls. We miss the word, “Go…” In our debates that often turn into some pretty intense arguments, we confuse the intensity of the squabbling with actually “Going” somewhere. We are still sitting exactly where we started. If the debate was on social media, we never moved from the computer screen and we definitely never moved anyone’s heart. We must go, which includes stepping outside of our comfort zone. For decades now, the business world and the nonprofit world have talked about the confines of our comfort zone. The church has borrowed the language and talked quite passionately about taking a risk. But once again, the discussion on taking a risk has become confused with risk taking. I can’t tell you what “Going” looks like for you and your specific situation, but we all need to be aware of how the Spirit beckons us away from the arena of wrangling and onto a road leading us to the ends of the earth.
The threshold between the comfort zone and the uncomfortable zone is quickly crossed if ever one feels called to do so, yet too often we feel called to discuss the finer points of all nations from a quick Google search and nothing else. Provoke us and push us, Holy Spirit, from the confines of our own confusion and contentment. Amen.
