The First Steps: Read: Matthew 28
Focus Verse: "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. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20
Meditation: A New Beginning
At the end of every chapter...something new begins. At the end of the school year...the summer begins. At graduation...a new life in college or in the world opens up. At the end of our time with our children...a new life together opens up. At the end of life...a new eternal life.
Here at the end of Matthew we find the same to be true. The Gospel moves quickly from the resurrection experience to the last words of Christ. Here you will find no post-resurrection sightings. Jesus doesn't appear to any of them on the road or in their homes or on the shore. None of them see him until they reach the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And only there does Jesus say anything substancial to them.
On the mountain, we read nothing of Jesus ascending into heaven. The words read on Ascension Sunday are not spoken from the clouds. They are said as Jesus "came to them." Not as he leaves. And they do one important task. They send the disciples forward. They are sending words that transform the disciples, the learners, into the apostles, those who are sent. These words open doors. They pave the way to the greater adventures the disciples will have as apostles, as those sent forth, from Christ.
This chapter is an ending...but it's also a new beginning.
We too are given the chance to begin anew...to move from one ending into a new beginning. SIn the past we've gone through trials and hardships. Leaders we know may have derided us as they did Jesus. We may have suffered tremendously, physically, mentally, or spiritually. But here...at the resurrection and on the mountain where we see the Risen Christ...we are given a new beginning. A chance to start over. And a new horizon to meet.
For me and my family, we too have been through an ending. Our time at St. James Lutheran Church in Columbus, Montana has ended. There we leave people who cared about us. In a sense... we have died to our life there... and now God has opened up an exciting new beginning.
This week I accepted a call to serve as pastor of a church in Peoria, Illinois. Peoria is an exciting place with numerous opportunities for both me and my family. The church is forward-thinking, exciting and enthusiastic about mission and ministry. There will be challenges as there are in every place. But this is a brand new frontier. I feel like the disciples did. Nervous. Anxious. Believing...and also doubting. Wondering what the new future has in store for us. Hopeful. Excited.
But through it all, I know that Christ Jesus is with us. This promise, at the end of his speech, is what sustains us all through all the chapter changes in our life. Jesus says: "I will be with you always to the end of the age." Here at the end of Matthew, Jesus doesn't leave us. He doesn't disappear in the clouds. He doesn't go and disappear into heaven. Instead, Jesus is WITH US! Still, Jesus is still with us even here. Even now! Jesus stays by our side through all the chapter changes of our lives. And that's a promise we can bank on! Amen!
Questions to Ponder...
1) What chapter-changes have you faced lately? How have you gotten through them?
2) What sustains you through all the changes in your life? What gives you faith and assurance of God's grace?
3) Where have you seen Jesus lately?
A Prayer to Pray...
Almighty God, your Son, Jesus, is still among us just as He promised. Open our eyes that we might see him through all the changes in our lives that we might find faith, even in the midst of our doubts, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
**Faithful devotion readers... we come to the end of our study of Matthew. Stay tuned as life brings us stories of transition as my own family goes through their own transition this month! **
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