As the Father Has Sent Me, So I Send You

There is a lot of vague talk about Mission these days, and a lot of it can sound pretty intimidating. Sometimes we talk about the Great Commission and we get worried that we won’t know how to make disciples of all nations. Or we think about Jesus sending 70 disciples out without purse, without bag, without sandals, like lambs in the midst of wolves—understaffed and underprepared. If you’re like me, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by this kind of talk, even when you realize that mission is what the church is supposed to be doing.

But there is another way to talk about mission that is much more helpful and encouraging. In John’s Gospel, when Jesus appears to the disciples after the resurrection, he says, ‘Peace be with you. As the father has sent me, so I send you.’ And that’s what mission means. It’s so simple that children can understand, but it’s also so profound that the church could spend another two thousand years unpacking what that means.

We are being sent into the world as the Father sent Jesus...

This post originally appeared in the January 2021 issue of Anglican Life.

Click here to read the whole article.