The Mission Reimagined

Gospel: Matthew 10: 1-7

If a person were to stand outside any given church and ask members what the mission of the church is, what might people say?  If they were asked to describe what their particular church does on a regular basis, would it in any way reflect the mission to which Jesus calls his disciples again and again throughout the Gospels?  Can a church that is only open for one hour per week be said to be participating actively in the mission to which Jesus calls us?

Here again we find Jesus calling his disciples to go about healing people of their infirmities and delivering them from the demons that hold people captive.  We find Jesus telling his disciples to lead a simple life in carrying out this mission.  The disciples for their part are eager to partake of this mission of Jesus, and they rejoice together in recounting stories of people being healed and liberated from their demons.  They come together to rejoice together and to support one another in this work.

Now, imagine if our churches of today were reconstituted toward this image we find in the Gospels.  What if church attendance were about this support we need to carry out these tasks of healing and liberation, and what if everyone in attendance were empowered to do this work? What might the church look like?  What might our world look like? One thing is certain: the pollster would get different answers to his questions we considered at the beginning of this reflection.