I must admit that this has always been one of my favorite scripture passages. It makes me feel motivated. It lights a fire underneath me. It inspires me. Whenever the going gets tough I remember that Jesus has sent me to evangelize, to make disciples, and that he has sent the Holy Spirit to empower me for the mission. I remember this passage going through my head on Ash Wednesday this year. Regina Holliday and I had made our way to the Van Ness Metro Station. Regina had her easel and paints and I had some ashes in a container. Our hope was to remind people that it was Ash Wednesday and to place ashes on their foreheads reminding them that they are dust and to dust they will return. As we began I was very hesitant. I guess you could say that I was listening to what my mom had taught me as a young girl on the prairie, “don’t talk to strangers.” Eventually it became a little easier to greet people walking down the sidewalk, after all that is the first step in evangelizing. Of course, we got a few crazy looks as we greeted people on that brisk morning. But as Regina and I walked back up Connecticut Avenue later that morning we couldn’t help but talk about how we had made a difference. Even if we only put ashes on one person’s forehead, we had begun to make disciples. That was a great reminder of why we had gone on our mission that day. We were not expecting to return to St. Paul’s with ten new members or even one. We had gone because I felt like God was telling me to GO. God was showing me that in this busy city where almost everyone works over forty hours, they may not be able to make it to church on Ash Wednesday. God was telling me to take the ashes to them. For at least one moment on that morning, I imagine that most people were reminded that it was Ash Wednesday and even if they didn’t know what that meant they asked us, asked a friend, or googled it on their Smartphone. That day Regina and I were on a mission. We were commissioned. We were sent to make disciples. We were sent to GO.
The point, my friends, is not about gaining new members or increasing our income from the offering plate. The point is that we have been commissioned to make disciples, to baptize them, and to teach them. And it’s not about what we, the church, might get out of it. It is because God told us to GO.
There are many ways in which St. Paul’s is already GOing. Tomorrow we begin our Vacation Bible School program with at least fifty-one kids, only fifteen of them are from St. Paul’s. This program provides a wonderful avenue for us to make disciples by teaching them about the Triune God. Next Saturday, Rob Hershey and I will head to South Dakota with six youth, two of whom are not members of St. Paul’s, for a mission trip on the Lake Traverse Reservation. These youth are giving one week of their summer to share God’s love with the people on this reservation. Twice a month we open the St. Paul’s Food Pantry to over forty families in this city who are in need of food. Those people are thankful that God’s people are providing them with food. Every night our sexton and shelter coordinator, Glenn Ralph, opens the door of the St. Paul’s Homeless Shelter for five men. We provide them with a place to sleep and a warm meal, but without this place they would likely be on the street.
I know that the people of St. Paul’s have already been commissioned to serve their neighbors throughout the world. However, God continues to send us on new mission adventures all the time. So, where else is God calling the people of St. Paul’s to GO? What is the mission that God is commissioning us to do? If we look around the area and think about the city we live in we might be able to find a few clues.
We have two college campuses, American University and the University of the District of Columbia, that are near-by, within in walking distance or a short bus ride. How are we sent to those communities? Maybe we are being commissioned to create a small group for college students that meets here once a month and offers a hot meal and a Bible study. Maybe we are being sent to make sure they have somewhere to spend the holidays.
Nearly one-third of the population in Washington, DC is between twenty and thirty-four years old. That means there are almost 200,000 young adults in this city. There is only a small percentage of them that are active in communities of faith. How are we being sent to this age group? Maybe we are each being commissioned to think of one young adult that we know who is not active in a faith community and invite them to join us some Sunday. Maybe we are being sent to find out what young adults want and need from the church, so that we can create a place where they feel welcome and nourished.
You know more about this city than I do. Where else might the Triune God be sending us to GO? Maybe God is sending us to reach out to the African American people in our city, which makes up over half of our population. Maybe God is commissioning us to join with other churches in the area to create a worship setting that is welcoming to children with disabilities and their families. Maybe God is calling us to open our doors to another faith community that is in need of a building for their worship services. And maybe God is calling us to do something completely different.
One thing is for sure, today we are on a mission. We are commissioned. We are sent to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are sent to GO. Go from this place to your neighborhoods and your metro stations, to your schools and your workplaces, to your friends and your foes. Go from this place to southeast DC and southwest DC, to northeast DC and northwest DC, to Maryland and Virginia. Go to the poor and the rich, to the African Americans and the Hispanics, to the young and the old. Go proclaiming the good news of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Go teaching about God the three in one. Go and remember you are not alone. God the Holy Spirit goes with you, empowering you for the mission. Go with God. Amen.
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