Great Commissions

There have been many persons given exciting commissions in their lifetimes. There was Michelangelo’s commission to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Sir Christopher Wren’s commission to re-build St. Paul’s Cathedral in London following the Great Fire (September 2-6, 1666), Walter Reed’s assignment to stop yellow fever at the “Big Ditch” in Panama (the Panama Canal), Chamberlain’s orders to stop the Confederates at Little Roundtop in Gettysburg and, more recently, the mission of the U.S. Navy Seals to get the terrorist master-mind, Bin Laden, dead or alive.

But I tell you, in my life and yours, there is an even greater commission. It is found here in Mt 28:18-20 where Jesus Christ turns to his disciples and says, “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Passing the Baton

The critical moment in a relay race is the passing of the baton from one runner to another. More relays are won or lost at that moment than at any other.  The feast of the Ascension might be compared to the passing of the baton in a relay race. On this day over 2,000 years ago, Jesus passed the baton of responsibility for the Kingdom of God to his followers. Jesus commissioned them to complete the work he had begun. Practically, what does this mean? How do you and I, in the 21^st century, carry out Jesus’ commission to be his witnesses to the world and his teachers to the nations? There are as many ways to do this as there are Christians. We can do what two 25-year-old university graduates did recently. After completing their degrees, one from Georgetown and the other from Marquette, they entered the Seminary. We can do what Albert Schweitzer did. At the age of 30 he abandoned his music career in Europe to study medicine and became a missionary doctor in Africa. We can do what the baseball coach of Spring Hill College, Alabama, did a few years back. At the age of 35 he resigned his position and began his studies for the priesthood. We can do what a Poor Clare (Franciscan) nun, Mother Angelica, did. In her 50’s, she began a Catholic religious television channel, EWTN. We can do what St. Teresa of Calcutta  (Mother Teresa) did.

Torpedo Evangelism

Rebecca Pippert, the author of Out of the Salt Shaker: Into the World, tells of a time she was sitting in her car at a traffic light with her window rolled down. As the light turned green a car drove by and its occupant threw something into her car hitting her on the cheek. It didn’t hurt but she was so startled that she pulled over immediately. When she unrolled the paper, she discovered it was a Gospel tract. She says she was the apparent victim of what she refers to as “torpedo evangelism.”

I’m sure the torpedoer meant well. At least I hope so, but he or she did the wrong thing for the right reason in the wrong way. We can engage people in conversation about their Faith and their relationship with God in a non-judgmental manner. We can encourage. We can invite. We can offer counsel. But we leave the hard work, the heart work, up to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You see, we are not on some sort of spiritual mugging mission!