On A Mission From God

Whether you have seen the movie, “The Blues Brothers” or not, you are probably familiar with their famous saying that they’re on a “mission from God.” I’m not sure this is an actual divine instruction that they’d been given, but it was at least a humorous declaration given by Dan Akroyd in the 1980 film. What if we left our church every Sunday with this same declaration, that we too we’re on a mission for God. Because all kidding aside, we are.

 

Last month a few members of our youth along with a few adults, attended Missionpalooza, a diocesan-sponsored mission trip that included about 18 churches who sent a collective 185 youth and adults to Bastrop, Texas for the second year in a row. In the Texas heat, these kids participated in work teams assigned to help build sheds, rebuild decks, clear away burnt shrubbery, trees and debris, and some were chosen to build 180 bird feeders, that’s right, bird feeders...from scratch. We showed up at the site and there was a pile of fresh lumber, a table saw, a radial arm saw, screwdrivers and hammers. The job got done.

 

But there was more than just clearing debris and building bird feeders. When we engage in mission we engage others. The most memorable times the young people recall is when they have had a first-hand encounter with someone who endured loss. Their stories are harrowing. The loss they sustained was unlike any the kids have experienced. But it’s not just the stories of despair that captivate, but the stories of hope and resilience. And the best part, is that the kids—and adults, to be fair—get to be a part of this healing process. They were, for all intents and purposes, on a mission from God.

 

We too as Christians and members of St. Christopher’s and the one holy, catholic and apostolic church, are on a mission. Our mission is to bring people to the knowledge and love of God in Jesus Christ. We can do this in so many ways—by offering a smile to someone in trouble or by visiting a sick friend. We can also do this by inviting a friend to church with us, or being warm to someone visiting St. Christopher’s. We never know who God will bring into our midst or for what reason.

 

Recently, a parishioner said that a friend of hers has been thinking about visiting our church, but wasn't sure because it had been a while since they’ve been to a church and they didn't know how they might be received by the people and especially that guy up at the front of the church (the priest).

 

Many people who decide to venture back into church do so with these thoughts of doubt and reticence. They wonder if they will be judged, or made to feel like they are doomed for turning away from God. Our mission in the contemporary church, I think, is to help people overcome these feelings of judgment. I believe we have work to do in being an example of a church that reminds people that God loves us and desires nothing more than to be in relationship with us. The story of the prodigal son tells it best (Luke 15:11-32).

 

More than building sheds and cleaning up people’s lots, the kids throughout the Diocese of Texas did a big part in reminding people that there is hope and that there is a God who loves and cares for them. We are on a mission from God. That mission includes us reaching out and loving one another, caring for one another, and helping out one another. It only starts in church each Sunday. Sunday worship is not the goal or the end. Sunday worship prepares our missional spirit to go out into the world as Jesus did: healing, loving, and restoring others, and in the process, ourselves. In the words of one of my new friends, from Holy Comforter Episcopal in Spring, Texas: “Going to church is not about going to church. It's about going to be energized to go out to do mission work.”