For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.

Titus 2:11

“But where is God’s mission taking place?” you might ask. It takes place through the very things we have been doing today: praying, reading the Scriptures, and sharing the Meal.

To begin with, prayer is God’s mission work in you and me. This truth is obscured when prayer is viewed as our way of taking control of God’s power in order to vaporize demons or magically change the religious convictions of non-Christians.

This past Holy Week, however, Dr Gordon Wong reminded us that prayer is really about our being changed. Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was “Not my will, but yours be done.” Through prayer, we listen to God and open ourselves to God’s will. So we do not use prayer to direct God; God uses prayer to direct us.

God’s missional work is also happening in the reading of the Word.

When the Scriptures are proclaimed, God shows us our weakness, neediness, and brokenness. At the same time, God’s Word promises strength, comfort, and forgiveness. Put another way: God’s Word in worship kills and makes alive;

it kills the sinner and then raises up a new person who is alive to God’s grace, mercy and truth. It is this death and resurrection wrought by the Word that truly equips us for the mission of making Christ known in the world.

Finally, God’s mission takes place in the celebration of Holy Communion.

In the meal that we just celebrated, the Risen Lord who came to his disciples and gave them the “Great Commission” came to us and fed us with his love and forgiveness so that we might go make disciples. At this Table, we participated in the very life of God’s Number One Missionary—our Lord Jesus Christ! Our task now is to invite others to share in the body of Christ.

Indeed, as we go out from this worship service, let us remember that making disciples really means making worshippers! In Acts 2, those who repented and were baptized gathered together for fellowship, listening to the apostles’ teaching, breaking bread (communion), and praying—acts of worship! Rather than thinking of mission as “converting” people, we should think of it as welcoming people into the worshipping assemblies of our churches. More specifically, mission is about welcoming people to the baptismal font and to the Communion table. It is about equipping them with the knowledge and rituals skills to participate in worship. Mission, then, is not so much about adding to church membership roles, but rather adding to that great choir of believers who worship the Lamb and The One who sits on the Throne (Revelation 5.11-13). So let us go out and make worshippers of all nations!

Amen.