The first Easter, for the disciples, was an emotional and roller coaster journey, beginning with Palm Sunday and concluding with the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The people greeted Jesus enthusiastically, waving palm branches and covering His path with palm branches. Then the institution of the Lord Supper and of His betrayal. The trial was held five days later and the people who called for His crucifixion were notorious and different from what was observed days previously hen they greeted Jesus so warmly during Palm Sunday. Finally the crucifixion and empty tomb. With such an event, the disciples were lost and aimless without their teacher. From the two episodes we notice two different kinds of response towards Jesus, one was receptive and the other was the opposite.
Life took a turn for the disciples, for instance, Jesus appeared ‘when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders (John 20:19) – a minor sentence, but one that communicates the terror and bewilderment that plagued the disciples. What would we have done in this situation – reeling from the death of our teacher, fearing for our life?
Then Simon Peter (John 21:3) said to them ‘I am going out to fish’. They said to him ‘We will go with you’ Going back to their old trade – fishing. Fishing is another way of reflecting what has taken place. Then in John 21:5-6, Jesus did His last miracle with a huge catch. Following that was Peter’s reinstatement with the charge ‘Feed my sheep”.
Jesus’ instruction to the disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 to go out to the world and spread the good news of salvation, Applies to us too.
On the first Sunday in March 2020, FBC launched our Mission 2020 Year, there were excitement and eagerness to reach out to those who do not now Jesus. With the news of the Movement Control Order (MCO) the nation went almost to a stand-still. In FBC, we began to worship through online services. The Mission 2020 Year is a standstill due to Covid 19.
Revelation 18 & Isaiah 24 gives us a glimpse of Covid 19. With the pandemic, how should we approach positively to the FBC Mission 2020? How do we go about and do the Lord’s mission since we are not able to reach out person to person? Are we going to be like the disciples who stayed indoors and ‘carried on business as usual’? Do we see the urgency to reach out to this dying world?
We are set apart! We are to carry on with this mission. For we know some of us are reaching out to our love ones, neighbours, office mates in our daily routine. The Mission 2020 Year is a collective task, everyone who worships in FBC has this responsibility. It is sad to be in a church where the task of mission is left to a few to handle. What are we going to do about it?
Let us begin with a time of prayer daily seeking God to cleanse us of all unrighteousness and seek His forgiveness to seek His direction and wisdom over our next move. After all this is His church and we should seek His will for everything that we want to do for the church and in the church. We should show our faith and love for God by doing our part in this mission of God. After all this is the Church of Jesus Christ and no one else!
Photo by Brett Zeck on Unsplash
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