Oftentimes after the Easter Celebration those of us who are church folk,
especially church leaders, ushers, greeters, musicians, the arrangers of the lilies and hyacinths, tech people who facilitate online and in-person worship experiences, volunteers and staff in Children’s Ministry who are hoping to break through the bunnies and eggs with the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a child-friendly, relatable way, and pastors who give their best to tell the old, old story in a new and engaging way…
those of us who are church folk let out a sigh of relief after the “BIG DAY” is over. We’re ready to “turn the page on Easter” and get back to our “normal” routines (whatever they happen to be in these pandemic adjusted days)
Let me suggest that we indeed, really, actually, literally turn the page on the Resurrection of Jesus.
I mean the page in our Bibles.
Turn the page from the end of the Gospel According to John to the beginning of The Acts of the Apostles. In my daily use Bible, that means turning from page 960 to page 961. The Gospel of John ends with these words,
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I supposed that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25).
And at this point we might expect the next words to be, THE END.
But, no. Not in the least. When we turn the page to The Acts of the Apostles, after a few introductory remarks regarding the purpose and process of the writing, we find, surprisingly, that not all of the red ink was used up in the writing of the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Jesus has something more to say.
The disciples, are just beginning to grasp that Jesus is, after his betrayal, trial, torture, and crucifixion, actually ALIVE! They ask if the Lord was then going to bring political Israel back to its former sovereignty, independence and glory.
Jesus replies (here’s the unexpected red ink, for those of us with Bibles that utilize that printing convention to emphasize the words of the Lord), “No, but…”
No, it isn’t what they or we might expect.
But YOU will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
This witnessing to the gospel of Jesus Christ has been going on a long time and across the globe. In fact, it is already far beyond Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. It has reached Northern Illinois. It has reached me and it has reached you…on its way to somebody else.
If we turn the page on Easter, literally in our Bibles, we will see that we have been entrusted with the mission of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As our local churches move forward in a re-opening phase of pandemic recovery, don’t go back to “normal” – go for the supernatural, Holy Spirit given power to fulfill the mission Jesus has assigned to you and your congregation. We are sent together, under the power of the Holy Spirit, with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Turn the page and get ready, set, GO!
Here’s a practical suggestion to help: If you want to add some fuel to the fire of your faith, register for the Wesleyan Covenant Association Global Gathering: Go Global! On Saturday, May 1st.
Here’s a link for registration and a video trailer:
https://wesleyancovenant.org/goglobal/
And guess what? There are simulcast sites in Naperville and Geneseo, IL
Or you can livestream it at home for yourself or a small group of others with you.
Go Global! is guaranteed to fuel your faith, focus your mission, and provide practical steps to become part of a new, growing global initiative of the mission Jesus has entrusted to us!
