A New Mission
Mark 16:1-8[9-20]
Imagine the company you worked for shuts down, and you are out of work.
Photo by Priyanka Chechi on Unsplash
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. [ Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.] - Mark 16:1-8[9-20]
Now imagine the owner of that company you loved working for comes back and tells you he wants to hire you for his new business.
You go from sad to joyful again.
It is a different job, one you had only done once and not on your own. But you will be working for a great boss, one you know and love.
Suddenly, you find within you the strength and wisdom to carry out the mission, even though you lack experience.
And you have a great story to tell the people you meet. It is an unbelievable story, but it is true.
The eleven came back together and committed themselves to the new mission because it was Jesus who led them and was now with them. But Jesus would soon leave them and they would have to go it alone.
He would stay with them for a while, encouraging them, helping them and then he would leave. But he would give them the Holy Spirit to be with them in all they do.
We don't learn how to benefit from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. There should be a course we take or some lessons on YouTube that we can learn from.
Instead, we have to find a way to draw on the Spirit's power and strength by doing.
Go and do.
The signs will show you how.
More to come...