Whose mission is it anyway? What do you think of when you hear the word mission? Soup kitchens? Taking the gospel to a foreign country? Street preachers? All of these could be examples of mission. But whose mission is it? Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. John 20:21-22 At our latest vestry meeting, we watched a short clip by Alan Hirsch in which he talked about “the Misio Dei;” the mission of God. We were reminded that mission starts with God. The Father sends the Son, the Son sends us, and together the Father and the Son send the Spirit. Another way to put it is that God has a mission: to reconcile the world to himself; and His mission has a church. As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus is now sending us. And just as Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, we too are empowered by the Spirit to carry out God’s mission. This means that all of us are missionaries. Paul says that "we are ambassadors for Christ..." 2 Corinthians 5:20 As we seek to “Bring Jesus Christ to the heart of our community,” lets remember whose mission it is. Blessings, Matthew+ O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP p. 225) | 
