Giving Consent

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…” John 15:16

The “you” chosen and appointed to go in John 15:16 is plural (i.e. “all of you” or “community” - not individual religious rock stars). Of course I like the idea of missional community, of being part of the God’s kingdom as it emerges in new places. But I am not yet comfortable being missional, because the kingdom often appears in places I would rather not go. I eventually witness things I would rather not see. It is a difficult path to follow and not one I would readily choose.

God’s kingdom is real and I know where to look for it: among the poor and destitute, among those who are oppressed and suffering. That is where Jesus went and announced “the kingdom of God has come near”. Jesus said “Blessed are you who are poor” because that is where God chooses to be found (“for yours is the kingdom of God” – Luke 6:20). Being in that place, following that path is not so much a choice as it is giving consent to being “chosen” and “appointed to go”.

Jesus also said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me”. When have we done those things? “Inasmuch as you have done this for the least of these, you have done it for me”. I don’t believe those words are a polite suggestion to do nice things for poor people. I do believe they tell us we cannot find or follow Jesus if we separate ourselves from God’s poor.  Being “missional” means moving beyond our own comfort and security and stepping out into the places where God is waiting. It is difficult. It is so difficult that is requires community.