After his resurrection, Jesus gave his disciples these words of reassurance: "Peace be with you!" Then he quickly gave them a renewed sense of purpose: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." With those words, Jesus was passing his mission on to his followers.
Recently I watched the world athletics championships. My favourite event was the relay, where one runner comes up behind the next and passes on the baton. That's what Jesus was doing in today's verse. He was passing off the baton to his followers and saying, "Go! Finish the race! Carry on the mission I began! I ran the first leg; now you run the next. Just as God the Father sent me into the world, now I am sending you into the world! Now Go!"
Today Jesus reminds us, as he did his disciples, of our real mission, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Jesus had been sent by his Father into the world "to seek and to save what was lost." As his followers, we also have that mission and purpose. Jesus has passed us the baton. Lost people matter to God, and they should matter to us too.
Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." (John 20:21)
Let's Pray
Yahweh, thank you for the reminder that my purpose and the church's purpose is to reach the lost at any cost. Father, remind me often that Christ has sent me into the world, just as you sent him into the world. God, may my life and words be a light that shows others the way to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.