Choose Love. Choose Mission. Choose God: Third Sunday after Pentecost

“Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. And these are the names of the twelve apostles….”1 

All over the country, at this time of year, there are young people (and not so young) making the transition from disciple to apostle. The papers are full of reports of commencement speeches, lists of graduates, and pictures of young people tossing mortarboards and cadet caps into the air to celebrate their change in status. One minute they’re students, still in training, still learning the ropes, the rules, the formulas, and the logarithms. Then comes the moment of graduation – diplomas in hand, shifting tassels from one side to the other, grinning for pictures with proud families – and suddenly they’re someone else, something else: no longer students, but graduates, ready to go out into the world to practice what they’ve been learning to do for so many years. They’re no longer “disciples” – from the Latin “discipulus” meaning “student, learner,” which itself is derived from “discere,” meaning to learn. 

One can argue that these graduates are now “apostles” coming from the Greek “Apostolos,” meaning messenger or envoy, which is derived from “apostellein,” meaning to send away, send forth. 

Our passage from Matthew this morning marks the moment when followers gathered around Jesus “graduated.” Jesus seems to think they knew enough, were formed, shaped, and changed enough to be sent out to share the mission and ministry with him. But they hadn’t completed a nice, tidy set of seminary courses with the required numbers of credit hours and proficiency tests and final papers.  

When Jesus picked his twelve, he did not demand substantial qualifications. He didn’t seek the best in class or the brightest (at least by society’s standards), but he selected a group of mostly untested commoners, some of whom seemed failures by modern worldly standards. He chose people who followed him and wanted to build the kingdom of God. 

And off they want, to do the work in his name, as disciples became apostles. He told them to “proclaim the good news, ‘the kingdom of heaven has come near.'”2 

Did they do it perfectly? Not at all. The gospels and the New Testament repeatedly tell us how they missed the mark. They couldn’t understand the parables, didn’t know what he meant when he predicted his death, slept through Jesus’ last hours, and deserted Jesus as he went to the cross. Then, they barely recognized him when he appeared to them as the risen Christ and didn’t know what to do when he ascended into heaven. And yet. 

And yet. Here we are today. 

Whatever the apostles may have gotten wrong, they clearly got many things right because here we are today. 

There are churches around the world today, witnessing in every nation the Good News of God in Christ. There are churches around the Shenandoah Valley today, right here in the Southern Shenandoah region of the Episcopal Church, witnessing the good news of Jesus Christ. We hear the gospel in Woodstock and Mount Jackson. Others are hearing it in Harrisonburg, Luray, Pine Grove, Port Republic, and Shenandoah. 

Yesterday, we met about the mission congregations in our region and how best we can support one another in our region. Our region has seven churches – we cover an area just shy of 1700 square miles. 

We talked about how we can support one another. We can share resources and activities. Sharing information about events, resources, and opportunities can strengthen our bonds. 

We can partner on outreach and mission work. Our congregations in Beckford Parish are great at responding to crises. I found out yesterday that a mission parish needs a new well. Their water is contaminated. I think together we can help. 

The Gospel of Matthew is building toward the Great Commission. We hear the beginning of the Great Commission today, which emphasizes the importance of spreading the message of Jesus Christ, baptizing believers, and teaching them to follow Jesus’ teachings.  

Jesus went through “all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”3 

But Jesus didn’t just stay in the synagogues. He didn’t just stay in comfortable, familiar places. He met people in their joy, pain, hopes, and struggles. 

In today’s Gospel, we hear that as Jesus’s followers, Jesus’ disciples, Jesus’ apostles, we have a duty to continue his work. 

The call here is not simply to speak of God’s love but to manifest it. To heal the wounded, lift up the fallen, and liberate the oppressed. The Great Commission is a call to evangelism and a summons to a life of service, love, and compassionate action. 

But let me be clear. The Great Commission, or the Way of Love, as Bishop Curry calls it, is not easy. 

Jesus told his followers that they were being sent out like sheep into the midst of wolves. The disciples faced challenges, persecution, and even martyrdom. And yet, ultimately, they did not waver. Why? 

Because the power of love, the power of Jesus’ love, is greater than any force against it. 

The same love that guided the disciples guides us today. The power that raised Jesus from the dead lives within us, enabling us to face whatever may come our way and stand firm in our faith and mission. This is not a journey we embark upon alone. God’s presence is always with us, guiding us, strengthening us, and filling us with God’s love so we can share that love with the world. 

What does this love look like in our daily lives? 

It looks like showing kindness to a stranger. It looks like standing up against injustice. It looks like comforting those who mourn, supporting those who struggle, and reaching out to those who are lost or lonely in pain. It looks like a hand extended in friendship, a heart open in compassion, a spirit brimming with hope. It looks like welcoming everybody, not just a select few, to the table. 

When we choose that way, we become living witnesses of God’s kingdom here on earth. We bring the good news to life through our actions and attitudes. 

Like the apostles, we won’t always get it right. But when we live in love, we become the hands, the feet, and the heart of Christ in our world. 

In this world, filled with confusion and strife, let us remember the words we hear in the First Letter of John: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.”4 

Love is not optional; it is the essence of our faith, the heart of the Great Commission, and the core of the Way of Love. 

On Father’s Day, choose love. In Pride Month, choose love. Always choose love. Name evil and injustice and work to change them. 

And just like the disciples and apostles, we can do it. Doing the work of Jesus requires only that we want to do it. God’s work requires the very experiences we have had– at work, school, or play while raising a family or doing whatever is normal for us – all of which we can use to love and help others. 

Again, like the first followers, we won’t be perfect. We’ll make mistakes, miss opportunities. But the Lord will keep sending us back out into the world. 

Choose love. Choose mission. Choose God.