The gift of the journey

The moment I found my sear on the Boeing 787, the weight of what was before me was unfelt to a degree, a sense of excitement, sense of adventure, sense of wonder. After twenty four hours I would land in a city that is so completely different in more ways than one wishes to count. It is a place of unknowns, insecurity on levels I am unfamiliar with and suffering with a favour I know not of. My calling to all this is simply been present, be the person I am created to be, while bring a message of encouragement to the amazing women who live there. 

This was three weeks ago, and still I can clearly remember that day while time has gone fast and been so packed at moments. It is the stillness I can see sense the weight of this first step that took shape in ways I can not explain yet working of the Lord. In moments I have an awareness of feeling inadequate or nearly fake. What did I know about daily suffering in which these people in this country know of? What historical living from the roots of been silence and beaten, do I have awareness of? How can I possibly speak any words of wisdom into their reality? Sure, I’ve experienced my share of struggles, like all of us, but I was entering another culture, another world of poverty with an extra large suitcase and an even larger community behind me.

Thus, the reason I felt a little overwhelmed as I sat in my seat, I had a feeling of little talent or experience to offer, nor did I have any magical powers or hidden wealth to share. I was an ordinary girl from the other side of the globe who simply loved the Lord… Thats all.

I wonder if the disciples experienced similar doubts as they huddle together in Jerusalem. It was only a few before this they witnessed Jesus been arrested, betrayed, unfairly trailed and the results of this in a horrific crucifixion. They would have feared a similar fate, fleeing in different directions. Against hope, Jesus appeared alive! They didn’t understand! They could not explain, but they celebrated it!! Their friend, their leader, the Messiah, the One who’d come to save all humankind. 

But then, almost as quickly as He’d come, He left. While they watched, amazed, He rose into the sky with a few final words:

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)

The disciples will be missionaries of the good news, ambassadors of Jesus. What a calling! Last Sunday was mission Sunday where I heard a homily about how the word good is synod of Joy. Message been you can not bring good news without joy. I feel this message in the context of my life where I stand now is very important. As too the ordinary men and women with little resources and few credentials that were called in Jesus time to do as each of us called to do - deliver hope to a desperate world! 

As it turned out, Jesus knew what they needed and already had plan to deliver it - 

“While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, 

but to wait there for the promise of the Father.”  

(Acts 1:4) 

The disciples gathered in Jerusalem, overwhelmed by their mission, yet the Lord gave them exactly what they needed to accomplish it. 

Holy Spirit pour upon them, touching each person present with the extraordinary presence of the Lord. Never again would they need to visit a priest or temple or touch the person of Jesus to experience the presence of God. Instead, God’s presence now lived within, filling them with everything they needed for a holy calling. 

The disciples began to speak in other languages - languages they did not previously know. Before, they cowered in fear, but now they spoke with confidence and joy, so much joy that some accused them of drunkenness. But inebriation wasn’t the reason for their transformation, it was the presence of the Lord. 

As I sit here, in a country the language at times is a mystery, the feeling of been a disciple is living in the margins with the vulnerability this presents. As I lean into this truth, I am aware that I’m not travelling alone, I have access to an incomparable power source; the presence of the Lord within me. The Holy Spirit promised wisdom when I feel foolish and power when I feel weak, and that means I am equiped with everything I could need. 

The story of the disciples’ courage doesn’t end with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord delivered a second gift, which is one we often miss: 

All who believed were to gather and had all things in common, they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as they had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their numbers those who were being saved. 

(Acts 2:44-47) 

Jesus’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit was the power they needed to accomplish their mission. That gift was given in community, to a gathering of people who would soon be called the Church. The gift of the Holy Spirit to one person was something to behold, no doubt, but the gift of the Holy Spirit to a gathering of Jesus followers held the making of a movement, a movement called Christianity - the kind of movement that would soon spread “to the ends of the earth” 

I believe we are all called to mission in so many different ways. Be it whatever term you use, ministry, career, mission, connection. We are called to do this not in isolation rather as a community. To be lights of the gospel in communion, and the great thing about this not only did the Lord give us the gift of the spirit yet also the gift of each other. Through those moments of feeling overwhelmed or isolated or uncertain, remainder is before us that we are in good company. The truth is, you and I are ordinary individuals with ordinary means. However, when we serve the Lord who never leaves us and promises that all things are possible through him. May we cling to Him in our need and trust in His way - ask you will receive, exactly what we need in the exact moment of need.