Send Me, Lord!!

John 20:1-21


As I open my Bible and read this passage, I look up, expecting it to be Easter.  Don't you associate the Empty Tomb with that joyous time of year?  But I check the calendar again:  September 30th.  Not even close.

So why are we reading John 20, when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away (v. 1)?  Of course, scripture is always relevant, no matter what time of year, but still.....it seems out of place and time.

What can we take from this "Easter passage?"  Can we experience the intense joy that Mary Magdalene did when she reported to the disciples:  "I have seen the Lord!"  Or can we imagine what it was like 'when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, and Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"  (v. 19).  Verse 20 seems almost understated:  "The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."  Overjoyed indeed! 

Let's look at verse 21, because this, my friends, is the Easter message that transcends Easter:

Again, Jesus said, "Peace be with you!  As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

What does it mean to be sent?  We worship every Sunday and sing his praises - man's chief end is to serve God and glorify him forever, as the Westminster Catechism says.  We share his love with family and friends.  We reach out to a world that is hurting and lonely.  

   We follow our Lord's lead, as he says in Luke 4:18:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Where is he sending you to proclaim this good news?  Have you asked him?  Ask him and listen for his response.  As we say at UALC every Sunday as worship closes, "Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord."

And all God's people said, AMEN!!!