Easter Thursday - "Give Yourself Away"

Text: Matthew 28:16-20 (see below)

Today’s lesson from Matthew’s Gospel tells of Jesus meeting his followers back north in the Galilee, far from the momentous events which took place in Jerusalem. He commissions the eleven to be about the work of the Kingdom, to do the things that he did: love, heal, teach, make, baptize. Jesus concludes his Great Commission with those wonderful words of hope and presence: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

So what does it mean to go and “make disciples”? What does it mean to “witness” to what we believe about our faith?

The quote by William Bryant Logan posted below provides a clue to what it means to be faithful in our witness to the Living Lord. Logan simply states that if a person wants to be remembered, “give yourself away.” That is precisely what the disciples did following this last scene in Matthew’s story. They gave themselves away. They lived for others. They LIVED for Christ. In doing so, they were remembered and forever changed the world.

In their actions of compassion and love, which we read about in the Acts of the Apostles and in the writings of Saint Paul, the risen Christ was recognized in their midst. You and I have been given the same authority through our baptism to give ourselves away to others by acts of kindness, love and compassion. When we participate in such actions, we shall see the risen Christ alive and in our midst. Who do you know that is in need of love this day? Words of hope or encouragement? The Good News of the Gospel of Jesus?

Give yourself away today and watch for Christ.

Love One Another - Brian

If You Want to Be Remembered

William Bryant Logan

Hospitality is the fundamental virtue of the soil. It makes room. It shares. It neutralizes poisons. And so it heals. This is what the soil teaches: If you want to be remembered, give yourself away.

Source: Dirt: the Ecstatic Skin of the Earth

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore 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 that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’