Not only are the disciples of Christ called to follow after him: they are also sent by him into the world. The mission of Jesus further exposes his disciples to risk, because he sends them into situations where they will be opposed and rejected, beaten, tortured and killed. They are sent out ‘like sheep into the midst of wolves’ (Mt 10:16). They are not to creep unobserved into the corners of the world; Christ rather calls them to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, ‘in Jerusalem, Samaria and to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8) – which activity is most certainly for the public sphere. The churches thus are rightly addressed by Peter as a diaspora (1 Peter 1:1-2): they are a scattered gathering. The gospel expands space and foreshortens time: so, there is now not a location in particular that is more (or less) the site of God’s encounter with human beings. In fact, any place on earth will do. The scattered disciples take refuge in the eschatological and heavenly Jerusalem (as in Heb 12:22-3): they are present with the ascended Christ in heaven as he is ‘with them always, to the end of the age’ by the power of his Spirit.
3 comments:
Hi Michael,
I subscribe to Voice of the Martyrs (you may have heard of them) and I receive a countless number of emails from them in regards to the persecution of our brothers and sisters all over the world. I read about one man who died in prison because he refused to denounce the Lord Jesus in exchange for medical treatment. Brothers (and sisters) like these do show us that there is more to it than this world and that they "...refuge in the eschatological and heavenly Jerusalem...".
Wow. Humbling isn't it?
"The gospel expands space and foreshortens time."
Nicely put.
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