Get Outta Here!

On Easter Sunday, our pastor emphasized a call to be missional as God’s Church with a paraphrase of John 20:17-18:

“Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”  Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.” John‬ ‭20‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬

The pastor’s paraphrase was simply, “Get outta here and tell (the) others!” Pretty blunt, huh?

Mary Magdalene, the first person to see the Risen Lord, didn’t want to let go. She wanted to hang on so she wouldn’t lose Him again. Perhaps she wanted it to be like it was before the weekend. It was comfortable following Jesus. 

I think for many of us, WE have made it comfortable following Jesus. Go to church Sunday morning, most Sundays, and maybe if there’s something else going on like a prayer meeting or “special service” we might attend if it doesn’t interfere with our busy life. But the rest of the week, the rest of our existence, is ours to govern; don’t upset my apple cart. 

The celebration of Easter is over, but on the church liturgical calendar, the season of Easter continues for 50 days until Pentecost. Before I retired from pastoring a church, I found it beneficial to highlight the liturgical seasons. Although I wasn’t raised in a liturgical church nor trained in a liturgical school, I believed it helped me to cover important days/seasons. Rather than have Communion on a monthly or quarterly schedule, we would observe the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of Advent, Epiphany Sunday, first Sunday of Lent, Maundy Thursday, and Pentecost Sunday.  This resulted in preaching about the significance of how mankind waited for the birth of the Messiah, the Wise Men “discovering” the Christ-child, the introspection of Lent, vicariously experiencing what it might have been like when Jesus spent His last night with His disciples, and the significance of the coming of the promised Paraclete, the indwelling Holy Spirit. I hope this was as meaningful to my congregation as it was for me.

What are we doing with Easter? Are we comfortable with church? Are we hanging on to OUR concept of what it should be? Our pastor clearly applied her paraphrase to everyone of us, sending us out with this message: “Get outta here and share the good news with others.” The Gospel is the good news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. People need to hear that Resurrection Mornings are for every person, every need, and every day.

This is the missional Church. Now, get outta here and do it!