When Jesus sends out the disciples, he promises failure. You will be rejected. And he doesn't even send them to pagan gentiles. He says go first to the lost sheep of Israel. The people who claim to worship God. But Jesus is definitive and certain. You'll be hated by everyone because of me.
Stanley Hauerwas is often quoted as saying faithfulness does not equate to effectiveness. Jesus says to his early disciples faithfulness equals failure.
What a depressing commissioning sermon.
Except the promise that in losing one's life, they will truly live. And the promise of being near to the God who cares for the sparrow.
The Message Translation reframes the whole thing for me:
This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.
If you feel as though your attempts at faithfulness are resulting in "failure," praise God. And give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty. Here's to a life of faithfulness and failure.
Well said. Reminds me of a quote from Mother Teresa, when asked how it felt knowing there were so many millions in need in India she couldn’t possibly help them all: something to the effect that she was not called to be effective, but to be faithful.
Well said. Reminds me of a quote from Mother Teresa, when asked how it felt knowing there were so many millions in need in India she couldn’t possibly help them all: something to the effect that she was not called to be effective, but to be faithful.