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Power and Presence
Joe Killian • May 28, 2015
Are these words of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel directed at you and me?
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Matthew 28:16-20
Or are they meant only for those who actually work for the Church?
I believe the answer is, both! This passage has guided the mission of the Church for 2000 years. However, to “make disciples of all nations”, “baptizing” and “teaching all that I have commanded you” is an immense task. I think that is especially true for you and me as individual believers. And I must confess that at times I have my doubts about my role and my ability to accomplish the task.
However, when I read the passage again I realize that as Jesus commissions the disciples He frames it with two statements. Before He says, “Go” Jesus makes a profound declaration. I am going to say it with emphasis,
“ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME.”
Then after His commissioning statement Jesus reminds the disciples of a paramount point. Again with added emphasis,
“I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, UNTIL THE END OF THE AGE.”
My point is that the task that Jesus asks of us is to be done in His power and presence. Think about that for a second. He is referring to the power and presence inherent in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus assures us of His power and presence no matter what He calls us to do. When I think of it that way all my doubts disappear.
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
