William Carrey's 87-page pamphlet, "An Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen," was an exposition of Matthew 28: 19-20. Published in 1792, it is considered as the first published work on the theology of missions.
Centuries later, interpreters of the passage, which is Sunday's Gospel Reading, still resonate with Carrey's exposition. Many missions dedicated to convert the "heathen" continue to be grounded on Carrey's exposition of "The Great Commission."
I have always argued that Immanuel, "God-with-Us," serves as the thread that binds the 28 chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel, in 1.23, proclaims that Mary's son will be called Immanuel, meaning "God-with-Us" (echoing Isaiah 7.14). At the end of the Gospel, in 28. 20, Jesus proclaims, "I am with you always..." God-with-Us to the end of the age! The Gospel has one promise. We will never, ever, be alone.
One can ask, "What does it mean to experience Immanuel, to feel God's presence in our lives?" More often than not, the answer is, "Be God's presence in someone else's life!" Matthew's Jesus was.
So many people, struggling to live from one day to the next or from one meal to the next, have no time to read the Bible. What they do have is time to "read" us.
My friends, our great commission is to do what Jesus did. Feed the hungry. Visit the prisoners. Welcome the stranger. Care for the sick. Befriend the lonely. Choose justice always. Let people know for sure that they are not alone, and then they will experience God's presence. And proclaim, "Immanuel!"
*art, "The Mission to the World," (JESUS MAFA, 1973, Cameroon), from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.
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