Disciples Do What Jesus Does

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Matthew 28:16-20

    How appropriate that today of all days, we began our scripture readings with the beginning – the first chapter of the Bible, the creation story of Genesis that begins…“In the beginning.”  Claudia, Amelia, and Abigail, I know you have heard me say this multiple times, and I’ll say it again – confirmation is NOT graduation from church. Rather, it is the beginning of an adult life of faith.  Today, we welcome you as adult members of our church, and through baptism, into a new beginning of your journey with Jesus.
    Our gospel is actually the last few verses of Matthew, but even though it is the end of the gospel, it is really the beginning of the first disciples’ journey in doing what Jesus does without him being physically present.  They have followed Jesus for three years, learning from him and Jesus commissions them to do what he does.  My nephew is almost 14 months and is learning to walk.  My brother has been great about sharing videos with us of him taking his first tentative steps, hanging on to a wall or to Mom or Dad, and the latest video is of him wobblily walking on his own while also talking on Dad’s cell phone.  No one sat him down and said, “Mark, this is how you walk. You stand up and then you put one foot in front of the other while using your arms for balance.”  Clearly, he has learned to walk by watching other people walk – he wants to do what the grown-ups around him are doing!  And he trusts his own muscles and instincts; that he is ready to walk!
Abigail, Amelia, and Claudia – we are taking the training wheels of faith off.  You are ready to walk with Jesus on your own two feet.   Welcome to the next step of learning to run the race of faith with Christ by your side.  We are here to support you!  You have intentionally committed to two years of confirmation classes, learning the most important stories of our faith from the Bible, learning what we mean when we pray the Lord’s prayer or say the Apostles’ Creed, trying to not only memorize the Ten Commandments but follow them!  Confirmation, I hope, has been a time to form your faith not only in learning more knowledge, but trusting your heart and your instincts to put your ultimate trust in Jesus.      
As Jesus ascends into heaven, he sends the disciples out on their own for the first time in the gospel of Matthew, giving what we sometimes say is the “great commission” to “GO make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them.”  “Commission” is a fancy word that simply means, “mission with.” Jesus calls us to be in mission with him – to step out in faith with him daily and live as modern-day followers, disciples, of Jesus – or as we put it here at Faith in our mission statement, to preach, teach and share God’s love in Christ.  Today is a day where we go from learning and sitting at Jesus’ feet to doing what Jesus does, striving to live like Christ in our community.  Like Jesus, we live out our faith baptizing and remembering our baptisms, teaching and learning, and most importantly, being encouraged by Jesus’ words that “I am with you always, to the end of the age!”  
    So each day as followers of Jesus who try to do what Jesus does, we begin at the beginning -we go back to the basics of our faith, that each one of us is created in God’s image; male and female God created us!  We rest and worship on the sabbath because on the seventh day God rested!  We rejoice in the goodness of ourselves and all of God’s creation because “God saw everything that he had made and indeed, it was VERY GOOD.”  Knowing our God-given goodness and seeing the image of God in ourselves and others, knowing that Jesus is with always, then we move forward in faith to go beyond the basics into a deeper trust and even wrestling at times with God.  We know Jesus is with us always, there to catch us when we fall and encourage us to keep growing because we belong to the body of Christ, the church.  The community of faith needs you, and you need this community of faith to know you are not alone, to help you live like Christ.  Welcome to the beginning of an exciting, lifelong journey of faith!  Thanks be to God!  Amen.