For the Sake of the World: Daily Reflections on Missional Living, 1:1
Day: One
Section: One – Jesus’ Mission
Text: Luke 4:14-21
“…he has annointed me…”
A few years ago I befriended a man in the service of an intelligence branch in the German military. A couple of months after the Berlin Wall had fallen and the communist regime of East Germany had crumbled, my friend was charged to take a small group of soldiers into East Germany and investigate some alleged “intelligence houses.” These houses were places of great interest to the new, emerging government. Upon coming to one of these houses his group made their way to the basement. One of the soldiers discovered a trap door. They drew their guns and opened it to find a flight of stairs leading down to an obviously locked-from-the-inside metal door. Following orders another soldier made his way down and rigged the door with a small explosive. After the lock was broken and the band moved in there was a moment of shock for both this small group of soldiers and the people they found living behind the metal door. My friend and his team found a room with twenty beds, a food closet with enough rations for two years, and twenty East German soldiers who were living there below the ground. What was most amazing about their discovery, however, was that these East German soldiers were still taking orders from Moscow. They had one phone and it connected directly to the Kremlin. Moscow was delivering orders to these East German soldiers like the wall was still up. As far as they were concerned, everything was normal. Everything was status quo. They had no idea the wall had come down and a new Germany was being formed. So you can understand their absolute disbelief when my friend said, “Brüderen, Es ist feirtig. Die Mauer ist zer brochen. “Brothers, it is finished. The wall has come down.” My friend proved, by the chance of the day, to be a “herald” for these men as he announced a new reality which had upset the old. A new day had dawned.
The mission of Jesus originates in God’s sovereignty to elect and anoint him “herald” of the Kingdom of God. This was no accident. This was not an occurrence of chance. He was and is the one chosen to announce and embody a new reality – God’s reality – to a world needing to be put to rights. All of history hinges on this election and all of history submits to this anointing. Jesus is the chosen one to announce and demonstrate God’s reign over all things past, present, and future. He is the chosen one to perfectly bear witness and accomplish God’s mission for the world. But there is more. For in Jesus’ election as the anointed herald of God’s Kingdom we too find our call to be herald. In his election we find our vocational direction to be a provisional witness and foretaste of what God has done and what God will do in Christ. Like my German friend, we are called to proclaim this new reality that God is brining to bear in the world. We are called to announce by both word and deed God’s reign in as we seek to love and bless the world.
Missional Imagination: What does it mean for you to be “herald” of the Kingdom of God today? Where is God sending you, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, to witness and demonstrate God’s new reality breaking into the world? How can your faith community be a provisional witness and foretaste of God’s new world?
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