SO WHAT’S NEXT?
(7-minute read)
What are the chances that when you catch up with someone, you will hear about a recent life event in the family like a wedding, a birth, a death or a graduation? Surely, milestone events like these elevate collective sentiments but they do not determine the meaning and purpose of our lives.
What about us as Christians? Are we in touch with our faith only when we feel the electrifying effect of a church service that lifts us beyond our ordinary self, only to fall back to the ordinary level as soon as it is over? Do we only share our humanity with others and put our compassion on display at Easter and Christmas events when the gospel is made known to the world?
The Bible makes it clear that we are all commissioned to impact humanity by sharing with others what He has done in our lives. This means that outside major life events and Christian festivals, there is so much more we can share about God to create meaningful connections.
Jesus’ own life, too, had been marked by a series of climatic events that His followers were waiting for the ‘next big thing’ after His Resurrection. But instead of telling them about religious assemblies and meetings, He pointed to their individual call to evangelize and spread the Good News. His conversations with Mary Magdalene, the Eleven disciples and Peter, in particular, offer valuable insights that inform us about what’s next for us after we have celebrated the Resurrection Weekend.
MARY MAGDALENE
She was the one who could not tear herself away from the tomb where Jesus was laid, and then found His body missing. Not just a curious bystander watching His cruel and gruesome death, she was among a group of women first mentioned early in His ministry who had supported Him (Luke 8:1-3). Her own life had been transformed by Jesus after being delivered from demon possession.
At a time when women were powerless and voiceless, Mary Magdalene was the first person whom Jesus appeared to and the one He instructed to tell the other disciples about His resurrection. This was a critical mission for a woman in that day, and He knew that the disciples would be cynical of her message. Yet, she did not exonerate herself from the given task, although true to form, the disciples dismissed the validity of her message and did not believe her at all (Mark 16:11).
At the same time, Jesus also told her, “Do not hold on to Me (John 20:17-18). While it sounded odd, what the Lord was actually telling her was not to be attached to His humanity. He was no longer just a benefactor who lived in her memory; He had now become her Savior and Lord.
What’s next for you? Like Mary Magdelene, you likely had a difficult past and maybe even a regrettable history of relationships. But do not hold back from telling others what God is doing in your life - even if, at first, they don’t believe you or even trust you. The point is not to show who is right or wrong, but to show them that you are renewed in Christ and have tasted the transformative goodness of God, His miracles and the manifestations of His power in your own life. Even the doubters and skeptics need to hear your stories because your salvation is a powerful tool to help others find strength and hope in Christ.
THE ELEVEN DISCIPLES
This was a menagerie of 11 men who followed Jesus for three years – travelling with Him, eating with Him, and witnessing all He taught and did. But beyond the friendship, ministry and vocation that they shared, they were called to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
After Resurrection Sunday, they found a safe place to retreat from public scrutiny and persecution from the Jewish leaders. But instead of regrouping with collective courage and conviction, they were petrified behind locked doors. If they had thought that fortuity had brought them to Jesus, or that He was just a charismatic bloke with a compelling and frequently controversial ideology, Jesus swiftly cleared up all their confusion.
The gospel of Mark recorded that “Later, Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:14-15). This is emphasized in John 20:21 where Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.”
Their time following Jesus and being tutored by Him would prepare them for effective ministry with the same boldness and authority that they had witnessed in Jesus. Instead of being deserted by their leader, they were left as future leaders, teachers, writers and preachers. The disciples’ 3-year journey with Jesus was not a model for them to run group meetings and give public speeches but to live out the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28:16-20. That was the new life for them to live out.
What about us? When God sends special people into our lives, do we go through them with the same rule book we use on everyone else; ultimately, limiting our spiritual maturity and effective living for Christ? Jesus spent only three years with His disciples, and His teachings imbued in them a new meaning and purpose for life. Similarly, as a community of believers in BeInReach Ministry the past three years, how much have we grown, individually, in our appetite to live for Christ? Or are we just moving from group to group with the same rule book, and becoming none the wiser over the years?
PETER THE ROCK
He was the only disciple with the grit to walk on water, the gall to retract his allegiance to Jesus and deny Him publicly three times, and the gusto to jump into chilly morning waters when Jesus appeared on the shore. It was also Peter who had committed multiple gaffes and soon after Jesus died, initiated going back to fishing, taking half the team with him.
But Jesus was not in the habit of taking out people at the first sign of conflict. Earlier on, He had renamed this disciple Peter (meaning the rock) from his birth-name, Simon (son of Jonah), and He was committed to build this ‘rock’ (Matthew 16:17-18).
Interestingly, in Mark’s account of the Resurrection, the angels had also singled out Peter when they instructed the women outside the tomb to inform the disciples about the Lord’s reappearance. (Mark 16:7). This points to the likelihood that others had often looked up to Peter as the de facto leader.
Jesus knew that Peter’s friendship faux pas was a remittable offense and their relationship had to be restored to give this ‘rock’ a strong foundation. While his personality drew people to him, he had a tendency to look out for number one (himself). Honesty and vulnerability were not default features in his relational style.
In John 21:15-17, Jesus persisted in an uncomfortable conversation with this disciple in which He called Peter by his birth-name ‘Simon son of John’ three times, He asked Peter ‘do you love me’ three times and He gave him three different ways to demonstrate his love for the Lord (‘Feed My lambs’, ‘Take care of My sheep’, and ‘Feed My sheep’).
What the Lord was doing was to show Peter new rules of engagement with Him and with others. When that happened, we saw how Peter turned around, sacrificing self-interest and becoming a prolific leader. In fact, he was the first among the Eleven to address the crowds and testify about Jesus (Acts 2:14).
What reasonable justifications do you have for not being able to do what God has assigned to you? Do you have to change your rules of engagement with God and the people He has placed in your life? Is that rule book for protecting yourself from criticism hindering you from sharing about Jesus and having meaningful engagement with people?
Jesus’ resurrection has given us rebirth through Christ, and with it, a new meaning and purpose for life.
So what’s next is an important consideration in our continued engagement with God for every aspect of our lives.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 6 April 2024.
