Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 28:16-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Verse 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Verse 18And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Verse 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Verse 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Devotion
Things are a bit cloudy for me in the morning before coffee—and making the coffee is not always a success, including failing to place the carafe properly under the drip basket. My coffee maker is not concerned with my ineptitude. When it’s time to flood the grounds with water, it floods the grounds with water. Quickly, the staining water, accompanied by the grounds that gave it birth flow forth everywhere, wherever it wills, covering the flat countertop, cascading down the cabinets and into drawers, finding the cracks in the flooring, and staining the white rug that comforts my feet.
It is a painful but apt image of our call to spread the gospel. God’s life-giving words flow forth indiscriminately, oblivious to geopolitical, racial, class, or creedal boundaries. They seep into the most obscure cracks of society. And through it all, Jesus reminds us that he is with us, even to the end of the age.
Prayer
Send us Lord, even to the places we would rather not go. Hold us in the ever-present power of your promise. Amen.