LWF’s vice president for Asia says the resurrection empowers us to respond to the Great Commission
(LWI) - Resurrection is not only about celebration, but also about action, as Christians are called to teach and proclaim the gospel to “make disciples of all nations.”
In an Easter message to all member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Chang Chun Wa Ben, vice president for LWF’s Asia region and former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hong Kong, reflects on the account of the resurrection in the gospel of St Mark (16: 1-8).
He notes how the women, on arriving at the empty tomb are given two messages by “a young man dressed in a white robe.” The first is the news that “Jesus is risen,” the second is to “tell the disciples and Peter to meet him in Galilee.”
Rev. Chang explores the implications of the message that Jesus is risen from the dead, thereby overcoming the influence of death. “All things that are based on death will not contribute to the live-giving reality for which we yearn,” he says.
The second message, he reflects, tells us that "Jesus is in a hurry; he will be waiting for Peter and the other disciples in Galilee,” the place where he mostly carried out his earthly ministry. It is in Galilee that Jesus will “give his Great Commission to them: Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
Resurrection, therefore, “empowers us to respond to the Great Commission: to make disciples, baptize them and teach them about the kingdom of God.” Rev. Chang concludes: “Let us be people who live by the power of the resurrection [....] proclaiming the gospel, inviting people into God’s community through baptism and teaching all that Jesus has commanded us.”
