Lesslie Newbigin spent a major part of his ministry in India; he was passionate about the unity of God’s church, but was clear that the ecumenical movement could have no enduring substance if it is not missionary through & through. Writing about ecumenical vision in 1955 he identified three temptations facing missionaries; his words are as applicable today for the church: 1^st temptation: to be totally caught up with internal politics & church administration & evade real meeting with a non-Christian culture; 2^nd: engage in flurry of welfare activities, but we blind ourselves if we believe that the world can be saved by universal dissemination of economic & cultural achievements of the West; 3^rd temptation: we align ourselves with most sympathetic leaders of other religions in profession of loyalty to the "truth". In the light of Newbigin’s exposure of temptations that avoid facing up to the great commission at end of Matthew’s gospel & in a different form at the end of Luke & John & in Acts where the Spirit is promised to equip us to be witnesses to the risen Christ, I want us to explore the mission imperative in the light of our two readings for this service.

Paul’s experience of Gods undeserved love in Jesus Christ was the foundation of His discipleship, his ministry as a missionary; passionate about sharing the good news of Jesus on as big a canvas as possible. 2 Cor 5, 14: The love of Christ compels us. Hems us in; leaves us no option but in response to God’s amazing sacrificial love at the cross to share His love in Christ in word & action. Different models of good news; here Paul majors on Reconciliation! Relevant in our fragmented society, in our deeply divided world! Christ breaks down barriers.

Each gospel writer has a particular slant on the story of Jesus; one of Luke’s: mission & mission specifically in the power of the Holy Spirit. Gospel focus is on Jesus’ mission, inspired & empowered by the Holy Spirit. Acts focus on church sharing in Jesus’ mission, continuing in the power of the Holy Spirit the work He began. Luke 10: trial mission; Jesus sends 70 (or 72) disciples out on mission. Luke 9: mission of 12, as found in Mark 6 & Matthew 10; mission initiative of this larger group is unique to Luke; his special agenda!

Luke would happily have used contemporary phrase: mission imperative. Mission central to Jesus’ agenda; 1^st sermon in synagogue at Nazareth: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me: anointed for mission, Kingdom agenda. As J sends out 70, note of urgency about the task entrusted to them: exchange no greetings on the road! No more urgent task facing today’s church in India, in England, in every part of our world than to recover that sense of God’s mission imperative; making a priority of mission; recognising the urgency of it

As we go out on mission we are to travel light: carry no purse or pack, travel barefoot. I love the Indian practice of taking shoes off for leading worship; sense of being on holy ground. Not quite so practical for Britain in the depths of winter! The underlying message is still relevant. As the Church of England enormous baggage; historically much of that baggage been helpful for church engaging in mission, but increasingly can get in the way; need to be clearer about what’s essential for mission in our rich tradition & what’s helpful & what gets in the way. In the diocese of Gloucester where I’m Suffragan bishop we have 400 church buildings; many are grade 1 listed; stood for centuries as testimony to Christian faith & life at the heart of our village communities. I sometimes feel envious of new churches which simply hire premises for Sunday worship & travel light.

v3: vulnerability, risk-taking. Jesus sends them out as lambs among wolves. More than a little vulnerable, yet Jesus thinks the risk worth taking. Risk-taking is at the heart of God’s own mission: vulnerability of new-born baby in Bethlehem; object of Herod’s murderous attack soon after His birth; refugee status; hostility with which public ministry often greeted; the vulnerability of the cross. The risk of gathering around Him 12 disciples & entrusting the future mission to them even though as His life ended they seem hardly to have grasped what He was about. Bishop’s Council earlier in the week debating investing a very large sum of money at a time when we are financially challenged as a diocese in a project using a redundant church in Cheltenham to reach some of the most vulnerable young people in the diocese. A lively debate! Several spoke strongly against the venture as far too risky, fool-hardy; in the end a majority agreed to the investment – worth taking risks for the sake of mission.

As Jesus sends them out He tells them to do two things (v9): heal the sick & say that the Kingdom of God has come near you. Proclamation & compassionate, caring love in action; holistic mission a fine tradition in the history of the Christian church in Britain; characteristic of mission in India, always a church, school, hospital alongside one another. At the heart of Jesus’ own ministry is message to proclaim & deeds of compassionate love. Two days earlier this week in our largest church, New Wine, congregation of about 2,000; not to everyone’s "taste", but an impressive church. They are regularly seeing new people become Christians through Alpha, people completely outside the life of the church. At the same time they are engaging with their wider community, especially those in need. Thursday night I went out with a small team of young adults (all with family commitments, but prepared to give of their time each week in this way) serving soup, coffee, tea, sandwiches, chocolate bars to some of the vulnerable homeless on the streets of Cheltenham. God’s love in Christ is to be shared in word and in action.

As well as being holistic, we see an emphasis on the universal embrace of the mission initiative: v1: every city, every place. The good news of Jesus is for all people, women & men, children, young people; people from every social class and from every cultural background. We acknowledge the Holy Spirit at work in the whole of creation, at work in other faiths, but as disciples of Jesus Christ we are committed to ultimacy and finality of Jesus Christ

Jesus sends them out two by two: partnership in gospel is important emphasis in NT. Unity and Mission going hand in hand as you in India have grasped as essential. Our divisions are a stumbling block to mission in a deeply divided and fragmented world. We need to share in ecumenical partnerships for the same of mission.

Finally we note that Jesus sends them ahead of Him to every place He intends to visit; mission ultimately is about enabling people to encounter Jesus! It is not about making others conform to our understanding, our way of doing things, but introducing people to a relationship with Jesus Christ and then allowing that relationship to shape their discipleship, their church life, their ministry and mission in a way that is appropriate in their culture and context.

Unity and Mission. Lesslie Newbigin, a great man of God, recognised the vital importance of unity and mission going hand in hand. In our deeply divided cultures and our deeply divided & fragmented world, there is no greater imperative than the mission imperative, sharing as followers of Jesus Christ in His mission, making His love known in word and action.