Preaching at Parish Holy Eucharists during this week when the church prays for an increase in Mission activity…and in preparation for the Diocesan Year of Mission, our Curate Fr Joe reflected on what Mission is.

He said:

Our first reading takes us to Babylon – to the great banquet hall of King Belshazzar. It is a scene of self-indulgence and pride. The king mocks the God of Israel by drinking from the sacred vessels that the armies of Babylon looted from the temple when they conquered Jerusalem.   They have no fear of God as they indulge in drunkenness and give praise to their false idols.

But then – a moment of terror: a hand appears and writes on the wall. The king’s face turns pale as he watches, and he is terrified.

Not one there can understand what the hand has written.  No one can explain it. And so, Daniel was brought in before the king.

Even in a pagan court, Daniel is known. The king says to him, “I have heard of you, that the spirit of God is in you”.  Daniel has lived faithfully and consistently, so that even those who do not share his faith recognise that there is something different about him.

And when he speaks, he speaks truthfully, without fear. He reminds the king of God’s sovereignty, exposes the king’s pride, and declares God’s judgement.

Daniel’s witness is not dramatic. He doesn’t stage a protest or give a fiery speech in the marketplace. His mission is simply to stand before a king who has forgotten God and to tell the truth. That, in Scripture, is missionary work.

In our Gospel, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come. He speaks of arrests, persecution, even hatred. Yet he says: “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”

In other words, when the world presses hardest against the Church, that is precisely when the mission of the Church becomes clearest. And Jesus makes a promise: “I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to contradict.” Mission is not dependent on our own ability to speak or how many degrees in theology we have. It is dependent on faithfulness and trusting the power of the Spirit.

Taken together, these two readings give us a picture of Christian mission that is realistic, and deeply hopeful. Daniel shows us the witness of a faithful life in the midst of a culture which has no interest in God, no fear of God, and which is dazzled by idols of its own making.

The Gospel shows us the witness of faithful speech. One is mission through living; the other is mission through speaking. And BOTH are empowered by God, not by us.

Now, before we go any further, it is worth being very clear about what missionary work actually is. We often picture a missionary as someone who travels to a remote jungle, lives in a hut, and preaches to people who have never heard of Jesus. And while some Christians are indeed called to that work, that is only one expression of missionary work.

In the New Testament, mission means simply being sent. Missionary work means bearing witness to Jesus wherever God has placed us. Where ever God has called us to be.  Daniel was a missionary in Babylon not because he travelled far, but because he lived faithfully in a place that had forgotten God. The disciples were missionaries not because of geography, but because they spoke faithfully when the moment came.

And that’s why we must remember that mission and missionary share the same root word. A missionary is someone who is sent with the gospel; mission is the Church’s shared vocation to be a people whom Christ has sent.

In our upcoming Year of Mission, we are all called to be missionaries.  God has placed us here in this village.  Our mission is the local, everyday expression of the same calling that shaped Daniel and the apostles: ordinary Christians living faithfully, speaking truthfully, and trusting the Spirit to work through us.

Mission begins with ordinary faithfulness.

It begins when we live in such a way that others recognise something of God in us – in our humility, our patience, compassion, integrity, forgiveness, love…  In our service to others.

And it continues when, as Christians, we are willing to speak gently and truthfully about what our faith means to us when a door opens: in a conversation with a neighbour, in a moment of honesty with a friend or family member, or in an act of care and service to others that prompts someone to ask, “Why do you do this?”

And it is sustained by the promise Jesus gives today: “I will give you words… “

As we approach our diocesan Year of Mission, these readings remind us that mission is not a project we run as a one-off, but rather, it is an identity we live. We are a people sent by Christ into the world—not far away, but right where we already are.

And so, as we pray for missionaries everywhere, we pray for ourselves as well.  May the Spirit who filled Daniel, and who spoke through the apostles, strengthen us to bear faithful witness in our own time and place, so that others may come to know the amazing news of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.