Make My Life an Alleluia

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:19–20

Sunday marked the end of our Following Jesus worship series. But, of course, following Jesus doesn't end because a sermon series does.

Jesus sends the disciples into the world. They are to carry what they have received beyond the places where they have gathered and into the lives of others.

And Jesus gives them a promise: “I am with you always.”

Being sent by Christ does not necessarily mean traveling somewhere far away or doing something dramatic.

Most of us are sent back into very ordinary places.

To work.

To school.

To our homes and neighborhoods.

To grocery stores, waiting rooms, ball fields, meetings, and conversations with people we encounter every day.

Those are places where a life can become an alleluia.

An alleluia can look like listening when someone needs to be heard.

It can look like offering encouragement, sharing what we have, forgiving, serving, speaking up when someone is treated unfairly, or making room for someone who feels overlooked.

Sometimes it may mean telling someone why our faith matters to us or inviting them to come alongside us as we continue learning to follow Jesus.

None of these things requires us to have everything figured out.

The disciples Jesus sent in Matthew 28 didn't have everything figured out either. They simply had a calling and a promise.

Go. And remember, I am with you.

That promise is ours as well.

So perhaps the prayer that has been running through my mind can become a prayer for all of us:

Make my life an alleluia.

Not only on Sunday.

Not only when I am singing.

But in the places you send me today.

Where has Christ sent you this week?

What might it look like for your life to become an alleluia in that place?

Gracious God, thank you for calling us to follow Christ and for promising to be with us wherever we go. Open our eyes to the people and places you have placed before us. Give us courage to share your grace, love our neighbors, and use the gifts you have given us. In the ordinary moments of this week, make our lives an alleluia. Amen.