“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.” (Acts 13:1-3)
When I was growing up, most of my experience with missions was people who went to a foreign country to serve in a culture and an environment not their own. I remember meeting missionaries who shared about the food, the living conditions, the language, the people, the challenges, and the changed lives. As I live out my faith and learn more and different stories about missions, I clearly see there is a need for missionaries to be sent to foreign nations, while simultaneously recognizing the need for home-based missionaries.
As the church at Antioch was fasting and worshiping, the Holy Spirit moved in their midst calling for Saul and Barnabas to be set apart for a special mission. We note in this passage the role the community plays within the act of calling people into mission. In this experience, it was not an individual act where Saul and Barnabas came to the broader community with a calling, but it was the community calling upon them to respond. I am sure the community’s calling is an affirmation of what Saul and Barnabas had already sensed within their spirit.
Once they had the sense of this calling, the community continued to fast and pray as an act of sending Saul and Barnabas into ministry. The affirmation and knowledge of people praying with and for the person being sent is a confirmation of the Spirit of God present in the one who is sent and in the life of the community.
Are we sensing God’s call upon the life of individuals within our community of faith? If not, why not? Are we spending time in fasting and praying, seeking the Lord and listening to the Lord’s voice? Are we afraid to share the calling with the person, for fear that we are involving ourselves in an area of their life where we are not supposed to be? As we continue in our Lenten experience, would you join me in prayer for people who are called to be in missionary service and full-time ministry being sent out of our communities of faith? This mission may be local (i.e. in the workplace, in the school, on the ball fields, etc.) or it may be international for short-term experiences (like the trips I lead) or for more permanent residency and mission. If we want to sense the calling of God upon our own lives and the lives of our faith family, we need to return to times of fasting, praying, and worshiping as we seek the voice of the Lord.
Prayer: Jesus, you shared with us that we need to pray for workers in the harvest fields. We pray you would give us courage and strength to set aside time to hear your voice of calling for our lives as individuals and the lives of people we call brothers and sisters in the faith. Amen.