Growing up, I experienced Memorial Day as Decoration Day, a day of remembering not only those who died in service to our country but also relatives who had died. It was the day we visited cemeteries to clear any debris from the graves of loved ones and decorate them with flowers. With these traditions I learned to honor and value the sacrifice of those who died in service to our country as well as the values and traditions of our family. These important lessons were taught not merely to prompt me to observe Memorial Day but to instill values that would affect my everyday life.
We have similar lessons within our Christian faith, and they more important for us to learn and remember and practice. Throughout the past few months, we have been focusing on the idea of restoring the health of the church by focusing on its mission, which is to make disciples of Jesus. Throughout the New Testament, especially among Paul’s letters, we find consistent reminders of the mission, emphasizing the gospel, such as in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2:
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
As Paul reminded the early church of the gospel – that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised again – he stated that this was of “first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3). The message and the mission of the church are intrinsically tied to one another; there is no separating who we are and what we do as the church from the good news of new life that God has made available through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and our faith in him. The message and mission of the church, as we learn, remember, and practice them, lead us to become living memorials.
Paul encouraged the early church to develop and grow in this perspective. He wrote:
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world – just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. (Colossians 1:3-6)
Paul acknowledged the growth of the church, calling it fruit and stating that it was evident in their love for one another. He also said that it grew out of their knowledge and understanding of the gospel. Obviously, the integration of the message and the mission of the church prompted healthy life.
Then Paul called attention to an individual by name, saying in Colossians 1:7, “You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf.” Later in the letter, we find that Epaphras was serving somewhere else, so Paul’s comment was a reminder, not just about the message or the mission but of his life; he wrote in Colossians 4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” Paul described Epaphras as a living memorial of Christ, a life defined and lived by the message and mission of Jesus.
May we grow as individuals and as the church to be like Epaphras. It is imperative for us to remember the message of the gospel, which we do each week remembering Jesus’ death as we observe the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week, on which Jesus was raised from the dead. We must also live it out every day as living memorials of Christ, knowing, remembering, proclaiming, and growing in the message and mission together.