Matthew’s community struggled to understand why so few believed in Jesus. How was it possible, they wondered, that friends and loved ones heard the same message but did not grasp its implications?

Jesus offers the same yoke that he bears, the saving mission he receives from the Father.

We need to speak Christ’s words in our own voice.

The fearless, risky speech of Jeremiah and Jesus is both an example and a command to the church throughout time.

Jesus’ body was a place of action. In his body, Jesus healed, fed, forgave, called and taught.

As Jesus received direction and strength from his Father, so the disciples receive direction and strength from the risen Christ.

What might get lost in this elegant theology is that the Trinity does not act merely for God’s own glory, but to form a people.

Our most important task is to reveal God at work. Such efforts continue the original work of the apostles, who spoke “in their own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

It is only within a church as complex and wide-ranging as humanity itself that Christ, still with us, can reveal his face.

God-with-us draws us forth to seek out God’s presence over the unknown horizon, to offer Christ’s message to every land, people and nation.