O ZION, HASTE!
What is the mission of the church? What is my duty as a Christian to the world around me? One of the clearest answers to these questions in Scripture is Jesus’ words that we know as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (NRSV)
Here we see that Jesus has the right to give this command because all authority in the universe has been vested in him. The command is simple – lead people to be followers (learners, disciples) of Christ, bring them into the fellowship of the believing community (the church), and continue to teach them how to live in the ways of Jesus. British-born hymnwriter Mary Ann Thomson wrote the missionary hymn O Zion, Haste! as a challenge to believers to take these words of Jesus seriously and actively engage in obeying this command.
First, she writes that this commission from Jesus is a high calling for all believers. At heart is the message that Jesus is the light and hope of the world, that “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV).
O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling,
To tell to all the world that God is Light;
That He who made all nations is not willing
One soul should perish, lost in shades of night.
Next, Thomson emphasizes the extent of our mission from Jesus. His call is to carry the Gospel message to a world-wide, multi-cultural, multi-national audience. And whereas in the first stanza she emphasized the message of the “effect” of Jesus coming to earth (Light of the world), in the second stanza Thomson emphasizes the motivation behind the Gospel – “for God so loved the world” (John 3:16).
Proclaim to every people, tongue and nation
That God, in whom they live and move, is love;
Tell how He stooped to save His lost creation
And died on earth that we might live above.
All that remains, then, is for the people of God to respond to the commission of God with hearts and lives of obedience. What does that obedience look like? Parents can teach and train their children to be “Great Commission” Christians. Those with financial resources can choose to give and make it possible for people to cross the barriers of nation and culture with the Gospel. At the very least, we can all pray. As Jesus once challenged his apostles, “. . . pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38 LSB).
Give of thy sons to bear the message glorious;
Give of thy wealth to speed them on their way.
Pour out thy soul for them in prayer victorious;
And all thy spending Jesus will repay.
Obedience to the Great Commission does not, however, automatically require changing geographical locations or vocational pursuits. Every Christian has their own group of people with whom they have relationships and influence; their “circle of influence.” Each and every Christian is a missionary to their own “personal mission field,” and thus is called to obediently share with each one in that group the saving Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace;
Tidings of Jesus, redemption, and release.
O Zion, Haste!
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
