June 11, 2017 – Trinity Sunday
 
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “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.” Matthew 28:16-20
 
“This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, a time when we.. remember the Great Commission that the risen Jesus gave us to baptize people. But the commission Christ gave us doesn’t stop there, and too often what follows is the Great Omission in the life of the church.  We’re not called to make churchgoers, people who include religion as one among many respectable civic activities. We’re called to make disciples, people who really follow Jesus as Lord.  I completely understand why: too many people have used it for too long to support their own agendas, ones that undermine the radical freedom which is Christ’s gift to us. In this Sunday’s gospel, the risen Jesus says, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That’s what we mean when we confess that Jesus is Lord. And that’s actually Good News, “liberty to the prisoners,” for the very reason that the confession has that troubling edge in our history. It’s Good News because there are a great many people in the world who want to be lord. The bad news is that there’s a lot of competition for the title of “lord,” and most of the candidates will enrich themselves at your expense. But those candidates haven’t heard or heeded the news that they’ve lost the race. The position has been filled, once and for all time. And the really Good News is that the winning candidate is Jesus.” (Dylan’s Lectionary Blog, SarahLaughed.net, Sarah Dylan Breuer)
 
Every time we “Go” out with the purpose of telling or living out our faith, we are not alone – Jesus is with us.  And every time we “Teach” someone something about Jesus, or the Christian faith, Jesus is with us.  And every time we “Baptize” we believe Jesus is with us.  And not just Jesus, but the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are with us – because when one is present – all three are present.  This is the mystery of our faith.  We do not have three Gods, we have one.  But this One God we know best in three ways – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And when we are in doubt, and questioning, we need to remember that faith and doubt go hand in hand.  Some days we worship, and we are filled with the Spirit.  Other days we are stunned by our own lack of excitement and wonder why we spend so much time questioning, and doubting.    We must always remember that we are not “Need to have perfect faith” people – we are “because Jesus has all authority in Heaven and Earth” people – and “therefore” we “Baptize” – then we “Teach” – and all along,  we are “Making Disciples”.
 
Pastor Dave