Trinity Sunday
Jesus’
expectation couldn’t be clearer than it is in this morning’s reading from
Matthew: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”[1]
There is perhaps nothing I enjoy more in my vocation as a priest than baptizing
adults, children or infants – the surprised look as cold water is poured onto a
person’s head (even adults and older children who are expecting it, get this
look as if nothing can really prepare them for the moment when the same
ordinary water – now blessed by God – touches the skin. The same water we bathe in, swim in, wash
dishes in – water now blessed but ordinary in every other way. I love to hear the congregation’s heart-felt “We
will with God’s help” in response to the question, “Will you who witness these
vows do all in your power to support this person in their life in Christ?”[2]
and then at the conclusion of the rite “We receive you into the household of
God.”[3] We receive you. How different those three words are from
Jesus’ command “Go and make disciples” – “we receive you.” The first a command,
the second, an invitation – “we receive you” – like we receive a gift from a
dear friend. Because, of course, baptism is a gift. God as the gift-giver and
the household of God – you and I and now too the newly baptized –the
recipients.
I think
in our times, we tend to hear the words “Go and make disciples” as at best
unenlightened and, at worst, offensive. There
is a certain forcefulness to the words – and perhaps even an implicit
suggestion that our way, the Christian Way, is the only right path. And so in a time such as we live in where
Jews and Muslims and Buddhists and Baha'i and Hindu and . . . all live, work,
study and play side by side, how do we faithfully respond to this command? But
balance this, of course, with the statistics that indicate an estimated 55.8
million Americans have no religious affiliation whatsoever; that’s more than
20% of the population.[4] We live, work, study and play side by side
with them as well. So, how do we
faithfully respond to Jesus’ command?
The answer
I believe lies in the stories we tell. The
biblical story – yes, of course; but as importantly, our own stories. For those who have come to the Christian
faith as adults, these are the stories of what life was like before and what it
is like now - stories of transformation:
- A story of being lost in the consequences of poor decisions and being found by a God who forgives and offers another way.
- A story of wandering aimlessly until finding a home in Christianity where they were welcomed just as they are.
- A story of chaotic living through addiction to a life transformed into serenity and freedom by the grace of God and a loving community.
For those of us who have
been Christians all of our lives, finding our story may take a bit more work. There
doesn’t always seem to be a clean thread of before and after. But dig a little and you will find stories to
share – after all, even life-long Christians experience times of loss and
suffering, grief and despair, doubt and even periods of disbelief. And, more times than not, we come out of
those experiences strengthened and renewed, perhaps even with a clarity of life
focus.
 |
| My Mom |
In my own
story there have been a couple of “BIG” moments of transformation. Some of you may already be familiar with a
couple of these:
- The diagnosis of my mom’s leukemia when I was just 12 years old
- The acknowledgement of my addiction to alcohol when I was 31
Those are two turning
points in my story – two times in which I am acutely aware of a before and an
after – two times in which I can only think of the after in terms of the grace
of God and the community of other Christians in my life. You probably have some of those “big” moments
as well. And then there are the smaller moments
– times when the word “transformation” seems a bit too big for the occasion –
but a moment nonetheless when we’ve known God.
Again, a couple of examples from my own life:
- That time I climbed to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Maine by myself and sat down on a rock overlooking Bar Harbor and knew I was in the presence of God or
- That time when I watched a teenager elevate the host in a communion service because no one told him “it was the priest’s job” and, in that moment, it was exactly right and God was praised.
Like the waters of
baptism, these smaller moments are really just ordinary places, times, and things
– blessed by God – transforming those who are touched by them.
 |
| The view from Cadillac Mountain |
Jesus
says, “Go and make disciples.” And we can. Because we have stories. Jesus knew the power of a good story. His
ministry is filled with parables – stories about very ordinary things (a woman
sweeping her house to find a lost coin, a man burying his treasure in the
ground so he won’t lose it, a rebellious son leaving home to figure things out
for himself, a sick man on the side of the road) - ordinary lives, ordinary
objects, blessed by God, and transformed into hopefulness, promise, love, healing
and reconciliation. Your story is no different
– perhaps a relatively ordinary life filled with ordinary things – lives and
things, blessed by God and transformed and renewed.
I haven’t
forgotten the rest of Jesus’ command because, of course, he doesn’t just say, “go
and make disciples.” He tells us how to
do it – we are to “baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit.” But what is
baptism? It “is the sacrament by which
God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ’s Body, the
Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.”[5] Notice the actor – it’s not you and it’s not
me. It is God. Baptism is what God does; it is how God adopts us. So what about you and me? What i’ our role? We tell stories. So perhaps for now, we can
just hold onto that first part of Jesus’ command and get about the business of
doing it. Go and tell the story of your
life, talk about how God has been and continues to transform your life and, if
it is a part of your story, tell how St. Mark’s is a part of that story and
invite your co-worker, your classmate, your playmate, your neighbor to come and
see how God might be working in their life too.
Invite them to come and see a community where ordinary water, blessed by
God, has the power to transform lives. Go
and make disciples. God will take care
of the rest.
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