St. Andrews by the Lake

THE TRINITY

 This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday. It’s the one Sunday of the year when we reflect on a ‘church doctrine’. You won’t find the word ‘trinity’ in scripture, although you will find allusions to it that later developed into the doctrine of the Trinity as the church tried to put words around what it believed and to define itself it a culture that was antagonistic toward it.  That in itself, was a tricky endeavor - and continues to be.

     One of the most important things to remember about church dogma (in the Anglican Church, you will find very little dogma), is that dogma is not the last word, but the beginning of a conversation. That kind of blows things wide open — doesn’t it!

     Let’s begin with this Sunday’s gospel from Matthew 28: 16-20:

     “”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.”

     First, just a couple of observations. Only eleven disciples - why? Remember that Judas has died, and they had not yet added another to the twelve. In Hebrew thought, the number 12 is a symbol of perfection.  Also notice that some worshiped and some doubted. Obviously, they were not all in the same place. A lesson for us?  God works with imperfection. God doesn’t wait for everything to line up perfectly before God acts. So let’s get on with it here!

     This passage is called, “The Great Commission”.  It is Matthew’s version of the Ascension, in a way — a sending forth of the disciples. Notice that there are six action verbs: to go, to make, to baptize, to teach, to obey and to remember. This is Jesus’ mission strategy.  He tells the disciples what they are about — the core of their identity — and then, he sends them out with a charge: go, make, baptize, teach, obey and remember.

Not a bad mission statement to remember.

     There is a story of a young man who left for college. Apparently his mother had packed his suitcases (kind of enabling, isn’t it?). Anyway, when he went to put his clothing away in his new dorm room, he discovered two long narrow pieces of cloth among the shirts, the socks, and the underwear. They were neatly folded and ironed. At first he didn’t know what they were. But when he looked at the design of the cloth, he recognized the pattern. These were the strings from his mother’s apron. She had cut them off for him.

     Jesus cuts our apron strings, in a way, too. Jesus sends us forth, to bless the world, to teach the world, to transform the world into the kingdom of God. And Jesus sends us with a promise — “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.

 I will close with a trinitarian blessing from Julian of Norwich:

“We are enclosed in the Father, and we are enclosed in the Son, and we are enclosed in the Holy Spirit. And the Father is enclosed in us, and the Son is enclosed in us, and the Holy Spirit is enclosed in us: Almightiness, All Wisdom, All Goodness: One God one Lord.”

Blessings of the Trinity,   Cindy