Well, this is my last chance in my 8 years with you to explain the mystery of the Trinity. This is my last shot.
Actually, you and I know that we can’t fully comprehend how God can be one and yet three at the same time. Just when you think you have the perfect analogy or philosophical approach in fully explaining it, it falls apart at some point.
And you know what? I’m OK with that!
No, I’m not giving up on my attempts to understand it intellectually. That’s partially why we have a whole Sunday on the church calendar dedicated to this doctrine. It forces us to wrestle with it again and again and again. And I’m OK with that!
The reason I’m OK with it is because of our appointed Gospel reading for this Sunday. This is one of those rare scripture passages where we have the Trinity stated in one sentence, not the word, “Trinity” because that word doesn’t even appear in the Bible, but we do get the description of it. It comes at the very end of Matthew where Jesus is commissioning the disciples. This scripture reading has become known at “The Great Commission.”
We get these words from Jesus, “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.”
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
And so here we have the Trinity included with Jesus’ commissioning. I so wish that one of the disciples would have raised their hand and asked Jesus to further elaborate on what he exactly means by “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” But they didn’t.
Quite honestly, I think they had enough on their mind when Jesus commissioned them. This was definitely a “don’t speak moment because I’m telling you to do something that is very important right now.”
Maybe there’s a lesson in this, that any understanding of the Trinity needs to be connected with the relationships that Jesus is calling is to have in our community and in our world. We do not primarily have a cerebral faith. We have a relational faith.
A relational faith includes our relationship with Jesus, our relationships with each other, and our relationships with the people we have yet to meet. And this makes sense since the Trinity is all about relationships; the relationships between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons, and yet still known as one God.
We might never be able to fully unravel the mystery of the Trinity from a philosophical approach, but we can discover more about who God is by focusing on how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in relationship with each other. And it’s a relationship of harmony and mutuality.
The Trinity reminds us that we have a relational faith. Trinity Sunday invites us to have the kind of harmonious relationships with each other that we see reflected within God’s own self as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
How can the church be a reflection of the loving, gracious, harmonious, and joy-filled relationship that we see within the Trinity? How can we always strive to be that healthy and growing community of faith of authentic, caring and loving relationships?
Maybe it does have something to do with always reflecting on this mysterious and beautiful doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus is sending us out in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to make disciples of Jesus, not by giving people religious tracts on how to go to heaven when they die, but by building authentic, caring, and grace-filled relationships with the people we encounter.
This is the beauty of our Wesleyan faith. Brothers, John and Charles Wesley, Priests in the Church of England sought to reform the church through the formation of small groups or classes as they called them. These small groups of ten or so people met on a regular basis to build relationships and to encourage each other to grow in their faith. They weren’t meant to replace the church but to reform the church from within.
Whenever I hear someone in our church say how their small group has helped them through a very difficult time in their life or how they have met new friends in the church because of their small group, I know that we are doing something right! The church is about relationships. Our faith is about relationships. The mystery of the Trinity is about relationships.
In her book, Unbinding Your Heart, Martha Grace Reese refers to “The Trinity of Relationships.” After studying 150 mainline churches that are really alive and growing, she discovered something that they all had in common.
All of these vibrant churches had a set of three relationships that were very real and healthy. The trinity of relationships include our relationships with God, our relationships with people outside the church, and our relationships with each other within the church.
In addition to small groups, I think one of the best things we do is when we gather for our Food, Fun, and Fellowship and Thirst events. These gatherings include a covered dish and an opportunity for us to build relationships with the people who attend.
A couple of months ago, a pastor asked me what my thoughts were in encouraging our churches to fulfill the vows that we make when a person is baptized or joins the church. Here’s the vow that we make whenever someone is baptized. This is right out of our worship ritual:
“With God’s help we will proclaim the good news and live according to the example of Christ. We will surround these persons with a community of love and forgiveness, that they may grow in their trust of God, and be found faithful in their service to others. We will pray for them, that they may be true disciples who walk in the way that leads to life”.
And this pastor wanted to know what our church does to help fulfill this vow that we make. My immediate answer was to say that we have a discipleship strategy that encourages each person to be involved in Loving Faith, Learning Faith, and Living Faith ministries.
But then I said, “But actually it really comes down to the church being a family for each other. If the global pandemic taught me anything, it was to never underestimate a good old fashioned covered dish meal where we can actually sit down together, share with one another, and be a family. That’s just as important as a Sunday School class or a bible study.”
Maybe this is why Jesus commissions the disciples to go and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s about relationships. It’s about family.
Retired United Methodist Bishop, Will Willimon shares the story of a time when he was asked to preach one Sunday at a little country church in Georgia. The pastor of the church also asked if the Bishop would baptize a teenage boy named, Nathan who had gone through the membership classes and wanted to be immersed and not just sprinkled. Bishop Willimon told him that he never immersed anyone before, but that he would be happy to do it.
Bishop Willimon agreed and when he arrived at this little church, he met Nathan before the worship service. And Nathan says to the Bishop, “They tell me you’ve never done one of these before.”
And Bishop Willimon said, “Well, I’ve read about them, Nathan.”
And then Nathan said, “Well, I’d feel better if we’d run through it first.”
And Bishop Willimon said, “Yes, I was going to do that, Nathan, go over it together.”
The pastor of the church had borrowed a portable baptistry from the Baptist Church and had it all ready to go.
Nathan asked the Bishop if he should take off his shoes for the baptism and Bishop Willimon said, “Yeah, when it’s time, remove your shoes, Nathan.”
You can see who was running the show for this worship service. Nathan.
And then Nathan asked if he should also take off his socks. And Bishop Willimon said, “No, you can keep those on.”
And then Nathan tells the Bishop that they should walk through the baptism ritual. He tells the Bishop that he will come up the steps and that he is to stand to the side and that’s when he is to go down into the tub of water. And he tells the Bishop, “That’s when you can baptize me three times.”
Bishop Willimon said, “Oh, yeah, that’s when I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three times. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do, Nathan.”
So the service begins and it’s time for Nathan to be baptized. Nathan answers the baptism questions and then Bishop Willimon asks Nathan if he would like to share anything with the congregation before his baptism.
And this is what Nathan told his new church family:
“You know, I wouldn’t be here today if you hadn’t put me here. I wouldn’t have known that God wanted me to be here if you hadn’t told me. When my parents got their divorce, my world ended, and I just thought I didn’t have anywhere to go. I couldn’t imagine myself without a family. But then you showed me that you were the family. And you took me, and all you people who put up with me in Sunday school and everything, I just hope you feel good about what’s happening today, because God did this through you.
And I want to tell you that I’m taking this seriously and you’re going to be proud of me. And for all that y’all have done, one day you’re going to be able to say, ‘I had a hand in that. And I helped make him a Christian.’ So, thank you. This really ought to be a day when you feel good about yourselves.”
Nathan might have been the one who was baptized by immersion, but there wasn’t a dry eye in that little church that day. They were a family because of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is about relationships.
One of the names that we give the other Sacrament that we will be receiving a little later in our service this morning is “Communion.” Interesting word, “communion.” That’s a word that emphasizes relationships. Our relationship with God and with each other.
When we share in the bread and the cup, we do this together. We are in relationship because of what God has done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are in relationship through the Holy Spirit who is the presence of the Risen Christ . We are in relationship through our Heavenly Father who created us in his image.
Whenever we receive this meal, we truly are a “communion” of brothers and sisters in Christ. A holy communion. Thanks for being my holy communion these past 8 years.
A Relational Faith
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