Welcome, sisters and brothers, and peace be with you. May the words on my lips and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. There is an old story about Saint Augustine of Hippo walking by the sea while trying to understand the Holy Trinity. He saw a child scooping water from the sea into a small hole in the sand. Augustine asked, What are you doing? And the child replied, I'm trying to put the whole ocean into this hole. Augustine smiled and said That's impossible. And the child answered Yes, and so is trying to fit the mystery of God into your human mind. Today we celebrate one of the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons yet one God, distinct, yet perfectly united, different, yet acting together, with one heart, with one purpose and with one love. And in today's gospel, Matthew chapter twenty eight, verses sixteen to twenty, Jesus gives us a glimpse into that divine mystery. The risen Jesus gathers his disciples on a mountain in Galilee. And Matthew tells us something very honest, very human. Some doubted. I love that line because it reminds me that faith is not always neat and certain. Even standing before the risen Christ, some disciples struggled. They worshiped and they doubted. But Jesus does not reject them. Quite the opposite. He gives them a mission. Go therefore and make disciples of all of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Notice that Jesus does not say names. He says name singular one God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is not three gods competing with each other, nor is it one God pretending to wear three different masks. The Trinity is a relationship of eternal love, the Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Father, and the Holy Spirit flowing between them in perfect unity. What is also critical here is that, as we celebrated at Pentecost last week, that means that you and I are also in this relationship, because the Holy Spirit descends upon us and enters our hearts with overflowing love. The Holy Trinity tells us that relationship is at the very heart of human reality. We are created in the image of God, who is not distant, but with whom we have an intimate, loving relationship, and love reflects the very nature of God. But today's gospel is Christ telling us that our faith is not only about trying to understand God, it is also about participating in God's mission. Jesus sends the disciples outward. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. The disciples who once hid in fear are now sent into the world, and Jesus does not send them alone. The Father sends the Son, the Son sends the disciples, and the Holy Spirit descends and enters hearts to empower the mission. You see, the Holy Trinity is totally involved in bringing grace to the world. Sometimes Christians can think that going out on this mission means having all of the answers. No, not at all. The disciples clearly did not have all the answers. Some were still doubting. And yet Jesus still entrusted them with his mission. That should encourage us, because it means we do not need perfect faith for God to use us. We do not need theological brilliance for Christ and God and the Holy Spirit to work through us. We simply need willingness. God's people are meant to reflect the Trinity. Remember, as I said at Pentecost, not in uniformity, but in unity. In a divided world we who are part of the immensely diverse family that we call Christians, we should be a sign that unity is possible, not because we think alike, not because we worship alike, not because we never disagree, but because love is greater than division. And then Jesus ends with one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture. And remember I am with you always to the end of the age. The disciples are sent into a troubled world, a divided world, and into an uncertain future. They will face persecution, hardship, and fear. Some will give their lives for the gospel. But Jesus promises his presence. Even when you are exhausted, Christ is with you. When you are grieving, Christ is with you. When you are doubting, Christ is with you. When you are joyful, Christ is with you. When you cannot see the way forward, Christ is still with you. The Trinity therefore is not just a doctrine to be explained. It is a life into which we are invited. We are invited into the love of the Father, into the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. So on this Trinity Sunday, perhaps the invitation is not to try to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity, but rather to accept the invitation into relationship and to live within it, to receive the love of the Father, to follow the Son, and to walk in the Holy Spirit. Then we truly become people who carry that divine love into a fractured world.
