The Rev. Kathi Johnson
Trinity Sunday – June 15, 2014 - Year A
Text: Matthew 28:16-20
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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Grace and peace be with you all,
from God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
Today’s story from the end of the
Gospel of Matthew contains what we call “The Great Commission.” The disciples
go to the mountain to meet up with Jesus, he comes to them there, and he says
to them, “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.”
It sounds so grand: The Great
Commission.
Maybe it seems to us that in those
moments, the disciples have it all figured out. They have Jesus there, telling
them what to do, giving them further instructions, and sending them off to do
the work of God. And yet there’s this one little phrase in today’s lesson right
before the Great Commission itself,
and this one little phrase changes the story just a bit:
Verse 17: “When they saw him, they
worshiped him; but some doubted.”
“But some doubted.” What do you
mean, some doubted? They have Jesus there with
them – these are disciples who presumably have walked and talked with Jesus
and laughed and cried with him, they’ve shared meals and listened to his
teachings. And even though today’s story takes place after his resurrection,
they’ve already seen and talked with him since his resurrection. So, why on
earth would there be any doubt in their minds?
Lest we judge them too quickly, I
offer the following to you: doubt is a
perfectly natural part of our Christian faith. I have a feeling that if I
asked us all to close our eyes and raise our hands to indicate that we’ve ever
doubted God, my hand would not be the only one to go up into the air.
But – where doubt is concerned -
there are three things that I find particularly hopeful in today’s gospel
lesson from Matthew:
First, Jesus doesn’t seem concerned
in the slightest about any doubt that the disciples might be feeling. Instead,
he simply speaks clearly and directly to them – “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me,” he says. Well, OK then.
In saying this, he is firmly
stating his case for why they should trust and obey him. Also, though, their
doubt doesn’t change the fact that all authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to him – that authority simply is. And all the doubt in the world
doesn’t change Jesus’ authority one little bit.
Second, their doubt doesn’t keep
Jesus from sending them out to get to work. “Go and make disciples, baptize
them and teach them…” he says. And do they ever! The book of Acts is filled
with examples of them doing the work that Jesus has given them to do.
And that gives me hope because it
helps me see that sometimes, we can do great work for God, even in the midst of
our doubting, even when we don’t quite see what it is that God may be up to.
Third, I find hope in the very last
words out of Jesus’ mouth in the gospel of Matthew: “I am with you always, to
the end of the age.” Always. The presence of God with us is not based on the
level of our faith or the amount of doubt we do or do not have.
It is important to note that Jesus
is saying these words to a community – to those first few followers of his, so
a small community, to be certain. But a community – a group of people – all the
same. And so while this is a promise in which we certainly can find joy and
comfort as individual Christians, we most certainly can and should find joy and
comfort in his words as a community
of Christ-followers.
The Bible study we’re doing on
Wednesday evenings began in earnest this past week and in the video segment,
the teacher was leading us through our reading from Genesis and Exodus. He made
the important point that these first couple of books of the Bible, as well as
the books that follow, are all about the presence of God with humanity.
But more than simply being present
with us, God is active with us. God
the Father acts – in creating us, providing for us, and protecting us. God the
Son acts – in redeeming us and freeing us. God the Spirit acts – in calling us,
enlightening us, and making us holy.[1]
Though we may doubt at times, that
doesn’t mean that God is not at work. God is faithfully active, in spite of our doubt.
And, in spite of our doubt, God calls us to do great things in his name.
Amen.
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