Sunday, June 4, 2023
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Schuyler, NE
Holy Trinity
watch this service online (readings start around 21:30; sermon starts around 33:59, with children’s sermon around 29:50)
Once upon a time,
a long, long time before you were born,
there was nothing — and there was God.
Only God existed in the beginning, but God wasn’t alone. In the ages before time itself began, the three persons of the Trinity were together, a living, divine community of love — the three-in-one and one-in-three. Love existed, long before anything else came into being.
This love the Trinity shared was dynamic – joyful and active and creative – and in time, it gave rise to the whole universe. At God’s word, light exploded into being, bright and pure and clear. God spun out stars and planets and galaxies, scattering them across the reaches of space. Atoms and elements came together to form oceans and continents, which God then filled with life: grass and green shoots that grew into trees heavy with fruit, while the waters teemed with swarms of creatures. God brought forth land creatures with legs, and birds of every kind, breathing the breath of life into the dust of creation. And as they spoke the entire cosmos into being, the Trinity paused for a moment to admire their handiwork and said to themselves, “Wow – this is some really good stuff!”
And in that moment, the Trinity had an amazing idea: “What if we made creatures in our own image?!” We could make beings who would also be creators, like us – lovers and stewards of creation who would live together in one community of love, like we do. They could join us in the work of creation and we would love them and they would love us!
So that’s exactly what they did. The Trinity made humankind in their own image – humans of all genders and colors and persuasions – they made them and handed them the house keys of creation. And once they had finished, the Trinity stepped back to take it all in, and they said to themselves, “Oh yeah. Now we’re talking.”
We are reminded in the scriptures again and again that we have been made in the image of God. But something that this first chapter of Genesis – the very first chapter of the bible – makes clear to us is that being made in God’s image isn’t just about us individually, as we tend to think of it. Instead, the whole human family together is made in God’s image. We bear the image of God. This first creation story is a little different from the old familiar story of Adam and Eve; in this story, human beings come into existence together, as a community. They are created by a God who is also a community, who intends for humanity to be as inseparable from one another as the members of the Trinity are from each other. From the very beginning, God creates humanity to be one people, united by love.
Over the past couple of days, our Synod Assembly in Kearney witnessed powerfully to this truth and this love. If you’ve never been to a synod assembly, I would strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to go. It’s such a great chance to see a fuller picture of people coming together in the image of God. For me, Synod Assembly often has the feel of a really large, loud, loving family reunion. Clergy and laypeople alike get to connect with friends from all over the state, as we come together not only to do the business of the church, but to sing and pray and learn and eat and praise God together in love.
And at this Synod Assembly in particular, through the ministry fair, we got to hear about some of the incredible work being done by our partners around the synod and across the world: ministries to lift up and equip young people, ministries helping to rebuild places affected by natural disasters and war, ministries providing food and medical aid and just in general seeking to be present among the most vulnerable as bearers of God’s compassion and love.
One of the most memorable speakers we heard was Pr. Christopher Otten, who spoke as a representative of our churchwide body. He highlighted the important contributions that the ELCA has made to military chaplaincy – especially in that ours is one of only a few denominations whose clergy are willing to minister to anyone, regardless of their denomination or even their religion. Pr. Otten also shared about his experience of coming out as gay while in ministry. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, he knew firsthand just what a powerful and life-changing thing it can be for a community of folks who have been rejected for so long to finally find a place where they are loved and welcomed and celebrated, just as they are. And that is exactly what he found in the church.
The church is called to care especially for the ones whom this world rejects and judges and pushes to the margins. Because somewhere along the way, in this beautiful story of love that the Trinity had begun to write before the world began, we as humanity began to forget who we are. We lost touch with the love that made us. And instead, we started to believe the lie that we could be separated from one another; we started to believe that because we don’t agree with certain people or we don’t like how they live or we are offended by the things they say that we can simply write them off. We convinced ourselves that we could and should separate ourselves from our neighbor – and by extension, that we could separate ourselves from God.
So what’s a triune God to do, when the story takes a turn like this?
Well, we’ve read it in the scriptures. The Trinity hatched a plan together to bring humanity back. First, they sent us messages of love: the first person of the Trinity appointed priests and prophets, judges and kings, to teach God’s people to turn their hearts around and come home.
Then they started getting really wild; the second person of the Trinity entered into the very stuff of creation and came to humanity to show them God’s mercy and forgiveness and love up close.
The third person of the Trinity then makes this dramatic and fiery entrance, not even attempting to be subtle about it. As the people were gathered together, all in one place, God the Spirit whipped through them like wind and flame, lighting them up from the inside out with enough love to set the whole world on fire.
In the beginning, our triune God made humans in their image and invited them into the work of creation. Now, through the movement of the Spirit, God invites humanity into the work of re-creation – the work of reconciliation and redemption and resurrection. This is the work into which Jesus calls the disciples – and, by extension, us – in our gospel reading for today. He sends them out with the words of the great commission: Go and make disciples, baptizing them in the names of the Trinity. Go and spread the good news of God’s love to the people of every nation on earth.
It’s work we are called to enter into together, as a community of believers united by love. It’s not as clear in the English translation, but if you read this passage in a language like Spanish or the original Greek, one thing you’ll notice is that these verbs Jesus is using to send out his disciples are all plural. It’s not “go and make disciples” each of you individually. It’s “y’all”! Y’all go and make disciples. Y’all go and baptize. Y’all go and spread the good news.
This command of Jesus to “Go and…” is a theme that our synod staff has chosen as a focus for the coming year. “Go and…” They were inspired by this exact passage of Matthew (and I assume the “y’all” in there is just silent: “Y’all go and…”). We spent a good deal of time at synod assembly learning and reflecting together on this theme. And as we closed, the synod folks sent us off with an invitation – well, actually, with twelve invitations. For each month between now and next year’s synod assembly, the bishop and his staff are creating resources and inviting congregations across the synod to “go and” participate in God’s mission in a variety of ways. Together with the whole Nebraska Synod, we will be invited to:
Go and pray.
Go and listen.
Go and share your story.
Go and serve with neighbors.
Go and ask.
Go and be honest.
Go and be present.
Go and rest.
Go and have the conversation.
Go and be intentional
Go and tell the story
Go and be church.
Just like the first disciples, we are being called to go out to the world, to go to others, bearing the good news. And we are called into this work together. We are commissioned to “go and…” not just as individuals, but together as a synod – together as a church – together as one community of love made in the image of our triune God.
Through us, God is adding new chapters to this story that started before the world began. This story began in love, and we have faith that it will end the same way. Because even as God sends us out, God promises us: “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This is the Day 
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