Holy Trinity Sunday/Pastor Carrie's Farewell Sermon

Holy Trinity Sunday

June 15, 2014

Preacher: Pastor Carrie Smith

Matthew 28:16-20 

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The other day, I packed two of the most important boxes for our upcoming move to Jerusalem—not the books, or the photos, or the artwork, but the Christmas decorations.

I’m pretty sure that when Robert and I got married, our Christmas decorations could have fit into a shoebox! Actually, our entire worldly belongings might have fit into two or three shoeboxes. But in 19 years, we’ve managed to accumulate enough glass ornaments, silvery garlands, twinkling lights, and festive knick-knacks to fill FOUR Rubbermaid tubs.

And that’s not to mention those three Christmas tree stands I found in the crawlspace.

So it was quite an accomplishment to pare all that glittery mess down to two small boxes, tape them up, and then mark them “Christmas” and “Jerusalem, box 10 and box 11.”

It felt good to do it. I relaxed a little bit when it was done.

It felt good to wrap up a little Christmas for our journey, because as I say farewell to this community I love and am sent to do ministry halfway around the globe, it’s good to be reminded that the God who calls and equips us for such exciting and difficult things is the same God whose angel announced to Mary she would conceive and bear a son. It’s good to be reminded that the Jesus who gives us the Great Commission is the same child who was born on that silent and holy night. It’s good to remember that the crucified and risen Christ on the mountaintop, who sends us out to all nations, is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. When Jesus says “Go”, and the going gets tough, it is a great comfort to remember that he is Emmanuel, God-With-Us, yesterday, today, and forever!

Sometimes, we all need a little Christmas joy! It seems the disciples needed a little Christmas on the mountaintop that day, too. They had obediently schlepped up there to wait for further instructions from Jesus, but they were understandably confused and afraid. They were still trying to comprehend this resurrection business, after all! So Matthew tells us that even when Jesus appeared before them on the mountain, as he said he would, some of the disciples doubted.   

The disciples worshiped Jesus, but some of them doubted. So before he launched into what we know as the Great Commission, Jesus took the opportunity to remind the eleven of his credentials. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” he said. In other words: Remember who you’re talking to here! Remember who sent me!

Having established that he was speaking with divine authority, Jesus then gave them these instructions:

“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.”

Then, with the weight of those words and the importance of that mission hanging in the air, Jesus gave the doubting disciples a little Christmas joy! He said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Remember, I am with you always! In that moment, the disciples were reminded that this Jesus, crucified and risen, is Emmanuel, the babe born in Bethlehem, God incarnate, God-With-Us. Therefore, wherever his disciples go, they never go it alone. Thanks be to God! 

With those few comforting words, Jesus brought a little Christmas joy into that mountaintop conversation.  Then again, he also brought a little Pentecost. And a little Genesis! And this is perhaps why Matthew 28 is the text we hear on Holy Trinity Sunday. It’s not just that we get the Trinitarian formula in the Great Commission (“go and baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”)—it’s also that in these final words of the Gospel according to Matthew, we encounter the Trinity not as doctrine, but as Good News.

On Holy Trinity Sunday, we confess that God is three-in-one and one-in-three. We affirm that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We proclaim that the Divine One is Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

But all of these Trinitarian formulas are nothing compared to the Good News of God’s presence with us and among us.

The Good News of the Trinity is that wherever we go, we never go it alone, because God the Creator of all things is the ground of our being and the foundation of our very lives.

The Good News of the Trinity is that wherever we go, we never go it alone, because Jesus is Emmanuel, God-made-flesh, our brother who has walked in our shoes and has felt our pain.

The Good News of the Trinity is that wherever we go, we never go it alone, because the Holy Spirit is the breath of God, both blowing where she will and bearing us up as on eagles’ wings.

On days like today, poised as we all are on the mountain, about to embark on a new adventure—me in a new place, and you with a new pastor—it is the Good News of God’s never-failing, three-fold, divine presence with us that gives us the strength to get up and go.  

And yes, we do need to get up and go! The Great Commission is for each of us, not just for the eleven on the mountaintop, and not just for those who are called to Global Mission.

We are all sent, each according to our own ability, to continue Jesus’ mission. We are sent, not just to our neighbors and our friends, but to all nations. We are sent, not just to bring in new members for this congregation, but to create disciples—people who will walk in the Way of Jesus Christ and trust in him as Lord and Savior.

It’s a big mission, and one which Bethany Lutheran Church does very well. Jesus sends us out to baptize all nations—and it seems we’re doing our part around here, baptizing eight children in the last two weeks! Amen! Today we welcome Evan R. and Evan S. and Avery G. as new brothers and sister in Christ, and we rejoice that they will be joining us on the journey of faith. I was humbled to hear at my farewell reception last week that I baptized 69 people into the faith in this place.  I give thanks to God and to you for calling me to have that great honor!

With the Great Commission, Jesus sends us to baptize, and he also sends us to teach. Here at Bethany, Christian Education for the young has long been a priority. Deaconess Cheryl helped to nurture a wonderful Christian Ed program here for many years. Two years ago, you made a bold step when you called Pastor Paul to be a full-time pastor devoted to the faith formation of youth and families. You’ve shown a commitment to young people that extends beyond the font and the nursery, and acknowledges that youth are not the future of the church, they ARE the church. Amen!

In the last few years, we’ve seen a renewed interest in faith education for adults, too! I’m so proud to see how groups like Theology on Tap, the Monday Night Bible Study, Sunday afternoon Lenten education, and now Sunday morning adult ed opportunities have flourished. I pray that your appetite for learning and your passion for teaching the faith to all ages will continue in the years to come.

Bethany Lutheran takes the Great Commission to baptize and teach very seriously, and I have been blessed to be a part of these ministries here. It’s been a privilege to serve with you and among you as pastor. For me, this has been a mountaintop experience.

So it’s very hard to get up and go off this mountain.

And yet, go we must—for all of us are sent! Some of us are sent to welcome the new neighbors down the street; to make friends with the new kid at school; to teach and inspire young people; to care for the homeless; or to share the Good News through music.

And some of us are sent halfway around the world.

So yes, we must get up and go off the mountain. But we never go it alone!

We never go it alone, because Jesus promises his divine presence will be with us as we carry out the Great Commission.

God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is with us in the beginning, and in the manger, and in the breath that gives us life.

God, our rock and our redeemer, is with us to the ends of the earth—in Crystal Lake, and in Jerusalem, and wherever life takes Evan, Evan, and Avery.  

God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, is with us at every hello and every goodbye.  

And so we go, trusting in the One who watches over our going out and our coming in, from this time forth and forevermore. Amen.