Three Is a Magic Number
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For June 4, 2023:
Three Is a Magic Number
by Tom Willadsen
Matthew 28:16-20, Genesis 1:1--2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Psalm 8
Trinity Sunday is the only day in the church year that focuses on a matter of doctrine.
Three is a magic number. If you doubt that, check out this chestnut from my youth.
Don’t forget: The Trinity is a mystery and a metaphor. If you understand it, you don’t understand it.
In the Scriptures
You won’t find the Trinity carefully delineated and explained anywhere in scripture. There are hints in today’s passages and elsewhere that theologians have used as the basis for this uniquely Christian doctrine.
Still, if your congregation has any kind of memory, and you preached from John’s gospel in the season of Easter, they heard Jesus both claim to be equal to God the Father and below God the Father. Scripture presents a mixed picture of the standing and status of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer relative to one another.
Some people contend that when God said, “Let us make humans in our image,” (Genesis 1:26, NRSVUE) God’s use of the plural signaled the Trinity. Many Jews will contend that such a concept does violence to the text. God may have been using the royal we, or this text was rooted in a different source, where the one God was grammatically plural. Be warned.
In Psalm 8 the writer marvels not only at the vastness of Creation, but also the tender regard the Creator has for little ol’ us.
Matthew puts the baptismal formula from earliest Christianity into Jesus’ mouth at the end of his gospel. The Great Commission is about baptizing, teaching and urging obedience.
Today’s epistle lesson is Paul’s post-script to the Christians in Corinth. By the time he wrote to them, perhaps around 55 or 56 CE, Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, was in common usage. It has shown remarkable staying power.
In the News
The House and the Senate and the President have probably found a way to keep the United States from defaulting on its debt by now. (Writing on Friday, May 26, there was some doubt, posturing, political brinksmanship and intrigue in the air, but also a hint of confidence that world economy and the “full faith and credit of the United States of America” would dodge this latest bullet and we’d return to the bitter, partisan divide that both sides lament — which given the possibility of a default, looks pretty darn good. If somehow the default was not averted, you’ve got bigger problems than preaching a sermon on the Trinity.)
It may be tempting to think of both legislative chambers and the President as being an analog for the Trinity. Or one could imagine the three branches of government as trinitarian. Americans could also consider local, state, and national levels of government as a trinity of some kind.
The fact is the number three is significant in many different contexts
The three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
The past, the present, and the future.
The Three Bears, and Goldilocks’ testing the porridge, chairs, and beds and finding each of them was too much, too little, or just right.
The Three Little Pigs.
The minister, the priest, and the rabbi who walk into a bar. (They should have ducked!)
In math a number can only be equal to, larger than, or smaller than another number.
In geometry three is the minimum number of points needed to define a two-dimensional space.
An equilateral triangle is the only shape with both equal-length sides and equidistant corners.
Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean is: “Every ethical virtue is a golden mean (just right) between two vices — one excess, the other deficiency.” (Science News, May 6 2023 & May 23, 2023, p. 40.)
When Christians engage with Muslims and Jews in interfaith contexts the Trinity is a concept that needs careful explaining. Twice I have responded to opening salvos like, “Well, I’m a monotheist….”
“Me too!” I happily reply.
“But, you people believe that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are gods!”
In cases like this, I find, it’s best to be honest about our differences. It’s best to own the fact that the concept of the Trinity is nutty. It’s one of the specific, particular things that makes Christianity distinct from other faiths. Every faith tradition has its nuttiness. Own ours. And it’s rarely helpful to point out another’s nuttiness; let them recognize it on their own terms.
Yes, in some ways all religions hold some basic tenets in common, but, “They’re all the same, one’s as good as another,” is not only lazy, it’s not very interesting. It’s the things that make us distinct that make interfaith conversations engaging.
In a prior call I organized monthly gatherings of faith leaders for coffee and conversation. Once I met a leader of a more rigid Christian church at the supermarket and asked whether he got my invitations because he’d never attended.
“What if those people try to convert me?”
“That would be rude. And you shouldn’t try to convert them. Could you just have a beverage and make a friend?”
“No.”
It wasn’t the doctrine of the Trinity that was keeping the faith traditions in our silos in that town.
In the Sermon
You’re probably singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” this morning because it’s Trinity Sunday. One of the stanzas ends “God, in three persons, blessed Trinity.” You may want to add a little nuance. It’s natural to think of “persons” in that context to mean the same as “individuals.” In the same way the ushers counted the attendance at this morning’s worship service, God’s attendance is always three.
Now for the nuance: “Persons” in this context is rooted in the Latin “persona.” The syllables wouldn’t fit if we sang, “God in three personae,” but it would be clearer, and better theology. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary renders the English “persona” as “the image a person (such as an actor or politician) projects in public.”
Isn’t this easier to describe and a little less mysterious? Imagine God as one actor playing three distinct roles in one play. Or even as an actor standing behind three masks on stage at various times during one play. In the same way water can also be ice and steam, the living God can be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
The living God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Blessed Are the Semicolons
by Chris Keating
Matthew 28:16-20
It’s tempting to think of the Great Commission as Jesus’ last words. He meets the disciples up on a mountain in Galilee, just as he told them. Since mountains occur with some frequency in Matthew’s gospel, it may be tempting to think that Jesus is about to deliver one more sermon.
The setting evokes reminders of the Sermon on the Mount, or even Jesus’ rejection of Satan’s offer to possess the kingdoms of the world. Jesus has heard the mountains calling, and it seems that he must go. But while this finale is filled with all sorts of eschatological implications, Jesus’ rendezvous with the disciples is remarkably devoid of special effects. In fact, Jesus’ words are short and to the point, unpunctuated by thunder, lightning, or earthquake.
In fact, the most interesting thing about the encounter may be a semicolon.
Matthew is unflinchingly honest about the disciples’ response to the resurrected Lord. “They worshiped; but some doubted,” he observes. He could have stopped at “worshiped,” but instead continued the story. It is, in fact, the same pairing of phrases used in chapter 14 following Peter’s failed attempt to walk on water. Faith and doubt go hand in hand, which may not be a bad way to enter the Scylla and Charybdis of discussing the Trinity.
Jesus meets them in their doubting but still commissions them. There’s no talk of creating institutions, no suggestions about forming building committees. Instead, within the authority of God extended to Jesus, they are called to teach just as Jesus had taught them. They’re called to let worship and doubt coexist.
These are not Jesus’ last words, even if they do close out the gospel. Instead, they are an invitation to join in God’s ongoing mission, a reminder that things are continuing. Indeed, as Osvaldo Vena notes in Working Preacher, they are intended as a statement of “co-missioning,” or “mission with.” The rich and vital communion shared by the triune God spills over into the work of teaching and preaching. It is as if Matthew had intended to pen “More to come…” at the end of the chapter.
These verses have always held great hope for me, both in my personal struggles and in my pastoral work. Jesus’ continuing presence is a given. The road does not end here but continues forward. There is indeed more to come as we continue in relationship with God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. Get going because this story is not yet over.
That is good news, and news our churches need to hear especially as we absorb the realities that more Protestant churches are closing than are being formed. It is good news for shrinking congregations facing uphill battles to stay open in a time when fewer people attend church. It is good news because Jesus is not enlisting people to grow churches. Instead, Jesus commissions the disciples to participate in God’s work of building communities of inclusion and mercy.
Last week, just before Pentecost, the archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of St. Louis announced the impending closure of 35 congregations and the consolidation of many other parishes. It was a move that had been long expected, but still painful for a city deeply rooted in Catholicism that was once known as the “Rome of the West.” This is not necessarily a sign of failure, however. (Recall that Paul’s congregations in Corinth and Ephesus won’t be having Sunday services this week, either.)
While it is never easy to close a church, or to trust that God may intend the ministry to take different forms, the hope of Christ’s presence remains. The promise of the unfolding, ever creating partnership of the triune God remains. Worship and doubts cohabitate. In fact, as the NRSV translates verse 28:16, they are joined by a semicolon.
The good news? The semicolon is a reminder that the story continues. It is a lesson inked on the forearms and shoulders of thousands of people who have chosen to identify with Project Semicolon. The late Amy Bluel founded the movement in 2013 by asking people who struggled with mental illness to draw a semicolon on their hand and post the picture on social media. She invited anyone who had experienced self-harm, or had harbored suicidal thoughts, or had struggled with mental illness to use the semicolon as a way of saying, “My story could have ended, but it didn’t.”
The good news? A semicolon promotes the reminder that despite struggles, the story continues. “They worshiped him; but some doubted.” And still Jesus sent them. The story continues.
Suicide can be prevented. If you or someone you know is in distress or needs help, please call the national suicide & crisis lifeline by dialing 988. Visit 988lifeline.org.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Trinity Sunday Illustrations
Things in Nature that Come in Threes
Primary Colors: red, yellow and blue.
Human Ear Parts: outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear.
Bones In Ear: malleus, incus and stapes (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Clover leaves
Parts of an Atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Dimensions: width, length, and height.
States of Matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
Human Body Types: Endomorph, Mesomorph, and Ectomorph.
Divisions of Time: past, present, and future.
Galaxies: spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
* * *
Funny Things that Come in Threes
Stooges: Moe, Larry, and Curly
Little Pigs: Straw, Sticks, Stones
Blind Mice: Who ran after the farmer’s wife and cut of their tails with a carving knife.
Amigos: Movie Characters in the 1986 film. Played by Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and Steve Martin.
Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
Wise Men: by tradition but never numbered in scripture.
Bears: Mama, Papa, Baby who catch Goldilocks stealing from them.
Tenors: Began performing together in 1990
Billy Goats Gruff: brave, clever, and true.
Rings in a Premier Circus
* * *
The Rule of Three
The Rule of Three can probably be traced back to Aristotle’s “The Rhetoric” (c.350 BCE) wherein he observes that people can more easily remember things that come in threes.
Adherents to the Rule of Three hold that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. This principle is used in many areas such as writing, public speaking, advertising, and design. The rule of three is also used in storytelling and jokes. The Three Little Pigs and the Three Musketeers are examples of stories that follow the rule of three.
In addition to storytelling, the rule of three is also used in branding. Brands often use three words or phrases to describe their products or services because it is easier for people to remember. Examples:
* * *
Earliest Use of the Christian Concept of the Divine Trinity
The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but it is a technical term used to refer to the biblical concept that the one true God is a being of three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When was the term “Trinity” first used?
The Latin Christian Tertullian is popularly credited with coining the term “Trinity.” Indeed, he is the earliest known writer to use the Latin word trinitas, which is where the English word “trinity” originated:
What now is it to the church and to your church indeed, O psychic? For, according to the person of Peter, that power will convene with spiritual people, either an apostle or a prophet. For the church itself also, properly and principally, is the spirit itself, in which is the Trinity [trinitas] of one divinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It congregates that church which the Lord put in three. — Tertullian, De Pudicitia
However, the earliest use of a term to refer to the trinity of God is actually by Theophilus of Antioch, who beat Tertullian to it by at least 20 years. Because Theophilus wrote in Greek, he did not use the Latin word trinitas, but the Greek word trias. Here is the earliest known mention of the “Trinity” in Christian history:
Likewise, also the three days which had come to pass before the luminaries are types of the Trinity, of God, and of his word, and of his wisdom. In the fourth place is man, the needer of the light, so that it may be God, word, wisdom, man. Because of this also on the fourth day the luminaries were made. — Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolychus
* * *
Matthew 18:16-20 (The Great Commission)
Check Out the Verbs
This passage contains what is commonly known, in Christendom, as the Great Commission. Scholars tell us that to really understand the message and meaning of the passage we would do well to concentrate on the verbs.
As Jesus gives his instructions to the disciples, note that he does not dabble in dogma or doctrine. He does not tell them what they should believe. He does not instruct them on how many hymns to sing, or what color the nursery should be painted.
The verbs that Matthew records are action words, all indicative of discipleship: Go, make, baptize, teach, obey command, remember. And he ends with the irregular verb — I am.
* * *
Commissioned to Rescue and Repair
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern coast, a team from of first responders and hospital workers, construction workers, and other volunteers from our community headed south. Because our fire chief, the ad hoc leader of our group, knew another fire chief in Biloxi, Mississippi, that’s where they headed. When I asked them what they expect to do when they got there our fire chief said, “Whatever they need.”
They were equipped with three trailers full of equipment: construction tools, fire and rescue tools, cleaning equipment, and one trailer was a camp kitchen. They also took their own luggage, cases of water bottles, and sleeping gear.
I later learned that, when they arrived in Biloxi, the first place they went to was a “Command Center” set up in a large tent in the parking lot of a big-box store. There, they received official name badges on lanyards to be worn at all times, and after waiting for reports to come in they received their marching orders. They were to go to a specific neighborhood, help clear fallen trees and debris from the streets so rescue vehicles could get through and then help remove destroyed and flood damaged contents from homes and stack it beside the road.
* * *
Military Officers, Commissioned and Non-Commissioned
Officers in the American military are, generally, divided into two groups: Commissioned and Non-Commissioned.
A commissioned officer is an officer who holds a commission, which is a formal appointment, and ranks as a second lieutenant or above in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or as an ensign or above in the US Navy or Coast Guard. Commissioned officers have direct authority from a sovereign power, in our case, the President, who is commander and chief of the military, and have a commission entrusting them with the obligations and duties of an office or post.
A non-commissioned officer or NCO is someone who has worked their way up through the ranks, while a commissioned officer has earned their position through years of schooling and experience. NCOs are typically responsible for the everyday operations of the unit, while commissioned officers direct authority comes from their rank and position in the chain of command.
* * *
You’re in Charge
I grew up the oldest of five children and one of the phrases I remember most vividly is my mother’s voice saying, “Dean, you’re in charge.” And then to my brothers and sister, “Dean’s in charge!”
I hated that.
I learned early on that being “in charge” had virtually nothing to do with power and authority and everything to do with responsibility. Oh, I had some authority and a little power. I could enforce bedtime and I could decide what TV shows were inappropriate for the younger ones. But the “I’ll-tell-mom,” card was a sword that cut both ways. I could play it if they were wild or extremely disobedient and they could play if I abused my power.
The “you’re-in-charge” commissioning never gave me enough power and authority to victimize my sister and brothers but always gave me enough to take care of them.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
Matthew 28:16-20
Presence
“I am with you until the end of the age,” Jesus promises, and he leaves us ways to remember him and feel his presence.
In a similar way, author Ingrid Fetell Lee says she was dismayed when her new husband had to go away on a long business trip. Then, she says, "The next morning I opened the fridge, and on a bright pink Post-it note were written the words “I love you so much!” I nearly burst into tears again, this time from joy, at the surprise of feeling Albert’s presence in a moment of absence. Later, I went to get my scarf from the rack, and as I was arranging it around my neck, I heard a crinkling sound. I felt for the nape of my neck and pulled off another pink Post-it, this one with a heart drawn on it. I yelped with delight. Every day that week I seemed to find another pink love note. One fluttered out of the pages of the book that was sitting on my nightstand. Another was tucked inside the cover of my notebook. It was a joyful way to make me feel like he was with me, even though he couldn’t be there physically. Albert’s sticky notes were incongruous little surprises that popped up in places I’d never expect them." (from Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee)
Even in his absence, her husband was still present, as Jesus is for us.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
Saying Goodbye
In these passages, both Jesus and Paul are saying farewell, leaving behind clear instructions.
Physician and writer Atul Gawande says we need more clarity in our own goodbyes. He says that doctors ask, “Do we fight, or do we give up?” at the end of life. The right question is “What are we fighting for?”
He adds, “People have priorities besides just surviving no matter what. You have reasons you want to be alive. What are those reasons? Because whatever you’re living for, along the way, we’ve got to make sure we don’t sacrifice it. And in fact, can we, along the way, whatever’s happening, can we enable it?
Someone said to me, “I want to take my children to Disney World, my grandchildren. One thing I want to make sure I’m able to do is take my grandchildren to Disney World.” She was telling that to me in the hospital, emaciated, on her last days. She would die 48 hours later. And we had missed that. We had failed. We had never asked her, to know that might have mattered to her, because we could have made that possible for her a month before.”
We could benefit from the truth and clarity that Paul and Jesus bring to their own farewells.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
A Proper Goodbye
Thinking about the end of life, Atul Gawande suggests that we think about our legacy. Jesus and Paul are both very clear about how they want to extend their influence, and they give concrete instructions to their friends as they say these final goodbyes.
That kind of clarity was also true for Peggy Batchelder, who was his daughter’s piano teacher. After having metastatic cancer, and a long time in the hospital, she was miserable. She went home on hospice, and her nurse asked her: What does a good day look like? Gawande says, “And then they worked on that. At first it was, OK, we’re going to get you in a bed on the first floor, so you don’t climb the stairs. We’re going to arrange for getting dressed and bathed. And after two or three days of that, she lifted her sights. And then she wanted to teach piano again.
The idea that that was possible — it was extraordinary. My daughter had the most extraordinary piano lessons. And then there was a recital, and at the recital, they played Brahms, Chopin, and Beethoven. It reshaped my daughter’s life, and that was the legacy Peggy wanted to leave.”
Jesus, Paul, and Peggy Batchelder prompt us to think about what we want to leave behind.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
The Holy Kiss, Updated
“Greeting one another with a holy kiss,” Paul tells the faithful in Corinth. What might that look like in our world?
One example comes from Hannah Brencher, who found herself depressed after finishing college. Looking for strength, she found solace in letters. Her mother didn’t like email, “and Brencher came to deeply appreciate her handwritten letters. “I did the only thing I could think of at the time,” she said later, recounting that trying period. “I wrote those same kinds of letters that my mother had written me, for strangers, and tucked them all throughout the city, dozens and dozens of them. I left them everywhere, in cafés and in libraries, at the UN, everywhere.” This curious project became a minor sensation. Her blog about the practice caught on, and she offered to write a letter to anybody who wanted one, for whatever reason. Eventually this led to a book and morphed into a new enterprise called The World Needs More Love Letters (MoreLoveLetters.com), through which requests for letters are channeled to willing letter writers, resulting in hundreds of “love letter bundles” crisscrossing the country.”
Paul’s idea of a warm, loving greeting has been updated in this interesting way, and it spreads love around the country. (From The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday by Rob Walker.)
* * * * * *
From team member Elena Delhagan:
Matthew 28:16-20
There are oh-so-many examples one could use to try illustrating the symbiotic relationship of the Holy Trinity. I recall the first time I attempted to teach it to my son, using the analogy of an egg. An egg has three distinct parts (shell, yolk, and white) yet all three, together, make up the whole of what we know as an egg.
Yet one of my favorite illustrations (though admittedly imperfect) will always be that of the Three Sisters, represented by corn, beans, and squash — an important facet of Indigenous legend, culture, and agriculture. Native American tribes interplant these three crops together because they thrive off of each other; I would even go as far as to say they need each other. Beans are planted at the base of the corn stalks, which offer the bean vines support as they reach for sunlight from the earth. The beans, in turn, pump nitrogen back into the soil, fertilizing the corn and squash. Finally, the squash's broad, spiny leaves protect the bean plants from predatory animals and provide shade, which retains soil moisture. In legend, the plants were a divine gift: always to be grown together, eaten together, and celebrated together.
Of course, every illustration, no matter how clever, will never be adequate enough to fully portray the mystery of the Holy Trinity. But perhaps you could cook up a batch of Three Sisters Stew and ruminate on it; it’s a delicious experiment, at the very least!
* * *
Psalm 8/Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm 8, thematically speaking, can be separated into two sections. The first (vv. 1-3) deals with God’s power, majesty, and omnipotence vis-à-vis humanity and other living creatures. The second (vv. 4-9) explores humanity and creation. Human beings stand tall — yet still below the stature of YHWH.
There’s a Jewish midrash concerning the creation of the world (referenced in the Genesis text) that is interesting here. According to the legend, when YHWH came to the sixth day and was about to make human beings, he sought the counsel of angels before mixing the appropriate amount of dust and breath. The angels were not of one opinion, says the story, hinting that they perhaps had the foreknowledge that humanity’s “crown of glory and honor” would slip from their heads and crack. “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” the angels asked, some jealously, some a bit more cautiously. The psalm is sung in Jewish communities, then, as a litany from the angels, and has been interpreted as such for centuries.
Interestingly, once Christianity came on the scene, the psalm took on a Christological lens. Instead of Moses being the second Adam, as is common in Jewish interpretation, Christianity says that Jesus is, and it is his death, resurrection, ascension, and return that restores the divine image and glory to humanity.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
The Greco-Roman world, in which the apostle Paul lived, saw the act of a kiss as one with spiritual implications. Inside each person dwells spirit, a concept denoted by the Greek word pneuma or the Hebrew ruach. Yet those words are often used interchangeably with “breath” and “wind,” harkening back to Genesis’ creation story when YHWH breathed God’s own ruach into humanity, thus bringing them to life. So, when giving someone a kiss, there is a pneumatic exchange that occurs, which makes it deeply sacred and spiritual.
In this passage found in 2 Corinthians, Paul seems to be arguing for the holy kiss to be used as a sign of love and unity amongst believers. It is therefore no accident that he refers to the trinitarian unity at the end of this passage, for the church of Christ is intended to be a depiction of the mutuality found within the Holy Trinity.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Matthew 28:16-20
In an era of AI revolutions, the question of authority is once again coming to light. It turns out that when artificial intelligence does not know the answer to something, it does what many humans do — it makes it up; the term “hallucinate” is used at the moment for AI doing this.
The authority of AI is not based upon compassion or well-meaning work, it is too truncated. Even when it is extrapolated from facts, it does not contain the Godspark, the soul, the wish to be kind to the other being even as it is “playing it by ear.” It is the same reason why just making a program for every single school district, or hanging rules on the wall somewhere — even if those rules are from the Bible — do not work. Authority is one thing, teaching compassionately and contextually is another. Therefore the disciples have not only the authority from Jesus, but also teachings, and the compassion to know that Jesus is with them so that they can be caring and compassionate as they go. So although disciples are able to use whatever tools are available to them — be they parchment or AI — discipleship is so much more than a checklist or a set of rules. It is a path to follow, and a group of people to try to build community with.
* * *
Genesis 1:1--2:4a
Rest
On the seventh day, God rested. It was the seventh day for God, but it was the first day for humanity. Before humans did anything, before they earned anything, before they worked or moved or even had names, the first thing God wanted to do with humanity, was to spend time doing nothing. In Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin explains that he is going to do nothing. “How do you do nothing?” asks Pooh, “Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, 'What are you going to do, Christopher Robin?' and you say, 'Oh, Nothing,' and then you go and do it.”
It means just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.“‘Oh!’ said Pooh.” Now God rests after doing a good bit, so our capitalist souls might get confused into thinking that God earned a rest, but does God, the Almighty need to earn a rest? Surely not. And then here are humans, day one of their existence, and God wants them, first and foremost, to learn how to rest. In an era where we need to relearn rest (most of us do not even use our vacation time) this is quite profound. To rest is to be human.
* * *
Psalm 8
Lower Than Angels
There are some people in the world who need to know that they are a little lower than the angels, and there are others, who need their crowns deflated a bit. To cite the most visible, we can look at Jeff Bezos and how he treats Amazon workers, or Laxman Narasimah, who keeps closing Starbucks that unionize, or Netflix that, continuously mistreats it writers.
And yet, the point of this psalm is that you can look at this world and see how beautiful it is and all of the potential there is to work in harmony with it. There are so many people working toward uplifting those who are doing the hard work of understanding the potential of humanity. Lizzo, who won the people’s choice awards, raised up 17 activists who certainly understood what it means that humans are little less than angels.
Another good example is the Queer Eye series, where the Fab 5 look to uplift every single human that they meet as a genuine and beautiful human being of God. One really touching episode features Maryam Henderson-Uloho, who owns a business employing those who have gotten out of prison. In fact, she had gone through that process herself. When human beings look one another in the eye and can see and understand that we are the image of God (and little lower than the angels) and there is no room for ego and condescension, the beauty of God’s creation begins to play out.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by Katy Stenta
Call to Worship
One: Come from East and West
All: Come to worship the God who welcomes all
One: Come from North and South
All: Come to God, the one who baptizes any who want
One: Come all those who thirst
All: God is here to disciple us, Come let us sit at the feet of God together
OR
One: When God ordered the earth, God created all things
All: And called it good
One: God said let all things be gathered and named
All: And called it good
One: Come let us witness to God’s creation together
All: Come, let us proclaim the Goodness of God together today
OR
One: When I look at the heavens and the stars
All: How majestic is the earth God!
One: When I look at the birds of the air and fish of the sea
All: I cannot help but proclaim how majestic is the name of God
One: Come let us witness to God
All: Come, let’s worship God together today!
Hymns and Songs
Lord, You Give the Great Commission
UMH: 584
H82: 528
PH: 429
GTG: 298
CH: 459
ELW: 579
W&P: 592
Renew: 305
For All the Beauty of the Earth
AMECH: 578
CH: 56:
ELH: 463
ELW: 879
GtG: 14
H: 89
P: 473
UMH: 92, 829
Creator of The Stars of Night
ELW: 245
GtG: 84
P: 4
UMH: 692
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELW: 807
W&P: 68
AMEC: 77
STLT: 126
Change My Heart, O God
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
ELW: 769
W&P: 429
Music Resources Key
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
GtG: Glory To God Presbyterian Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
LW: Lutheran Worship
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
P: Presbyterian Hymnal
R: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
W&P: Worship & Praise
Prayer of the Day/Collect
God we are mindful of your interweaving in the earth. We are reminded that the Great Commission sends us out into the world, to see and work within it. Help us to see your face in the world as we go about our work we pray. Amen.
Call to Confession
God is here to listen to all of our worries, no matter how big or small. Come let us confess ourselves to the listening ears of God.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that it is easy to wonder what are these humans? We are so fascinated with our power, the fact that we seem to reach for angelic powers or dominion over the earth, and yet forget that our true calling is to love and serve one another. How can we help one another to live in community and peace with one another? Help us when we confuse authority with control, teach us to love and serve we pray. Amen.
OR
God we confess that sometimes the commission you have given us seems too big. Baptize all people? Really and truly? How are we to do this? Remind us that your work is vast, but so too is your call. And that our baptism is sufficient for the work you have set before us. Strengthen and encourage us to do the work that we can, and to let you worry about the greater church. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Prayers of the People
God, we know we are here to love and serve, and so we do so by practicing prayer. For you promise to be particularly present to any and all things that we pray for
God we pray for the world, for all the places we see beauty….
We lift up events of celebration and joy…
We pray for all those in need of healing…
We lift up all the places that are suffering, all the people who need hope…
We lift up places that suffer from violence….
God we lift up particular places that seem to need extra care…
God we pray for all those people and places that need your attention, knowing that you have promised that you will not forget us. We know that you love and care for us, and walk with us in the highs and the lows. We pray that you hold the hands of all those mentioned today, so that they might feel extra connection and care. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Authorized by Jesus
by Katy Stenta
Matthew 28:16-20
Jesus gives the disciples a job before he leaves. It’s a teaching job.
The disciples are to teach all the stories that Jesus told.
Do you know some of the stories Jesus taught? (If not have one ready, the Easter one is good.)
Jesus told them that they are to teach and baptize, and anyone who wants to get baptized can get baptized. The disciples are to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Whenever someone is baptized, they get to become a part of the church family.
Where is the water where we baptize people? (If your kids don’t like to answer, just walk over and show them.)
So, the disciples have two jobs, teaching and baptizing. Jesus promises he will be watching and taking care of the disciples, but I bet they feel a little nervous and scared because it’s a new job and they have to do it on their own, without Jesus, for the first time.
Jesus tells them that he has confidence in them and the disciples are ready. He tells them that they have done enough and have the authority to work for Jesus. They have kind of graduated from just learning about Jesus. Now, while they are learning about Jesus they get to teach about him, as well.
- Three Is a Magic Number by Tom Willadsen based on Matthew 28:16-20, Genesis 1:1--2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Psalm 8.
- Second Thoughts: Blessed Are the Semicolons by Chris Keating. Matthew reminds us that there are no last words from Jesus, but only the insistence that as the disciples go into the world to baptize and teach, he will be with them forever.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Mary Austin, Elena Delhagen, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by Katy Stenta.
- Children’s Sermon: Authorized by Jesus by Katy Stenta based on Matthew 28:16-20.
Three Is a Magic Numberby Tom Willadsen
Matthew 28:16-20, Genesis 1:1--2:4a, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Psalm 8
Trinity Sunday is the only day in the church year that focuses on a matter of doctrine.
Three is a magic number. If you doubt that, check out this chestnut from my youth.
Don’t forget: The Trinity is a mystery and a metaphor. If you understand it, you don’t understand it.
In the Scriptures
You won’t find the Trinity carefully delineated and explained anywhere in scripture. There are hints in today’s passages and elsewhere that theologians have used as the basis for this uniquely Christian doctrine.
Still, if your congregation has any kind of memory, and you preached from John’s gospel in the season of Easter, they heard Jesus both claim to be equal to God the Father and below God the Father. Scripture presents a mixed picture of the standing and status of the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer relative to one another.
Some people contend that when God said, “Let us make humans in our image,” (Genesis 1:26, NRSVUE) God’s use of the plural signaled the Trinity. Many Jews will contend that such a concept does violence to the text. God may have been using the royal we, or this text was rooted in a different source, where the one God was grammatically plural. Be warned.
In Psalm 8 the writer marvels not only at the vastness of Creation, but also the tender regard the Creator has for little ol’ us.
Matthew puts the baptismal formula from earliest Christianity into Jesus’ mouth at the end of his gospel. The Great Commission is about baptizing, teaching and urging obedience.
Today’s epistle lesson is Paul’s post-script to the Christians in Corinth. By the time he wrote to them, perhaps around 55 or 56 CE, Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, was in common usage. It has shown remarkable staying power.
In the News
The House and the Senate and the President have probably found a way to keep the United States from defaulting on its debt by now. (Writing on Friday, May 26, there was some doubt, posturing, political brinksmanship and intrigue in the air, but also a hint of confidence that world economy and the “full faith and credit of the United States of America” would dodge this latest bullet and we’d return to the bitter, partisan divide that both sides lament — which given the possibility of a default, looks pretty darn good. If somehow the default was not averted, you’ve got bigger problems than preaching a sermon on the Trinity.)
It may be tempting to think of both legislative chambers and the President as being an analog for the Trinity. Or one could imagine the three branches of government as trinitarian. Americans could also consider local, state, and national levels of government as a trinity of some kind.
The fact is the number three is significant in many different contexts
The three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
The past, the present, and the future.
The Three Bears, and Goldilocks’ testing the porridge, chairs, and beds and finding each of them was too much, too little, or just right.
The Three Little Pigs.
The minister, the priest, and the rabbi who walk into a bar. (They should have ducked!)
In math a number can only be equal to, larger than, or smaller than another number.
In geometry three is the minimum number of points needed to define a two-dimensional space.
An equilateral triangle is the only shape with both equal-length sides and equidistant corners.
Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean is: “Every ethical virtue is a golden mean (just right) between two vices — one excess, the other deficiency.” (Science News, May 6 2023 & May 23, 2023, p. 40.)
When Christians engage with Muslims and Jews in interfaith contexts the Trinity is a concept that needs careful explaining. Twice I have responded to opening salvos like, “Well, I’m a monotheist….”
“Me too!” I happily reply.
“But, you people believe that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are gods!”
In cases like this, I find, it’s best to be honest about our differences. It’s best to own the fact that the concept of the Trinity is nutty. It’s one of the specific, particular things that makes Christianity distinct from other faiths. Every faith tradition has its nuttiness. Own ours. And it’s rarely helpful to point out another’s nuttiness; let them recognize it on their own terms.
Yes, in some ways all religions hold some basic tenets in common, but, “They’re all the same, one’s as good as another,” is not only lazy, it’s not very interesting. It’s the things that make us distinct that make interfaith conversations engaging.
In a prior call I organized monthly gatherings of faith leaders for coffee and conversation. Once I met a leader of a more rigid Christian church at the supermarket and asked whether he got my invitations because he’d never attended.
“What if those people try to convert me?”
“That would be rude. And you shouldn’t try to convert them. Could you just have a beverage and make a friend?”
“No.”
It wasn’t the doctrine of the Trinity that was keeping the faith traditions in our silos in that town.
In the Sermon
You’re probably singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” this morning because it’s Trinity Sunday. One of the stanzas ends “God, in three persons, blessed Trinity.” You may want to add a little nuance. It’s natural to think of “persons” in that context to mean the same as “individuals.” In the same way the ushers counted the attendance at this morning’s worship service, God’s attendance is always three.
Now for the nuance: “Persons” in this context is rooted in the Latin “persona.” The syllables wouldn’t fit if we sang, “God in three personae,” but it would be clearer, and better theology. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary renders the English “persona” as “the image a person (such as an actor or politician) projects in public.”
Isn’t this easier to describe and a little less mysterious? Imagine God as one actor playing three distinct roles in one play. Or even as an actor standing behind three masks on stage at various times during one play. In the same way water can also be ice and steam, the living God can be Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
The living God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.
SECOND THOUGHTSBlessed Are the Semicolons
by Chris Keating
Matthew 28:16-20
It’s tempting to think of the Great Commission as Jesus’ last words. He meets the disciples up on a mountain in Galilee, just as he told them. Since mountains occur with some frequency in Matthew’s gospel, it may be tempting to think that Jesus is about to deliver one more sermon.
The setting evokes reminders of the Sermon on the Mount, or even Jesus’ rejection of Satan’s offer to possess the kingdoms of the world. Jesus has heard the mountains calling, and it seems that he must go. But while this finale is filled with all sorts of eschatological implications, Jesus’ rendezvous with the disciples is remarkably devoid of special effects. In fact, Jesus’ words are short and to the point, unpunctuated by thunder, lightning, or earthquake.
In fact, the most interesting thing about the encounter may be a semicolon.
Matthew is unflinchingly honest about the disciples’ response to the resurrected Lord. “They worshiped; but some doubted,” he observes. He could have stopped at “worshiped,” but instead continued the story. It is, in fact, the same pairing of phrases used in chapter 14 following Peter’s failed attempt to walk on water. Faith and doubt go hand in hand, which may not be a bad way to enter the Scylla and Charybdis of discussing the Trinity.
Jesus meets them in their doubting but still commissions them. There’s no talk of creating institutions, no suggestions about forming building committees. Instead, within the authority of God extended to Jesus, they are called to teach just as Jesus had taught them. They’re called to let worship and doubt coexist.
These are not Jesus’ last words, even if they do close out the gospel. Instead, they are an invitation to join in God’s ongoing mission, a reminder that things are continuing. Indeed, as Osvaldo Vena notes in Working Preacher, they are intended as a statement of “co-missioning,” or “mission with.” The rich and vital communion shared by the triune God spills over into the work of teaching and preaching. It is as if Matthew had intended to pen “More to come…” at the end of the chapter.
These verses have always held great hope for me, both in my personal struggles and in my pastoral work. Jesus’ continuing presence is a given. The road does not end here but continues forward. There is indeed more to come as we continue in relationship with God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. Get going because this story is not yet over.
That is good news, and news our churches need to hear especially as we absorb the realities that more Protestant churches are closing than are being formed. It is good news for shrinking congregations facing uphill battles to stay open in a time when fewer people attend church. It is good news because Jesus is not enlisting people to grow churches. Instead, Jesus commissions the disciples to participate in God’s work of building communities of inclusion and mercy.
Last week, just before Pentecost, the archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of St. Louis announced the impending closure of 35 congregations and the consolidation of many other parishes. It was a move that had been long expected, but still painful for a city deeply rooted in Catholicism that was once known as the “Rome of the West.” This is not necessarily a sign of failure, however. (Recall that Paul’s congregations in Corinth and Ephesus won’t be having Sunday services this week, either.)
While it is never easy to close a church, or to trust that God may intend the ministry to take different forms, the hope of Christ’s presence remains. The promise of the unfolding, ever creating partnership of the triune God remains. Worship and doubts cohabitate. In fact, as the NRSV translates verse 28:16, they are joined by a semicolon.
The good news? The semicolon is a reminder that the story continues. It is a lesson inked on the forearms and shoulders of thousands of people who have chosen to identify with Project Semicolon. The late Amy Bluel founded the movement in 2013 by asking people who struggled with mental illness to draw a semicolon on their hand and post the picture on social media. She invited anyone who had experienced self-harm, or had harbored suicidal thoughts, or had struggled with mental illness to use the semicolon as a way of saying, “My story could have ended, but it didn’t.”
The good news? A semicolon promotes the reminder that despite struggles, the story continues. “They worshiped him; but some doubted.” And still Jesus sent them. The story continues.
Suicide can be prevented. If you or someone you know is in distress or needs help, please call the national suicide & crisis lifeline by dialing 988. Visit 988lifeline.org.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Trinity Sunday Illustrations
Things in Nature that Come in Threes
Primary Colors: red, yellow and blue.
Human Ear Parts: outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear.
Bones In Ear: malleus, incus and stapes (hammer, anvil, stirrup)
Clover leaves
Parts of an Atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Dimensions: width, length, and height.
States of Matter: solid, liquid, and gas.
Human Body Types: Endomorph, Mesomorph, and Ectomorph.
Divisions of Time: past, present, and future.
Galaxies: spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
* * *
Funny Things that Come in Threes
Stooges: Moe, Larry, and Curly
Little Pigs: Straw, Sticks, Stones
Blind Mice: Who ran after the farmer’s wife and cut of their tails with a carving knife.
Amigos: Movie Characters in the 1986 film. Played by Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and Steve Martin.
Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
Wise Men: by tradition but never numbered in scripture.
Bears: Mama, Papa, Baby who catch Goldilocks stealing from them.
Tenors: Began performing together in 1990
Billy Goats Gruff: brave, clever, and true.
Rings in a Premier Circus
* * *
The Rule of Three
The Rule of Three can probably be traced back to Aristotle’s “The Rhetoric” (c.350 BCE) wherein he observes that people can more easily remember things that come in threes.
Adherents to the Rule of Three hold that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. This principle is used in many areas such as writing, public speaking, advertising, and design. The rule of three is also used in storytelling and jokes. The Three Little Pigs and the Three Musketeers are examples of stories that follow the rule of three.
In addition to storytelling, the rule of three is also used in branding. Brands often use three words or phrases to describe their products or services because it is easier for people to remember. Examples:
- “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” — the American Declaration of Independence
- “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” — the Gettysburg Address
- “Veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) — Julius Caesar
- “Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears.” — Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar
- Superman’s motto: ‘Truth, Justice and the American Way’
* * *
Earliest Use of the Christian Concept of the Divine Trinity
The word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, but it is a technical term used to refer to the biblical concept that the one true God is a being of three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When was the term “Trinity” first used?
The Latin Christian Tertullian is popularly credited with coining the term “Trinity.” Indeed, he is the earliest known writer to use the Latin word trinitas, which is where the English word “trinity” originated:
What now is it to the church and to your church indeed, O psychic? For, according to the person of Peter, that power will convene with spiritual people, either an apostle or a prophet. For the church itself also, properly and principally, is the spirit itself, in which is the Trinity [trinitas] of one divinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It congregates that church which the Lord put in three. — Tertullian, De Pudicitia
However, the earliest use of a term to refer to the trinity of God is actually by Theophilus of Antioch, who beat Tertullian to it by at least 20 years. Because Theophilus wrote in Greek, he did not use the Latin word trinitas, but the Greek word trias. Here is the earliest known mention of the “Trinity” in Christian history:
Likewise, also the three days which had come to pass before the luminaries are types of the Trinity, of God, and of his word, and of his wisdom. In the fourth place is man, the needer of the light, so that it may be God, word, wisdom, man. Because of this also on the fourth day the luminaries were made. — Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolychus
* * *
Matthew 18:16-20 (The Great Commission)
Check Out the Verbs
This passage contains what is commonly known, in Christendom, as the Great Commission. Scholars tell us that to really understand the message and meaning of the passage we would do well to concentrate on the verbs.
As Jesus gives his instructions to the disciples, note that he does not dabble in dogma or doctrine. He does not tell them what they should believe. He does not instruct them on how many hymns to sing, or what color the nursery should be painted.
The verbs that Matthew records are action words, all indicative of discipleship: Go, make, baptize, teach, obey command, remember. And he ends with the irregular verb — I am.
* * *
Commissioned to Rescue and Repair
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the southern coast, a team from of first responders and hospital workers, construction workers, and other volunteers from our community headed south. Because our fire chief, the ad hoc leader of our group, knew another fire chief in Biloxi, Mississippi, that’s where they headed. When I asked them what they expect to do when they got there our fire chief said, “Whatever they need.”
They were equipped with three trailers full of equipment: construction tools, fire and rescue tools, cleaning equipment, and one trailer was a camp kitchen. They also took their own luggage, cases of water bottles, and sleeping gear.
I later learned that, when they arrived in Biloxi, the first place they went to was a “Command Center” set up in a large tent in the parking lot of a big-box store. There, they received official name badges on lanyards to be worn at all times, and after waiting for reports to come in they received their marching orders. They were to go to a specific neighborhood, help clear fallen trees and debris from the streets so rescue vehicles could get through and then help remove destroyed and flood damaged contents from homes and stack it beside the road.
* * *
Military Officers, Commissioned and Non-Commissioned
Officers in the American military are, generally, divided into two groups: Commissioned and Non-Commissioned.
A commissioned officer is an officer who holds a commission, which is a formal appointment, and ranks as a second lieutenant or above in the US Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or as an ensign or above in the US Navy or Coast Guard. Commissioned officers have direct authority from a sovereign power, in our case, the President, who is commander and chief of the military, and have a commission entrusting them with the obligations and duties of an office or post.
A non-commissioned officer or NCO is someone who has worked their way up through the ranks, while a commissioned officer has earned their position through years of schooling and experience. NCOs are typically responsible for the everyday operations of the unit, while commissioned officers direct authority comes from their rank and position in the chain of command.
* * *
You’re in Charge
I grew up the oldest of five children and one of the phrases I remember most vividly is my mother’s voice saying, “Dean, you’re in charge.” And then to my brothers and sister, “Dean’s in charge!”
I hated that.
I learned early on that being “in charge” had virtually nothing to do with power and authority and everything to do with responsibility. Oh, I had some authority and a little power. I could enforce bedtime and I could decide what TV shows were inappropriate for the younger ones. But the “I’ll-tell-mom,” card was a sword that cut both ways. I could play it if they were wild or extremely disobedient and they could play if I abused my power.
The “you’re-in-charge” commissioning never gave me enough power and authority to victimize my sister and brothers but always gave me enough to take care of them.
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:Matthew 28:16-20
Presence
“I am with you until the end of the age,” Jesus promises, and he leaves us ways to remember him and feel his presence.
In a similar way, author Ingrid Fetell Lee says she was dismayed when her new husband had to go away on a long business trip. Then, she says, "The next morning I opened the fridge, and on a bright pink Post-it note were written the words “I love you so much!” I nearly burst into tears again, this time from joy, at the surprise of feeling Albert’s presence in a moment of absence. Later, I went to get my scarf from the rack, and as I was arranging it around my neck, I heard a crinkling sound. I felt for the nape of my neck and pulled off another pink Post-it, this one with a heart drawn on it. I yelped with delight. Every day that week I seemed to find another pink love note. One fluttered out of the pages of the book that was sitting on my nightstand. Another was tucked inside the cover of my notebook. It was a joyful way to make me feel like he was with me, even though he couldn’t be there physically. Albert’s sticky notes were incongruous little surprises that popped up in places I’d never expect them." (from Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee)
Even in his absence, her husband was still present, as Jesus is for us.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
Saying Goodbye
In these passages, both Jesus and Paul are saying farewell, leaving behind clear instructions.
Physician and writer Atul Gawande says we need more clarity in our own goodbyes. He says that doctors ask, “Do we fight, or do we give up?” at the end of life. The right question is “What are we fighting for?”
He adds, “People have priorities besides just surviving no matter what. You have reasons you want to be alive. What are those reasons? Because whatever you’re living for, along the way, we’ve got to make sure we don’t sacrifice it. And in fact, can we, along the way, whatever’s happening, can we enable it?
Someone said to me, “I want to take my children to Disney World, my grandchildren. One thing I want to make sure I’m able to do is take my grandchildren to Disney World.” She was telling that to me in the hospital, emaciated, on her last days. She would die 48 hours later. And we had missed that. We had failed. We had never asked her, to know that might have mattered to her, because we could have made that possible for her a month before.”
We could benefit from the truth and clarity that Paul and Jesus bring to their own farewells.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Matthew 28:16-20
A Proper Goodbye
Thinking about the end of life, Atul Gawande suggests that we think about our legacy. Jesus and Paul are both very clear about how they want to extend their influence, and they give concrete instructions to their friends as they say these final goodbyes.
That kind of clarity was also true for Peggy Batchelder, who was his daughter’s piano teacher. After having metastatic cancer, and a long time in the hospital, she was miserable. She went home on hospice, and her nurse asked her: What does a good day look like? Gawande says, “And then they worked on that. At first it was, OK, we’re going to get you in a bed on the first floor, so you don’t climb the stairs. We’re going to arrange for getting dressed and bathed. And after two or three days of that, she lifted her sights. And then she wanted to teach piano again.
The idea that that was possible — it was extraordinary. My daughter had the most extraordinary piano lessons. And then there was a recital, and at the recital, they played Brahms, Chopin, and Beethoven. It reshaped my daughter’s life, and that was the legacy Peggy wanted to leave.”
Jesus, Paul, and Peggy Batchelder prompt us to think about what we want to leave behind.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
The Holy Kiss, Updated
“Greeting one another with a holy kiss,” Paul tells the faithful in Corinth. What might that look like in our world?
One example comes from Hannah Brencher, who found herself depressed after finishing college. Looking for strength, she found solace in letters. Her mother didn’t like email, “and Brencher came to deeply appreciate her handwritten letters. “I did the only thing I could think of at the time,” she said later, recounting that trying period. “I wrote those same kinds of letters that my mother had written me, for strangers, and tucked them all throughout the city, dozens and dozens of them. I left them everywhere, in cafés and in libraries, at the UN, everywhere.” This curious project became a minor sensation. Her blog about the practice caught on, and she offered to write a letter to anybody who wanted one, for whatever reason. Eventually this led to a book and morphed into a new enterprise called The World Needs More Love Letters (MoreLoveLetters.com), through which requests for letters are channeled to willing letter writers, resulting in hundreds of “love letter bundles” crisscrossing the country.”
Paul’s idea of a warm, loving greeting has been updated in this interesting way, and it spreads love around the country. (From The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday by Rob Walker.)
* * * * * *
From team member Elena Delhagan:Matthew 28:16-20
There are oh-so-many examples one could use to try illustrating the symbiotic relationship of the Holy Trinity. I recall the first time I attempted to teach it to my son, using the analogy of an egg. An egg has three distinct parts (shell, yolk, and white) yet all three, together, make up the whole of what we know as an egg.
Yet one of my favorite illustrations (though admittedly imperfect) will always be that of the Three Sisters, represented by corn, beans, and squash — an important facet of Indigenous legend, culture, and agriculture. Native American tribes interplant these three crops together because they thrive off of each other; I would even go as far as to say they need each other. Beans are planted at the base of the corn stalks, which offer the bean vines support as they reach for sunlight from the earth. The beans, in turn, pump nitrogen back into the soil, fertilizing the corn and squash. Finally, the squash's broad, spiny leaves protect the bean plants from predatory animals and provide shade, which retains soil moisture. In legend, the plants were a divine gift: always to be grown together, eaten together, and celebrated together.
Of course, every illustration, no matter how clever, will never be adequate enough to fully portray the mystery of the Holy Trinity. But perhaps you could cook up a batch of Three Sisters Stew and ruminate on it; it’s a delicious experiment, at the very least!
* * *
Psalm 8/Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm 8, thematically speaking, can be separated into two sections. The first (vv. 1-3) deals with God’s power, majesty, and omnipotence vis-à-vis humanity and other living creatures. The second (vv. 4-9) explores humanity and creation. Human beings stand tall — yet still below the stature of YHWH.
There’s a Jewish midrash concerning the creation of the world (referenced in the Genesis text) that is interesting here. According to the legend, when YHWH came to the sixth day and was about to make human beings, he sought the counsel of angels before mixing the appropriate amount of dust and breath. The angels were not of one opinion, says the story, hinting that they perhaps had the foreknowledge that humanity’s “crown of glory and honor” would slip from their heads and crack. “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” the angels asked, some jealously, some a bit more cautiously. The psalm is sung in Jewish communities, then, as a litany from the angels, and has been interpreted as such for centuries.
Interestingly, once Christianity came on the scene, the psalm took on a Christological lens. Instead of Moses being the second Adam, as is common in Jewish interpretation, Christianity says that Jesus is, and it is his death, resurrection, ascension, and return that restores the divine image and glory to humanity.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
The Greco-Roman world, in which the apostle Paul lived, saw the act of a kiss as one with spiritual implications. Inside each person dwells spirit, a concept denoted by the Greek word pneuma or the Hebrew ruach. Yet those words are often used interchangeably with “breath” and “wind,” harkening back to Genesis’ creation story when YHWH breathed God’s own ruach into humanity, thus bringing them to life. So, when giving someone a kiss, there is a pneumatic exchange that occurs, which makes it deeply sacred and spiritual.
In this passage found in 2 Corinthians, Paul seems to be arguing for the holy kiss to be used as a sign of love and unity amongst believers. It is therefore no accident that he refers to the trinitarian unity at the end of this passage, for the church of Christ is intended to be a depiction of the mutuality found within the Holy Trinity.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:Matthew 28:16-20
In an era of AI revolutions, the question of authority is once again coming to light. It turns out that when artificial intelligence does not know the answer to something, it does what many humans do — it makes it up; the term “hallucinate” is used at the moment for AI doing this.
The authority of AI is not based upon compassion or well-meaning work, it is too truncated. Even when it is extrapolated from facts, it does not contain the Godspark, the soul, the wish to be kind to the other being even as it is “playing it by ear.” It is the same reason why just making a program for every single school district, or hanging rules on the wall somewhere — even if those rules are from the Bible — do not work. Authority is one thing, teaching compassionately and contextually is another. Therefore the disciples have not only the authority from Jesus, but also teachings, and the compassion to know that Jesus is with them so that they can be caring and compassionate as they go. So although disciples are able to use whatever tools are available to them — be they parchment or AI — discipleship is so much more than a checklist or a set of rules. It is a path to follow, and a group of people to try to build community with.
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Genesis 1:1--2:4a
Rest
On the seventh day, God rested. It was the seventh day for God, but it was the first day for humanity. Before humans did anything, before they earned anything, before they worked or moved or even had names, the first thing God wanted to do with humanity, was to spend time doing nothing. In Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin explains that he is going to do nothing. “How do you do nothing?” asks Pooh, “Well, it's when people call out at you just as you're going off to do it, 'What are you going to do, Christopher Robin?' and you say, 'Oh, Nothing,' and then you go and do it.”
It means just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.“‘Oh!’ said Pooh.” Now God rests after doing a good bit, so our capitalist souls might get confused into thinking that God earned a rest, but does God, the Almighty need to earn a rest? Surely not. And then here are humans, day one of their existence, and God wants them, first and foremost, to learn how to rest. In an era where we need to relearn rest (most of us do not even use our vacation time) this is quite profound. To rest is to be human.
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Psalm 8
Lower Than Angels
There are some people in the world who need to know that they are a little lower than the angels, and there are others, who need their crowns deflated a bit. To cite the most visible, we can look at Jeff Bezos and how he treats Amazon workers, or Laxman Narasimah, who keeps closing Starbucks that unionize, or Netflix that, continuously mistreats it writers.
And yet, the point of this psalm is that you can look at this world and see how beautiful it is and all of the potential there is to work in harmony with it. There are so many people working toward uplifting those who are doing the hard work of understanding the potential of humanity. Lizzo, who won the people’s choice awards, raised up 17 activists who certainly understood what it means that humans are little less than angels.
Another good example is the Queer Eye series, where the Fab 5 look to uplift every single human that they meet as a genuine and beautiful human being of God. One really touching episode features Maryam Henderson-Uloho, who owns a business employing those who have gotten out of prison. In fact, she had gone through that process herself. When human beings look one another in the eye and can see and understand that we are the image of God (and little lower than the angels) and there is no room for ego and condescension, the beauty of God’s creation begins to play out.
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WORSHIPby Katy Stenta
Call to Worship
One: Come from East and West
All: Come to worship the God who welcomes all
One: Come from North and South
All: Come to God, the one who baptizes any who want
One: Come all those who thirst
All: God is here to disciple us, Come let us sit at the feet of God together
OR
One: When God ordered the earth, God created all things
All: And called it good
One: God said let all things be gathered and named
All: And called it good
One: Come let us witness to God’s creation together
All: Come, let us proclaim the Goodness of God together today
OR
One: When I look at the heavens and the stars
All: How majestic is the earth God!
One: When I look at the birds of the air and fish of the sea
All: I cannot help but proclaim how majestic is the name of God
One: Come let us witness to God
All: Come, let’s worship God together today!
Hymns and Songs
Lord, You Give the Great Commission
UMH: 584
H82: 528
PH: 429
GTG: 298
CH: 459
ELW: 579
W&P: 592
Renew: 305
For All the Beauty of the Earth
AMECH: 578
CH: 56:
ELH: 463
ELW: 879
GtG: 14
H: 89
P: 473
UMH: 92, 829
Creator of The Stars of Night
ELW: 245
GtG: 84
P: 4
UMH: 692
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
UMH: 400
H82: 686
PH: 356
AAHH: 175
NNBH: 166
NCH: 459
CH: 16
LBW: 499
ELW: 807
W&P: 68
AMEC: 77
STLT: 126
Change My Heart, O God
CCB: 56
Renew: 143
If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee
UMH: 142
H82: 635
PH: 282
NCH: 410
LBW: 453
ELW: 769
W&P: 429
Music Resources Key
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
GtG: Glory To God Presbyterian Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
LW: Lutheran Worship
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
P: Presbyterian Hymnal
R: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
W&P: Worship & Praise
Prayer of the Day/Collect
God we are mindful of your interweaving in the earth. We are reminded that the Great Commission sends us out into the world, to see and work within it. Help us to see your face in the world as we go about our work we pray. Amen.
Call to Confession
God is here to listen to all of our worries, no matter how big or small. Come let us confess ourselves to the listening ears of God.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that it is easy to wonder what are these humans? We are so fascinated with our power, the fact that we seem to reach for angelic powers or dominion over the earth, and yet forget that our true calling is to love and serve one another. How can we help one another to live in community and peace with one another? Help us when we confuse authority with control, teach us to love and serve we pray. Amen.
OR
God we confess that sometimes the commission you have given us seems too big. Baptize all people? Really and truly? How are we to do this? Remind us that your work is vast, but so too is your call. And that our baptism is sufficient for the work you have set before us. Strengthen and encourage us to do the work that we can, and to let you worry about the greater church. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Prayers of the People
God, we know we are here to love and serve, and so we do so by practicing prayer. For you promise to be particularly present to any and all things that we pray for
God we pray for the world, for all the places we see beauty….
We lift up events of celebration and joy…
We pray for all those in need of healing…
We lift up all the places that are suffering, all the people who need hope…
We lift up places that suffer from violence….
God we lift up particular places that seem to need extra care…
God we pray for all those people and places that need your attention, knowing that you have promised that you will not forget us. We know that you love and care for us, and walk with us in the highs and the lows. We pray that you hold the hands of all those mentioned today, so that they might feel extra connection and care. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONAuthorized by Jesus
by Katy Stenta
Matthew 28:16-20
Jesus gives the disciples a job before he leaves. It’s a teaching job.
The disciples are to teach all the stories that Jesus told.
Do you know some of the stories Jesus taught? (If not have one ready, the Easter one is good.)
Jesus told them that they are to teach and baptize, and anyone who wants to get baptized can get baptized. The disciples are to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Whenever someone is baptized, they get to become a part of the church family.
Where is the water where we baptize people? (If your kids don’t like to answer, just walk over and show them.)
So, the disciples have two jobs, teaching and baptizing. Jesus promises he will be watching and taking care of the disciples, but I bet they feel a little nervous and scared because it’s a new job and they have to do it on their own, without Jesus, for the first time.
Jesus tells them that he has confidence in them and the disciples are ready. He tells them that they have done enough and have the authority to work for Jesus. They have kind of graduated from just learning about Jesus. Now, while they are learning about Jesus they get to teach about him, as well.
Because I’ll tell you a secret (whisper) — you never stop learning about Jesus. (Some kids may want to chime in about graduating, leave space for that)
Let us pray (repeat after me)
Dear God
Thank you
for teaching us
the stories about Jesus
and about
baptism.
Help us
to keep
teaching
one another.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen.
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The Immediate Word, June 4, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
