05/31/2026
5/31/26; Holy Trinity Sunday; Series A: Gen.1:1-2:4a; Ps.8; Acts 2:14a, 22-36; Mt.28:16-20;
Grace, mercy, peace to you, from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Today, Holy Trinity Sunday, finds us focusing on exactly that: our 1 God, in 3 Persons = nope, I can’t explain Him either; although the Athanasian Creed we just confessed certainly provides a solid base for us to ponder this God and Lord we serve. This same God and Lord sent His Son to secure our eternal rescue from the already condemned state and condition we were in due to sin. After all, the wages of sin is death and one isn’t even required to put in any overtime in order to earn such wages!
What Matthew’s Gospel details for us here in its concluding chapter is that of Jesus’ 11 Disciples/Apostles, gathered in Galilee there on the un-specified mountain; precisely as they had been directed by Jesus to do. Even as we notice how Mt. tells us they worshiped the Lord when they saw Him yet, some had doubts. Considering all that their last 40 days have involved......for them, up close and personal....should “doubt” really sound out of place?Contemplate how many Good Fridays and Easter mornings we have celebrated - familiar much?
Jesus’ words to the 11 and certainly to all of us gathered here, along with the Lord’s Church of all time and places, should resound in our ears, comfort our souls, calm fears, and instill a great measure of confidence: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Note the “all” and “given” in Jesus’ words, as what Jesus expresses and conveys here encompasses what has been bestowed upon and to Him from the Father. Jesus was granted what He had been told would come to Him as He fulfilled in totality what His Father had prescribed, had willed for Him, as He suffered, died and was raised to life again: Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia.
Jesus, the Son, then returns to His rightful place at the Father’s right hand; a position not a place of isolation, since we know well Jesus’ glorified body is not and will not be held to Man’s perspective nor limitations. Is Jesus on our Altar this morning? Just like He was with us there last Sunday? And every other Christian Altar of those churches who actually believe the Bible, what Jesus tells us here: “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Mt.18:20 Jesus tells His disciples then and now: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Every Divine Service we Invoke - that is, call upon the name of our Triune God and Lord. We do so because we believe, without a doubt, what Jesus has made quite clear in His Word.
Dear Christian, perhaps there have been, or still are, those times of doubt [but some doubted] and uncertainty. As if the life of the faithful doesn’t find us knowing trying times? Recall how Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith, little faith, even “no” faith. And these were the men who walked with, talked with, ate with, and saw firsthand, the miracles of Jesus! So, give yourself a break, repent, then go on.....oh, and in case anyone is wondering, our failures are not exactly unexpected by the one who died to save us! Let us plead: God be merciful to me: the sinner, all while keeping our eye on the prize, our pressing toward the heavenly goal.
It is in Christ’s authority that we function as His Church, therefore we are not required to seek anyone’s “permission” to do what our Lord and Savior has already tasked His people, His Church, with. His Word overrides any and all government authorities, each and every nation’s charter and constitution. People of God, we have been “pre-approved” to serve as Jesus’ ambassadors, His spokesmen. For us to ever seek or request or seek another’s “permission”, to be who the Lord has already described and entails for us.....discounts, even dismisses Jesus’ words here in this incredible passage before us from Mt.28. Besides, if someone has a problem with me proclaiming the Gospel....arrest me.....people in prison need Jesus too! Please come visit me. Even further, the Lord, through His Psalmist states in Psalm 116: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Jesus reminds us in Mt.10:28: “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Our God and Lord is in the forgiveness business, after all, condemnation already belonged to us due to sin. Thus we hear these words from Jesus: “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Those words: “Go therefore” are best heard in the context of: as you go, as one goes, wherever one goes and finds themselves in their daily vocations and routine. And, while it is so novel and sounds so much more enticing to devise these words from our Lord as if all of us should sign up for a mission trip to Brazil or Honduras, perhaps even Asia.....like so many of us could actually undertake such an endeavor - no, do not hear me somehow implying that such mission adventures are off limits....the more fitting question could simply be: does my neighbor across the fence need to hear of Jesus and the salvation He won on the cross for them? I certainly trust that my closing question every Sunday hasn’t become merely some form of catch phrase: Who do you know that needs to know Jesus? Which just so happens to be exactly what our Savior is emphasizing here in these couple verses!
All of us who wear the name of Christ, having been baptized into Christ have the ability and privilege to tell anyone and everyone about what Jesus has accomplished for them, for their salvation. To “make disciples” though is not about a 3 minute conversation and saying the name Jesus 5 times...it is a process, if I can use such language. One of the many things I certainly do cherish and appreciate concerning the LC-MS, is her desire and quest for an educated and prepared laity in what this Church Body is concerned with and values, what we know to be true from the scriptures. I will argue all day and with anyone that our Confessions and Doctrine are as solid as the day is long. That we, although not perfect, are as close to scripture as is humanly possible! If someone has a difficult time believing that, come see me we can help you understand what I am saying. Of course I sound biased and as your Pastor, I certainly better sound that way, hadn’t I?
In order to “make” a disciple, they will certainly be baptized, age being a nonissue in/to/for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Is it safe to say that all of us gathered here have been indeed baptized into the name? Baptized into the Trinity - into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as. It was placed upon us, spoken over us. Yes, that is precisely and exactly what Jesus means here in this passage. Should the name of the Triune God not be involved, invoked, then is not a legitimate baptism as prescribed here by Jesus. Baptism brings one into the kingdom, born into their mother, the Church. Baptism, however, does not indicate that all will always be well, ones going on their way, living happily ever after. We, dear Christian, are a work in progress, we endure, we persevere, at times we fail - even miserably - which is why we are so humbled and appreciative of our God and Lord’s incredible forgiveness, mercy, grace, and patience. As if He doesn’t know us better than we know ourselves?
The Son of God always provides what we were desperately in need of to remain His own. Not that we somehow treat our failures lightly and cheapen what His sacrificial death secured for us, for our eternity! Oh how often have our lives resembled 1 step forward and how many.....steps back? We must persevere and remain ever faithful, we pray with and for each other, we lift each other up, even as we are able to share what we have endured and how the Lord has provided each and every one of us with what we so badly required. Walk in the park is not exactly what we know now - is it? Thank you Lord for giving us each other! Once one is brought into the Lord’s Church, the Church has been charged with instructing them in all our Lord has commanded. Yet, isn’t it interesting then how some seek to discount the Old Testament because it is: Old? Rene’ and I, not so long ago heard an individual, a woman pretending to be a pastor, state that: since the Lord is still speaking there should be a 3rd Testament. As she then proceeded to discount some of the very Words of the Lord as recorded in the New Testament!
Oh, our God and Lord is still speaking alright; only ever and always, in and through His Word. The difficulty being: we will not always be found listening, as our old Adam keeps striving to pursue what he wants to have. It is not just the evil one who keeps asking: did God really say? Our sin nature promotes and advances that question on a regular basis! Thus the ongoing necessity to teach and even that is not just some sort of head knowledge; notice that it is teach AND observe. Ours is that of a life of repentance and the ever present need to learn and grow in knowledge as well as and especially so in our faith. To be ever vigilant, watchful, and alert; as 1 Pt.5:8 details: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
We, as the Community of Saints, in this incredible location known as Faith Lutheran Church; are ever to be found holding fast to and declaring the eternal truths of what scripture reveals, the Holy Spirit making our minds capable of understanding the Word. That same Spirit within our very souls, since Baptism, ponder that for a moment; the Spirit, God Himself, within us - dare we say - even putting up with us? As the Spirit equips us, enables us, to seek after, to strive for, what is good, right, and proper, for the Light of Christ to shine in us and through us; for if we, the Lord’s people are not illuminating this ever darker world, who will?
We celebrate and bask in what we have been given freely and abundantly by our Triune God and Lord yet, to ever consider only hoarding it merely for ourselves....severely misses the point, doesn’t it? Didn’t somebody, somewhere, speak to you about Jesus? All of us have been brought along the way to the point where our faith is right now at this very moment. People of God, let us never drop our guard or presume we’ve got this, for if we ever do....is precisely what the enemy seeks of and from us.
Dear Christian, it is our privilege and joy to wear the name of our Triune God, as those who have been marked with the sign of the cross, both upon our forehead and upon our heart. Being redeemed by the one who died and rose again to save us from what each and every one of us deserved. Through our Baptism we were snatched from the jaws of the evil one, rescued from an eternity in hell. What Christ accomplished for us He accomplished for one and all. We dare not sit back as if casualties and/or collateral damage are no big deal! Who do you know that needs to know Jesus? O Lord save us, Amen? Amen. In the name of + Jesus, Amen.
