Trinity Sunday

I want you to imagine the year the disciples are having, centered on this moment. Six months prior to this encounter with the Resurrected Jesus on top of a mountain in Galilee, they were wandering around Galilee teaching and healing and praying with people. Six months prior, they had no idea what was going to happen to them and to Jesus and to their world. Weeks of increasing tension with the religious authorities, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, betrayal, abandonment of Jesus, crucifixion, and death and their frustrating despair - they are reeling - and then resurrection, Jesus returns looking different - what happened?? - then the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and now here they are seeing Jesus on top of a mountain top near where things started, not knowing what is to come, but knowing that the next six months are also going to bring huge changes in their lives. I imagine there were a large number of different emotions swirling around for those disciples on that mountaintop. Confusing, relief, anger, desire, doubt, joy. Yet, Jesus is clear and focused: Go. Baptize. Make disciples. I will be with you.

In comparison to the disciples' year, let's think about our year. Here we sit, apart and together in community. Six months ago, we had no idea what this new year was going to bring. We were at the beginning of some new projects we hoped to do this year. And then, virus, shutdowns, hope for something short, denial and slow realization that this is changing everything. Rising tensions, frustrations, people recognizing the wide disparity between different groups of people. Racial, economic, rural vs. urban, we have been split apart. We wanted to all come back together for Easter, then for Pentecost, and we are still waiting. Now here we are, not on any mountaintop, really probably in the valley of shadow... but we can turn towards the light of Jesus. As a light, Jesus is pretty much always clear and focused. Love God. Love your neighbor. Go. Baptize. Make disciples. I will be with you.

We have no idea what the next six months will bring us. Like those disciples long ago, we are on a journey we cannot predict. A journey of transition and change, and yes, I know, we are Episcopalians. We don't like transition and change. Yet, Jesus is walking this journey with us. Knowing Jesus, I believe this journey will take us far beyond our imaginations. In both good and bad ways. Our journey through the valley of shadow may not be over. But I know you cannot have shadow without light and I know who the light is: Jesus. Jesus tells us he will walk the way with us.

We have been called and sent on this journey. And for the next six months, for the season after Pentecost, from June to November, we are going to work on our discipleship. We are going to look at what it means to be a disciple and we are going to walk the journey with doubt, with truth, with honesty, with love, with fear, with grace and mercy and hope, knowing that Jesus has promised God will be with us. We can count on it.

We are going to start our journey of discipleship with a very short admission from Matthew's Gospel passage, "but some doubted." 

I don't know why Matthew acknowledges that even some of the eleven disciples, on top of the mountain, seeing the resurrected Jesus, doubted.

But it is a fabulous place to start to talk about discipleship.

Because discipleship is all about being a follower, a student of Jesus, 

and being a follower of Jesus means you believe in Jesus,

and if you believe in Jesus, you believe in the Triune God Jesus represents on earth. 

The whole amazing Trinity. 

The ancient priests designed the catechism, the curriculum to teach new believers, all around the Trinity. In order to know and understand Jesus and what Jesus was doing, you had to know and recognize the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The first catechism, the first teaching curriculum of the church, was the Apostle's Creed. Broken into three parts, one for each person of the Trinity. 

Each section of the creed starts with, "I believe..." 

I believe...

and yet, some doubted.

Belief always starts with doubt. 

The first doubt on the journey to believing in Jesus and Jesus' Good News 

is doubt in the world.

Perhaps this world doesn't hold all the answers, perhaps we humans don't have everything figured out.

And after the last few weeks, I hope all of you doubt the perfection of the world!

Right now, we have lots of doubts about the world. Will it be safe to go do things out in public? Are we treating everyone with dignity and equality? Do we have what we need to move forward?

The world offers no answers. 

Jesus offers us his hand. I will be with you. 

Perhaps we even doubt Jesus in the face of all the violence and hate in the world.

Yet, we know all the disciples did go forth from that mountain top and into the world

proclaiming Jesus, baptizing people, and making disciples. 

Even the ones who doubted. 

Because their doubt did not stop Jesus from sticking with them. 

Since Jesus stuck with them, through all the hard times and travels, they did believe.

They walked the path they couldn't see or imagine,

they followed Jesus' teachings, and his presence, his guidance, his hand

helped them to believe. 

So let us all proclaim together our belief, in the midst of all our doubts.

(Amen.)