Good morning, Trinity family!
I am so excited to welcome Easton and Charlotte into the body of Christ this morning! As I met with their parents Matt and Kelsey and Rachael and Connor to prepare for today, we talked about their deepest desires for their children. They shared things like: happiness, strength of faith and morals, belief in themselves, a sense of unbounded possibility, love for themselves, agency and freedom to make their own decisions in life, a rich breadth of learning and experiences, a loving and supportive home and family.
Through baptism, this Trinity community joins in supporting Rachael, Connor, Kelsey, and Matt as they, with God’s help, raise Easton and Charlotte to love God and all creation. And speaking of baptism and water...
Water, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, saturates our scripture readings this morning. Waters are the formless void, the source of all life and potential, over which the breath of God sweeps in the beginning of Creation, forming light and dark, water above and water below. Separated from the dry land, water covers 70% of the earth’s surface. , Water is a vital component to vegetation and trees, to fish in the sea, birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth. Water is necessary for growing every kind of food, and it makes up 60% of the human body. By God’s gift and grace, we have life and the ability to sustain ourselves.
Formed from the same water molecules and the same breath of God, we are inextricably part of God, part of one another, and part of all creation. In our created-ness, we are more alike than different. Every one of us desires to know that we matter as individuals, that we have dignity. That our uniqueness is a delight. That our story matters. And to know and be known, completely accepted and loved, in relationship with one another.
One on a cellular, spiritual level, we are responsible to and for one another. No one of us acts or lives in a vacuum. Part of being one Body in Christ is acknowledging and living into our love for God by delighting in one another and all creation, being good stewards of the people and relationships in our lives.
Each of us has a necessary place in the universe because God wills us to be, beautiful and beloved as we are. AND God is, holy and true: one with me and one with you, one with the cosmos, and one with God’s own self. This is the nature, mystery, and gift of Trinity.
Our hubris attempts to comprehend or explain the Trinity. And we fail every time. God is quite simply more than our finite human brains will ever be able to contain or fully describe with language. Mystery is a necessary and wonderful dimension of Trinity. And so, we return to water, which we can touch, and the Holy Spirit who is with us still.
In the gospel reading today, the very last 5 verses of Matthew, where Jesus says, “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. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Matthew begins chapter 1 with family, as he traces 52 generations from Abraham to Joseph and Mary. Then Matthew tells the story of Jesus' birth, his life and how he taught his disciples, his death and resurrection. This last scene follows immediately after the resurrection, drawing all the pieces of Matthew’s gospel together and inviting us into the story.
Up on the mountain, in Galilee where the disciples were first called, they meet him again for the first time after the resurrection. Jesus gives his followers instructions for how to continue the lineage of God’s Word in the world. How to create the family of God for generation after generation. Call upon the Spirit of creation, the God of all things, the Son who came as an example and baptize new generations with water. Teach them, by love and encouragement, by showing up and being vulnerable, by worship and service, to love one another and the world. With the same mystery and confidence of abiding love that Jesus knew with the Father and the Spirit.
This is the gift we have, and the gift we bring. Trinity.
Indelible relationship with God and with all the creation. As Jesus is with God and with us. As the Spirit hovers, spins, gusts between and among us.
We need not understand or be able to explain every movement of the Trinity, OR how God’s Spirit moves our hearts and minds to love, to curiosity, to care for one another and our creation, to just be ourselves.
God is with us. As we learn to live and thrive in our relationships. As we learn how to lay down our pretenses and coping mechanisms, and simply be real. With ourselves and with one another. As we lean into honesty and vulnerability - the most courageous, imperfect, and lovable parts of our humanity. As we come alongside our children, our parents, our friends, strangers and neighbors, together seeking the way to live and thrive in this one, precious life we have been given.
Rachael and Connor, Matt and Kelsey, knit together by the Spirit of God that hovers over creation, we join you in desiring full, loving, and faithful lives for Charlotte and Easton. When our baptism service asks, “Will you do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?” We reply, with enthusiasm, “WE WILL!” because we are all one family. Adults, teens, children, elders in a huge, beautiful, interconnected, diverse, wonderful family that reflects the beauty of God’s creation.
Let’s baptize these precious children!
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