The Holy Trinity
The Holy Trinity
Matthew 28:16-20
May 30, 1999
Psalm 135 begins with the words, “Hallelu Yah” which, translates to “Praise the Lord.” The Psalmist continues to tell us who should “Hallelu Yah.” “Praise him, you servants of the Lord.” “Praise him, you who minister in the house of the Lord.” “You who fear him, praise the Lord.” Obviously, the Psalm is a call to praise the one true God, the Lord, “Yah.”
Praising the Lord is not necessarily what we might think it is, however. This point cannot be overstressed. God is not praised just because we say so. Consider the Pantheon in Rome. Its magnificent circular structure was built in 27 B.C. Its purpose after being completely reconstructed about 120 A.D. by Emperor Hadrian was to unite the conquered peoples of the empire by providing a central place for all their gods. When Christians were offered a niche for a statue of Jesus, they replied, “Never! Jesus cannot stand beside gods that are not true gods.” Now, the point I want to make is this. It would have seemed to be honoring to have placed a statue of Jesus where other gods were honored. Those early Christians might have done so if they had not understood what :”Hallelu Yah” actually meant. If they had allowed a statue of Jesus to be placed with the others, it would have dishonored the only true God by casting him as one among many. Pantheon, you see means “All Gods.”
A similar thing happens in our own culture and time. Only now things have changed so that it is vogue among some to portray Jesus as one of many ways to God’s glory and heaven. For example, placing the bible on an altar with religious books of other religions does not “Hallelu Yah.” In fact it demotes him as just one of many just like it would have been in the Pantheon. When the truth of God is mixed with what is not true, then truth becomes perverse and raped of its power.
The Gospel lesson today teaches us the truth of God in very plain language. That truth all resides in Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son of God. It is interesting to note that in 609 A.D. the pantheon became a Christian church. A visitor to it made particular note that all of the niches where statues to the gods had been were now empty with one exception. A statue of Jesus Christ stood solitarily in one of the niches. It seems obvious from that, and our Gospel lesson that Jesus cannot be adopted by other gods; he wants all nations of the world to be his disciples.
To that end, Jesus, whose authority in heaven and on earth is full and complete, appoints a place to “Hallelu Yah,” Praise the Lord. Verse 16 says, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.” Being a former military man, I often take note of the military terms that are used in Scripture. In this verse we have one. The Greek word is etaxato. It means “to place in a certain order, to arrange, to assign a place, to appoint.” It’s the same word that is used in Ephesians 5:21, “submit to one another, out of reverence for Christ.” In order to “Hallelu Yah,” that is, Praise the Lord,” the eleven disciples went to the place Jesus had assigned them to go.
Now the point of this whole thing is this. Jesus has assigned a place for us to go. In fact, it is to the whole Christian Church that Jesus speaks through the eleven disciples. Remember Judas, one of the twelve, had already committed suicide, so he is not present. Listen now to Jesus’ words: “Go and make disciples.” That is our place and the way that the Christian Church is to “Hallelu Yah,” make disciples.
A disciple is not just a member of some organization or church. A disciple is a lifelong student of their leader. The disciples of Jesus are people who are undergoing a learning process from Him. So how is it that we are to make disciples? The following words of Jesus are clear, “by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” If we want to “Hallelu Yah,” Praise the Lord, we must be about our heavenly Father’s business of making disciples.
Now, as we all sit here and say, “Hallelu Yah,” we must ask ourselves are we about the heavenly Father’s business? I don’t know for sure about you, but this thought makes me a little uncomfortable. It seems so easy to forget, deny, turn away, and honor things other than the one true God. It comes naturally to us to ignore what we are really all about and focus on the mundane, earthbound, things of everyday living. So how? Where? Do we find strength to go to our appointed place of making disciples of all people? This we cannot do under our own prerogative or power. And we don’t have to. Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
You see, Jesus can always be counted on to be about his father’s business. Wherever the name of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit is taught and honored, there he is. That is the appointed place for us. Jesus also told his disciples, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.”
The name of Jesus is forever bound as God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. They are inseparable, yet each one personal. What a marvelous mystery God has set before us. Yet, to know the Son is to know the Father, and to know the Father is the work of the Holy Spirit who teaches us all these things from the words of the apostles. This is why the apostle John teaches “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” The point is this, when Jesus is with us, God is with us, and when God is with us, we baptize and teach in his name according to his word of truth. Thus it is that we “Hallelu Yah.” Praise the Lord.
In this regard, God is opening up another door of opportunity for us here at St. Paul’s Hale MI. There is interest in having a mid-week school for our children to come and learn of God. There is even some interest in having an expanded mid-week school that will offer lessons from first grade all the way through adults. To do this, as I believe God is calling us to do, will obviously take additional resources for study materials and crafts. The board of elders has proposed that we establish a new fund for education that will help finance this endeavor. My friends, this is what Jesus is all about. This is what he wants us to do. He wants us to baptize and teach. And this is the place he has given us to “Hallelu Yah.” In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.