We
hear today from the end of Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus tells his apostles to
"make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
This is the only place in the Gospels that we hear this expression. And yet, we still use this today for baptism
and when we make the sign of the cross.
It is at the very core of our Catholic faith and we celebrate this today
at the solemn feast of the Holy Trinity.
Matthew
tells us that when the eleven disciples saw the resurrected Jesus, they
worshiped but they doubted. I'll bet
that Jesus would say the same thing about many of us today, we worship but we
doubt. We are here for Sunday mass because
we were drawn by the Holy Spirit and maybe came out of habit. But, we may be confused about some things that
the Church teaches.
It's
OK to doubt. All of us are searching;
all of us are on the journey; and no one, including yours truly, has it all
figured out. And some things, like the
trinity, we just have to accept on
faith.
Jesus
gives us direction and reassurance in today's short Gospel. These were some of His last words to the
apostles before he ascended into heaven.
So, they are very important.
He
said: "All power in heaven and on
earth has been given to me." If
there were any doubt that Jesus was God before rising from the dead, there
couldn't be any more. He is all
powerful. We cannot even imagine how
powerful he is. Our human minds cannot
grasp his power.
Then,
Jesus gave them their mission. He says: "Go
and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
This is the same mission that he gives to all of us. And the tells them and us to "Teach them
to observe all that I have commanded you."
So we aren't meant to do our own thing, but are to follow Jesus and to
keep his commandments. And we are to teach others his commandments by our words
and our actions.
Finally,
Jesus gives them the promise that "I will be with you always, until the
end of the age." Shortly after
Jesus makes this promise, he ascends into heaven. I would expect that they were very confused
by this. How could Jesus tell them that
he would be with them until the end of time and then leave them? It is no wonder that they were fearful when
the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. At
Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came on them as tongues of fire, it all became
clear. Jesus was with them through the
Holy Spirit who will give them courage and wisdom. He was with them through the Eucharist. He was with them through His Church. That day they would baptize 3000 and would
teach the mystery of Christ's life, death, and resurrection to everyone.
Thru
baptism, we inherit Christ's promise to be with us until the end of time. He is with us through the other sacraments
which strengthen and sustain us during our earthly journey.
The
apostles understood the trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as well as their
minds could understand it. The apostles
were committed to the mission that he gave them to make disciples of all
nations. They were unafraid and they
were even willing to die in their missionary efforts.
What
about us? Have we embraced this
mission? Have we talked about Jesus to
our family and friends? Do we even make
the sign of the cross when we eat in public places? If not, why not?
If
we find that we're still worshiping but doubting, we need to address our
doubts. Talk to a priest or a deacon
about your doubts. I'm sure that they
will have heard them before.
Our
Church teaching is a blessing to us, not a burden. After all, it comes from Jesus through the
Holy Spirit. Through it, we are meant to
build his kingdom on earth and to follow him to his heavenly kingdom. To better understand this teaching, refer to
the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Go
to a good Catholic web site to learn more.
Formed.org has lots of good programs, videos, and audio tracks to help us
learn our faith. Come to a parish faith
formation program. You will find others
on the same journey, maybe a few steps ahead or behind you. We are all seeking the truth. Fortunately, in our Catholic Church, we have
the fullness of truth. When you begin
this journey to truth, you will find, as I have, that the more you learn about
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the more you will realize that you don't know,
and you will yearn to learn more.
God
bless
