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Advent Around the World
We invite you to worship with us each Wednesday, beginning November 30 at 11:00 a.m. (CST) Read More
ELAINE EBERHART | Read Matthew 28:16-20
The risen Jesus promised the members of his community that he would be with them always. He would be with them when their mission met resistance. They would know his pres- ence when they were afraid. He would embolden them with his authority as they pronounced good news and the coming of God’s reign.
To see their beloved teacher alive again after the cruci xion must have been exhilarating and comforting. Maybe it even seemed too good to be true. Is the too-good-to-be-true part in the minds of those who doubted? And do they have a change of heart after Jesus challenges them to continue his mission and promises his presence with them always?
I will admit that I might have been among the doubters on that day, and I do not think that I would have been alone. Many of us waver between doubt and belief, between assurance and a deep longing for assurance. Someone we love may be sick or dying, or we may be grieving a relationship that has ended. At other times doubt arises from the routine, when worship ser- vices begin to run together, and we have lost sight of the new thing that God is doing in our midst.
When we nd ourselves in a season of doubt, someone assures us of God’s nearness. Someone bears witness to the Spirit. Someone exchanges the peace of Christ with us in a way that reminds of us the love from which nothing can separate us. Someone hands us the bread and cup with the promise that through a holy mystery, God is present and available.
Jesus gives “authority” to all who gather that day: the stead- fast and those who doubt. That authority comes from the One who possesses all authority.
Thank God for the witness of others when it is dif cult for you to believe.
Trinity Sunday is an appropriate time for the church to reflect on the dynamic tension between what we know of God and our attempts to formulate and articulate what we know. The Genesis text demonstrates that the God of Israel, the creator of heaven and earth, is unlike other gods and must be served and worshiped exclusively. The psalm asserts the same power of God but is more explicit about the implications for human life of God’s governance. The Gospel reading re ects on the gift of God’s presence in the church, a presence marked by moral expectation and demand, as well as assurance. The epistle reading voices the strange convergence of God’s authority and God’s remarkable grace known through the presence of Christ.
• Read Genesis 1:1–2:4a. God takes a break. When do you allow yourself to step away from the busyness of the world for some much-needed sabbath time?
• Read Psalm 8. This song of praise exalts the order and majesty of creation. We, like the psalmist, ask, “God, why do you care for humankind?” How do you respond?
• Read 2 Corinthians 13:11-13. What ways can you envision yourself acting to calm disagreements and tension within your church community?
• Read Matthew 28:16-20. Jesus gives his disciples clear instructions: Go, make disciples, baptize, teach. How is your discipleship evident in your “going”?
Respond by posting a prayer.
This season, Whitney R. Simpson has given us the gift we must open: a clear, accessible invitation to connect with the divine spark that is within us. This is the best present: being present for Jesus’ birth, God made human.”
Learn more about our newest Advent resource, Fully Human, Fully Divine here.
