Reflections on the Gospel Reading for Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014

Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."

Reflections: Jesus’ parting words here are used in the baptism rite and frequently invoked as a closing in our prayers. By invoking the name of the Holy Trinity, we place ourselves and our concerns in the heart of a Mystery that is awe-some in the original sense of the word, “inspiring awe.” God is both intimately close and majestically transcendent. And we are witnesses to this infinite Mystery, which can always more deeply explored, but never fully grasped. 

Gospel Reading for Pentecost   June 8, 2014

John 20:19-23

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Reflections: This year I am particularly struck by Christ’s words, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Once again, the assumption that “holy” work is the domain of the clergy. There is nothing more holy than granting forgiveness, but Christ places this great power into our hands. What is our work in the world?