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Trinity Sunday, May 22, 2005
Genesis 1:1-2:3, II Corinthians 13:5-13, Matthew 28:16-20
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, West Valley City, UT

When I was growing up we had a recording of Holy, Holy, Holy by Mahalia Jackson. It was wonderful! Her very being gave voice to the Trinitarian mystery wrapped in a soulful gospel hymn. Now, you all are fine singers, but you just dont compare to her!

We heard today the beginning of our story, our story with God. In the beginning when God created With simple eloquence we move through the stages, the evolution, of creation ending with the creation of humankind. Gods very voice giving life and substance to the formless void and darkness. God formed the earth and made us keepers of the chaos, co-creators. If you listen you can hear Gods benediction over each day, each phase, of creation. God calls it good. Then at the end, as God surveys all that has come into being, God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.

What a blessing upon this world. Not only are we and all that we experience created by the power of the Divine Will, but God calls it all very good. But then you know the rest of the story: Gods crowning achievement, humankind, is not satisfied with Gods bounteous gifts and we want more. We have in scripture the recitation of our life with God and Gods life with us, with all of its ups and downs. It is messy and poignant, poetic and boring, and filled with Gods yearning for the creation that from the beginning he called very good.

As in any good story the climax comes toward the end of the book: the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of God. In our Gospel reading we have Matthews version of the final scenes of Jesus earthly ministry, what we refer to as the Ascension.

This small group of friends has been through much. The community has been tested and is now broken, it is incomplete. Eleven friends go to meet Jesus in Galilee, not the twelve he had chosen. As in the beginning, human frailty has broken the circle of fellowship. It is an incomplete and unsteady gathering.

I find Matthew absolutely amazing in his account. After all they had been through and seen and heard and lived, When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Some doubted! An alternate reading is some hesitated. Oh, the humanness of these men; the very real nature of this band of chosen disciples. Why the hesitation or doubt is never explained. It is left there hanging, hanging as a sign of hope for us. It is OK to hesitate, to even doubt. Some of the chosen disciples did so at the very moment of the Ascension.

I see this glimpse of their faith as a preview of what will become the church. Even as we gather to worship we carry with us our own hesitations and our doubts. And even with those very human limitations, Christs words ring true for us as they did for the eleven: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. It is less about our faith in Jesus as his faith in us, faith in us despite our doubts and hesitations, to continue to share the good news of grace and glory, mercy and love.

We have traditionally, as Episcopalians/Anglicans, allowed one another the grace of space in our beliefs. We have not mandated a set of doctrines or dogmas. Instead we have offered a set of common prayers for us to use together. We have held the two ancient creeds to be a sufficient summary of our faith, without additions, explanations or footnotes. Simply, We believe.

Each of us are in a different place in our spiritual journey and beliefs. Some believe what we hear and read in church as data or information, while others believe them as symbols pointing to a greater mystery. Some wonder. Some hesitate. Some doubt. That is the Anglican way. We are not a confessional church, one that requires you to adhere to a specific set or confession of doctrines. We are a worshipping church using common prayers for each of us to say in our own way, our own language as it were, with our own faith intact. We believe that the Holy Spirit will continue to sustain and guide us, even in our doubts and hesitations, as we live our life of common prayer. We believe as much in Gods faith in us as our faith in God.

No matter who you are or where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome. Welcome to sing with us and pray with us. Welcome to share our fellowship of the bread and wine of the Lords Supper and the coffee and treats of the community. You are welcome here with your doubts and hesitations, your questions and your concerns. We welcome the whole person, not just your religious side, but the whole person. You do not have to leave any part of you at the door when you come inside. You are welcome just as you are. That is the authentic Anglican way.