Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

In the Gospel of Matthew, this is the first time the disciples are all together after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

They reunite with Jesus on a mountaintop—a traditional place to encounter God, whether Moses receiving the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai or Elijah on a mountain hearing God in a still, small voice, instead of in wind, or earthquake, or fire.

And so, they worship Jesus there on the mountain.

Still, some doubted—or it can also be read without the “some”: “When they saw him, they worshiped him, but they doubted.”[1] Worship and doubt can happen at the same time.

It’s understandable that they would have their doubts. Jesus was dead, and now he’s standing there in front of them. That would be unsettling, at best. What are they supposed to do with this shocking new piece of information?

Jesus tells them to, “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.”

I have some doubts of my own about how these verses have been interpreted over the years, and I hope you do, too.

The Great Commission, as this verse has come to be known, led the tiny movement of Jesus followers to be brave and share their stories of Jesus with those around them, despite active persecution from the Roman Empire.

But then Christianity was adopted by Constantine and became a religion not persecuted by an empire but enforced by one.

Jesus’ exhortation to make disciples of all nations hasbeen used since then to justify Christian supremacy, manifest destiny, colonialism, violence, and even genocide.

If we understand these verses as a divine mandate for us to “convert” and baptize everyone in the world, then other religions, cultures, and understandings are a roadblock to this mission from above.

“Convert or else” has often been the church’s strategy, especially when Christianity has become intertwined with government.

Funny thing: coercing one’s neighbors is not the same thing as loving them.

So, how can we look at the Great Commission differently?

If we look just at verse 19, it sounds like a to-do list: “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.”

But if we look at what comes before and after, we see that it’s more of a mission statement, way to orient the disciples when their relationship with Jesus has changed: Jesus has risen from the dead, and he won’t be with his disciples physically in the way he had been. His students needed to move forward without his constant guidance.

So, first he reassures his doubting disciples that he is trustworthy.When Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” it could sound arrogant or even threatening, but if we remember that he is their teacher, it sounds more like, “Remember, you can trust me. You’re ready to do what I’m about to tell you to do. I wouldn’t ask you to do anything you weren’t prepared for.”

And after he gives them instructions, he reminds them that he is still with them and always will be: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He reminds them that not only are they ready for this, they are not alone.

And that’s how the Gospel of Matthew ends.

It ends with Jesus reminding the disciples that he is trustworthy, that they are ready to continue Jesus’ work in the world, and that they are not alone.

And when we look at the Great Commission in verse 19 itself, remember that Jesus was talking to fearful, doubting disciples whose world had just been turned upside down.

This is the mission statement he gives them: “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.”

Basically, he’s instructing them to invite more people into the way of life he’s been teaching his disciples for the past three years. Discipleship, baptism, and teaching the way of life of Jesus is all about relationship. It’s about being in relationship with God, with each other, and with the world around them in a way that is loving and abundant.

That’s a far cry from “convert or else.”

When it comes down to it, our God is not about a to-do list. God is about relationship.

Today is Holy Trinity Sunday, when we meditate on the mystery of the Trinity: that God is one and God is three. It’s something that people have spent their whole lives writing volumes about, and it’s something that we humans will never fully understand.

When it comes to spiritual mysteries, I think we often get closer to the truth when we get out of the academic or intellectual realm and into the artistic realm.

We could spend the rest of the day trying to unpack the intricacies of the Trinity, but I think our time is better spent exploring a piece of art.

There’s an icon from 15th-century Russia by Andrei Rublev—you may already be familiar with it. It’s an icon both of the Trinity and of the three angels that Abraham and Sarah showed hospitality to in the book of Genesis, which we read about in our first reading.

The three angels/Persons of the Trinity are seated around a table, and you can imagine a lively conversation between them, the way their heads are tilted toward each other. Your eyes bounce around the table, not resting on any one figure for too long. Something akin to King Arthur’s legendary round table, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of hierarchy between the three—their heads are fairly level.

I was introduced to this icon in the book The Divine Dance by Richard Rohr. He talks about the Trinity as being a divine dance and uses this icon to illustrate that relationship. It’s an ever-moving, creative relationship within our amazing Triune God.

The really cool thing about this icon is that, though you can’t see it, there is a little bit of glue at the bottom of the table. Apparently there used to be a little mirror attached there, which means that whoever was looking at the icon was written into it. When we look at this icon, we become part of this relationship, this divine dance.

Our mysterious One and Three God is about relationship: relationship within Godself and relationship with us and relationship with the whole world.

And that’s what the Great Commission is about, too. It’s not about splashing water on every person on this planet so that we can say they’ve been baptized.

It’s about building relationships with the people around us so that we love each other better and imitate the divine dance of God.

Our Triune God, who is trustworthy and who is with us always, set the dance in motion. Let’s have so much fun dancing that others want to join in.

Go, therefore, and dance.

[1] NRSVUE