Parbar Westward

(Matthew 28:18-20) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This Lord’s Day is Trinity Sunday, the Sunday that the historic church of Jesus Christ has set aside to remember and celebrate the triune nature of our God, who is one God and three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

To the extent that the Christian Church has ceased to celebrate this glorious doctrine, she has in like measure forgotten, devalued and even begun to distain the very same. Although evidence of this neglect abounds everywhere, one example will suffice. Directly after the 9/11 attacks, the leaders of our nation convened together in the national cathedral in Washington D.C. for a time of mourning, prayer and solace. This overtly religious ceremony was conducted by a Christian minister, a Jewish rabbi and a Muslim imam. Sadly, a great number of Christians watched this service and welcomed the spectacle as an indication that all religious peoples really do worship the same god after all, even though they do so in significantly different ways.

But the holy scriptures are quite clear to the contrary. To possess the Son is to possess the Father and the Spirit. The three persons of the godhead are conjoined in such a way that, as Jesus put it, “he who rejects the Son, rejects the Father who sent him.”

Realizing our proclivity to forget, we sing the Apostles’ Creed every week in the Lord’s Service, to remind ourselves of God’s triune character and nature. We begin and end our service invoking the name of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit seeking His, and not any other god’s, blessing upon our worship. And when the three names of our one God are thus invoked, we add our heart-felt and hearty “Amen!” as we recall our baptism into this holy community of service, love and fellowship. So…Come let us worship the triune God of Scripture together!