This group of 11 students had come a long way since their education began during those first days near the Sea of Galilee. They had listened to the Master Teacher, and learned their lessons well enough to earn passing grades. They had come through harsh tests together, endured hardships and scoldings, witnessed miracles and shared meals with otherwise undesirable people. Through their three years of education, their lives had been changed, for the better in most cases. Now, they were facing one of those significant transition points in life: graduation.
Like so many of our launching-into-the-future stages and passages in life, this one was surrounded with a sense of awe and mystery. There was something sacred about these proceedings. However, beneath the surface smiles and expressions of respect, "some doubted." That is what Matthew reports almost parenthetically, but at least with a great deal of honesty. "Some doubted!" Under the circumstances, that commentary on the state of their hearts and souls is not surprising. "Some doubted!" Sure they would! They probably doubted that they could make it on their own; doubted that they were up to the task; doubted that their tight-knit group would even stay together now that their leader was apparently taking his leave.
That kind of feeling is not uncommon. You have been anticipating the arrival of that special moment, that singular event when your life will take on a different character, a different goal, a different setting. You are to be on your own, making decisions for yourself, doing as you please, when you please. You are about to leave those comfortable, familiar surroundings with their protective environment. Yet, for all the excitement and enthusiasm of the moment, there is a bit of doubt in the back of your mind. Is this what I really want? What now?
Breaking the silence of their reflections and doubts, Jesus speaks the word. "Go," he instructs. And if you listen carefully, it sounds as if Jesus is conferring a degree, or a diploma, or awarding a certificate to the graduates. "By the authority vested in me by the Eternal God, I now confer upon you the title, disciple, and all the accompanying rights, privileges and honors as may be associated with such title." Now they have no choice. They are on their own.
The fact that someone receives a diploma or certificate generally indicates that the person has achieved a certain level of knowledge. The piece of paper, the ink from the calligrapher's pen still wet, conveys the notion that they have mastered the material, and are properly prepared to move to the next step of their life's journey. On the hillside that day, those disciples were pushed out of the nest and into the world, armed only with their memories and their freshly granted diploma.
I recall the evening of my first "graduation" experience, and the mixed emotions I felt as I returned to the classroom where the class was to leave our caps and gowns. The tassel had been moved, the name called, the diploma received, and now the moment I thought would never arrive had come and gone. The classroom where I left my commencement paraphernalia was the room I had learned the rules for conjugating Latin verbs and the formulas for constructing sentences and writing creative papers. Next door was the room where formulas for solving complex algebraic problems had been taught. Across the hall was the lab where chemical formulas had been tested, some with only moderate success. I remember the thought which ran through my mind on that evening: "No more formulas!" I had survived that world of memorization and application of formulas for those classes, but now I was headed for real life, where those formulas would no longer be needed. I thought!
Like those first disciples, about to experience a new journey, I soon learned that I needed more than a piece of paper which indicated I had finished a prescribed course of study, and had learned all my formulas. I needed more than knowledge, more than the "book learning," as those of another time and place would have called it. For the way life is, I soon discovered that I needed yet another formula, which would provide insight and direction for living, and which would in some way keep me moving on my journey through life. I needed a formula for life.
Our text highlights such a formula. It is one which is implied throughout the scriptures, but which is never quite precisely spelled out for us. It is present in this text, but if we are not careful, we will rush right past it. In theological "lingo" it is called the "Trinitarian formula." In this closing paragraph of Matthew's gospel it is spelled, "Father, Son and Holy Spirit." For all the words of authority and challenge, for the assignment of the mission to this first graduating class of disciples, and for the task that looms before them and us, this formula becomes more than a doctrine of the faith. It is an experience, a revelation. It is an insight into what is ultimately needed for our living in these days.
Unfortunately, about the only time we hear the formula is in connection with the baptismal ritual, or in the marriage service, or as a benediction to close another service of worship. More often than not, the only time we get excited about it much is in discussions focusing on whether and in what way we can be gender inclusive and gender-sensitive in our Trinitarian language. While we may generate important dialogues on the appropriate speech for our faith-expression, if that is the only time we mention the doctrine, we may be missing one of the core truths imbedded in this formula. The Trinity says as much about who we are and what we need, as it does about who God is, the way God is in the world, and how God is encountered in the midst of life.
Just as a baby's formula provides the necessary nutrients, vitamins and calories for energy and growth, so this formula provides for the inner nourishment and spirit-needs of our souls. Even as you can break down a compound into its elemental parts, discover what ingredients are present, and in what proportion they are to be found, so the three "parts" of our formula can be taken out, looked at, talked about and discussed. However, just as a compound ceases to be a compound unless all the parts are appropriately present and interacting, so our formula cannot be fully understood and experienced without discerning their inner-connectedness. At the same time, we lose the distinctiveness of our Christian faith, if we emphasize one over the other two. If we totally neglect one, we destroy part of the whole. Here, then, is our formula for life, with its three interrelated "persons" making up the "Holy Trinity."
I
The first part of the formula begins, appropriately enough, at the beginning -- God, the Father: the Creator, the One who creates life. Behind all of the created order stands God, who shaped and brought the world into being, endowing it with goodness and with all things necessary for life. The witness of the scriptures is simply that at the beginning of time, there was God. There are endless scientific calculations about the chances of all the necessary components being in the right place at the precise time for creation to occur with a "bang." Such a random and haphazard assembly seems astronomically impossible. However, we proclaim with the first ingredient of our formula that "in the beginning, God… (Genesis 1:1a)."
We, then, have been created by that same divine energy which was at the beginning of the universe, and will be at the close of time. That profound acknowledgment means that there is purpose to all of this, there is purpose for our lives. We have not been created, nor have we come into existence, simply to hang around the earth for a few decades; nor are we dust in the wind to be blown according to the directions of the gusts; nor are we, to paraphrase one of William Shakespeare's characters, players who strut and fret our lives away on this stage. That the Creator God has given life makes each one of us valuable players in God's created order. What I need to hear and know is that I am somebody! I am important! I have a role to play in the vast order of creation. My time and my life are not wasted efforts of survival, but rather invitations to live toward and in relationship to the Creator.
II
The second element of our formula reminds us that this Creator God is not some distant, remote or aloof being, with no concern for what happens to creation -- God, the Son: the Redeemer, the one who loves us and blesses life by becoming like us.
There may be no greater need, nor desire in our hearts than that of being loved. It is a quest which occupies much of our time and energy throughout our lives. It is a quest which seems to be more and more elusive in these days. If you listen to much of the music that fills the airwaves, this is the overwhelmingly consistent theme: the longing for love among all ages, across all cultural boundaries.
The gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ are filled with stories of his amazing love. It was a love which reached out to touch other lives and to reclaim them in love. His was a love which turned those lives from destructive ways of living and relating to whole and constructive styles of life. Do you remember the man whose possessions blinded him to truth; the woman caught in adultery; the fraudulent businessman; the thirsty Samaritan woman? Jesus loved them all. And in loving them, offered new life connected with the Creator God of grace and forgiveness. This is a key component of our formula, that brings with it the assurance that we are loved and forgiven; that we are offered new possibilities in our living.
III
But our formula is not complete without its third element: God, the Spirit. The sustainer God is the One who continues to grace our lives with divine presence in all circumstances, for all times. When Jesus gave those disciples their diplomas and sent them on their way, he did not follow the presentation with a common parting cry: "Good luck; hope to see you again!" Rather, he included with his parting word the promise: "I will be with you, until the end of all time."
One of the most successful motion pictures in history was one which was released just two Christmases ago: Home Alone. This picture provided a delightful evening of entertainment for those who saw it, and saw it again. We watched and cheered as seven-year-old Kevin McAllister survives life on his own after his parents inadvertently leave him behind on their Christmas trip to Europe. Kevin even battles the comic-relief bad guys, and, of course, wins in the end. When any of us stop to ponder the plot of the movie for very long, we have to admit that, in real life, we would not want to be caught in that situation. In fact, most of us would not have the presence of mind, nor the resourcefulness to cope under those circumstances. It is at this point that the third element of our formula enters the scene, with its grand pronouncement that no one of us is "home alone." For our God is the One who spiritually supports us in the midst of life.
That completes our formula for life: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is none other than God, God's very self: the Creator/Giver, the Redeemer/Lover, the Sustainer/Presence. It is the One who creates life, blesses life, and graces life. This is no formula to be memorized for yet another examination. This is a formula worth carrying with us on all our journeys, for it is our source of hope, confidence and joy for life.
