By R. Kevin Johnson
Our journey through the Christian Year has come to the mid-point.
We have heard the words of the prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah. We witnessed his birth at Christmas. With the Wise Men, we visited the Christ child and gave him valuable gifts.
Our dedication to Christ was challenged during the time leading up to Lent, and we sought to prepare our hearts for a period of fasting and enhanced devotion. In Lent, we reflected, we remembered, and we turned inward to examine our relationship with Christ.
During Holy Week, we journeyed with Christ as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, sat with Jesus in the garden, and witnessed his betrayal, crucifixion, death and burial.
At Easter, we celebrated Jesus’ glorious Resurrection by singing with other believers, “Christ the Lord is risen today! Alleluia!” We celebrated with other Easter people and we studied scriptures that told us of the surprising appearance of Jesus to the disciples. Most importantly, we learned that Jesus’ Resurrection provides us with new, renewed and eternal life in Christ.
Forty days later, we witnessed Jesus’ final conversation with his disciples before he ascended to heaven. We saw the disciples dumbfounded and gazing toward the heavens until they were shaken awake and inspired to go about the business of worshiping their amazing and remarkable savior.
Fifty days after the Resurrection, we celebrated the birthday of the church at Pentecost. At that point, the Holy Spirit became the dominant part of Christian life and the disciples began to build the ministry that spreads the love of Christ to all nations.
The following Sunday, Christians set aside “Holy Trinity Sunday” to acknowledge the Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Imagine Jesus’ inner circle as they experienced the following poignant moment with Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Now the 11 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’” (Matthew 28.16-20).
We know these words as The Great Commission, and 2,000 years later Christians still heed its command. Holy Trinity Day reminds us of the scripture that teaches us our task.
In the coming weeks, we have the opportunity to practice what Christ taught that day in Galilee while remembering the lesson from Deuteronomy 6 (otherwise known as the Shema): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
During this important period of the Christian year, my prayer is that we will share the message of the risen Christ and observe the Great Commission without doubt or fear.