Our Scripture meditation is based on Matthew 28:18-20 from next week’s Gospel Reading, which is Holy Trinity Sunday. For a meditation next week’s First Lesson click HERE.
[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] 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, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are blessed this week to prepare for Trinity Sunday, a truly underrated annual celebration in the Church Year.
It is underrated because the Holy Trinity is key to our understanding of God and our relationship with God. I think we also under appreciate encouragement that comes from the Trinity.
For example, in our passage Jesus gives the formula for baptism. In a sense, we receive God’s full name. We are baptized “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
This rings a bell for us. We know that full names are used during the most important events in life. At birth our full names were record. Our full names are again used in our baptisms. If you are married, your full name is likely on the marriage certificate. The same goes for ordination into the Office of the Public Ministry.
In addition to illustrating the importance of baptism, receiving God’s name in baptism can comfort us. If we have doubts about our faith, we often seek for some kind of confidence. The gifts of baptism are not contingent on us. Instead, God forgives sins and grants faith in baptism. Since we were baptized in the “name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, we know that God did His work in our baptisms.
Until next week, the Lord bless and guide.
Kevin Wilson 360 