On this Thursday in Easter Week, we hear the end of the Gospel according to Matthew:
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped 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.’ (Mt. 28: 16-20).
Matthew just tells it like it is. Even though they see the Risen Christ, “some doubted”. There are skeptics in every age; they were even standing in front of the very Jesus who rose from the dead.
This passage contains the Great Commission, that is, Jesus’ command to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian formula is used at baptisms all around the world; we even used it on Easter Sunday when we baptized Toni, and it stems from the time of the Early Church. In the baptismal liturgy, both the spoken word and the sign of poured water are outward signs of what God is accomplishing internally in conveying grace. Not only do our liturgies reflect our beliefs, but they also convey God acting in our lives in profound ways. Baptism, which is Greek for “to dip” or “to dunk”, is one of the rites of Christian initiation wherein God makes us members of the Body of Christ. In baptism you and I are baptized into the death of Christ so that we may share in the resurrection thereby reconciling us to God through the forgiveness of sins.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION THIS WEEKEND: Join the tour of the historical Galveston cemetery this Saturday.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped 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.’ (Mt. 28: 16-20).
Matthew just tells it like it is. Even though they see the Risen Christ, “some doubted”. There are skeptics in every age; they were even standing in front of the very Jesus who rose from the dead.
This passage contains the Great Commission, that is, Jesus’ command to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This Trinitarian formula is used at baptisms all around the world; we even used it on Easter Sunday when we baptized Toni, and it stems from the time of the Early Church. In the baptismal liturgy, both the spoken word and the sign of poured water are outward signs of what God is accomplishing internally in conveying grace. Not only do our liturgies reflect our beliefs, but they also convey God acting in our lives in profound ways. Baptism, which is Greek for “to dip” or “to dunk”, is one of the rites of Christian initiation wherein God makes us members of the Body of Christ. In baptism you and I are baptized into the death of Christ so that we may share in the resurrection thereby reconciling us to God through the forgiveness of sins.
Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ART CLASS WITH LEE RUNION THIS WEEKEND: Join the tour of the historical Galveston cemetery this Saturday.
PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST, especially Betty Robinson who is recovering from surgery.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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