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.
It’s sometimes called the Great Commission — these are Jesus’ last words to his disciples. It’s like the last things you say to your kids before you leave them alone for the first time….the summary of the things you most want them to remember. “Don’t open the door to strangers. Feed the dog. Be nice to your sister.” I mean, we hope they remember everything we’ve taught them for years ….but in case they don’t, at least remember these things…right?
Well Jesus is leaving the house….and as he goes, he reminds his disciples to do four things –
Go.
Baptize.
Teach.
And remember I am with you.
That’s it. This is the clear summary of all Jesus hopes for his disciples….then…and now. This is why he came…
Jesus came…he healed and taught…he lived and died and rose again…so we would do these four things. If we forget everything else he said….we can at least remember this, right?
So First — Jesus reminds us to Go….Go into all the world. To all kinds of people from all kinds of nations and tribes.
One of the things Christians forget sometimes….is that Jesus didn’t come to start some kind of exclusive club for like-minded folks. Jesus wanted us to be involved with folks of every stripe. That was how he lived, after all. He was a small town Jewish boy….his circle of friends …his “tribe” …should have been made up of other like-minded Jewish men in the country where he lived. But that’s not the way the story goes. Instead, Jesus travels to non-Jewish communities — to the Gerasenes and Samaritans… he hangs out with folks who have no interest in religion at all — centurions and tax collectors…he seeks out women and lepers and children and the sickly…all the people who are not welcome among his “tribe”.
We live in a tribalized world — people talk about it now…but we always have. People like to stick with their “own” kind. I read an apalling letter to the editor yesterday — from someone who was disgusted by the “diseased, non-English speaking” people who were making “white Christian voters” irrelevant. The general point is that people who are not like me…i.e, ”white and Christian” are bad. They are not part of my tribe…and they are not welcome in my community. It was awful…but this is the way we tend to think as human beings. We always have. It was no different in Jesus’ time.
But Jesus…had no interest in tribes. His or anyone else’s. Instead he went out into the world…the whole world…and loved all its people….and engaged every single one of them as a child of God. The only tribe Jesus knew…was the human tribe….and every person was part of it.
Jesus tells his followers to do the same. To Go. To realize that God is not located in their little group….but rather, they will find God in people of all tribes and nations.
And then Jesus says to baptize them.
So, at its worst…this has been heard as a mandate that we should go out and convert other people….by force, if necessary…to our religion so they have the “right” beliefs. Throughout history, we have stories of Baptisms that have happened at the point of swords ….or at boarding schools where native children were taken away from their parents. We have “baptized” people by threatening them with hell and damnation if they don’t. All too often, Baptism has just become the hoop we jump through to be a “Good Christian” …to be “saved”… and the reality is that our goal has often had more to do with creating people in our own image — converting them to our culture — our way of dressing, talking, behaving — than it had to do with anything else.
But that’s not what Jesus’ baptism was about. Baptism wasn’t about having the right beliefs or belonging to the right group of the right culture. Baptism was about immersion. Mina won’t be immersed to day….it’s true. She will be baptized when the water gets splashed over her head. But what is happening in baptism IS immersion. That’s the the word means. And Mina is being immersed in the love and grace of God. She is being claimed, body and soul, as a child of God. She is not being changed into something she is not. She is being embraced and enfolded into God’s family….just as she is…as a child of God made in the image of God. Worthy of Love. And Forgiveness. And belonging.
Baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit….is about recognizing the claim of God on every person. It is about submerging and surrounding every person in God’s amazing grace. It is not about “converting”….but about loving.
Jesus says we are to Baptize…and then we are to teach. But when Jesus says to teach people to obey all that he has commanded…we do well to remember exactly what he commanded his disciples to do, after all. And it was simply to love. To love God and to love one another as he loved them.
We so often deal in demanding that people need to have it “right” in order to belong to a church ….that they subscribe to the correct theology. And we have all too often understood Jesus’ imperative as an imperative to teach rules and doctrine. (Which, of course, vary widely depending on your denomination.) But the funny thing is….we don’t have a lot of stories in the Bible about Jesus teaching doctrine….or rules…and insisting that people get it “right”. Rather we have stories of Jesus blessing people. We have stories of Jesus’ admiring people’s faith, even when it was not like his own…like the Gentile woman who he called a dog…and the centurion who was desperate for his daughter’s life. We have stories of Jesus loving people as they were and immersing them in kindness and compassion and belonging….even when the absolutely do NOT have it right….like Peter, who gets is so wrong over and over and over..
One of the things I love about these last words of Jesus….is that it says that the disciples, standing in right there the presence of the risen Jesus…hearing his words…doubted. They all worshipped….but some doubted, it says. Even then. Following Jesus is not about certainty. It is not about being right. It is about God’s love for all people, just as we are.
And finally….Jesus says….simply remember…I am with you. Always. Not just when you’re in church. Not just when you’re a “good Christian”. But always. Until the end of the age. Jesus was with Peter and John and James …with Mary Magdalene and Martha…always. Even when they doubted. Even when they struggled. Even when they got it wrong. And Jesus is with Mina and …… and …….and …….and…… and always will be. Even when you doubt. Even when you struggle. Even when you get it wrong. Always.
And that’s it. That’s what Jesus wants us to remember….his last words before leaving the house.
So…may we Go — to all kinds of people….and immerse them in the love and grace of God…. proclaiming their beautiful and holy identity as children of God…and teaching them to Love the God who loves them….and to love all God’s children. And may we remember, wherever we go…whatever we do…we are not alone. Jesus is with us. He has us. He holds us. And he won’t let us go. Amen.
Leave a Reply