Trinity Sunday: Taking the Baptismal Covenant to the Streets

Trinity Sunday A   June 7,2020   
Gen. 1:1-2:3       Ps.33
2 Cor. 13:5-10,11-14  Matt. 28:16-20

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These past days have been hard on us as a human family, because we have shown that we not always a very good family.  The death of George Floyd has exposed some very bad family traits, the traits of both subtle and not so subtle racism.  And experiencing our family at its very worst, we cannot write ourselves off completely, because events of this past show some bad interwoven with lots of peaceful voices marching for justice and change.  Some place have seen looting and tear gas and pushing and shoving and Billy clubbing, and yet there’s been police and protesters dancing, kneeling, and smiling and joining in common cause.  So, let’s not write off the whole human family, all of the time, yet.

And why do we sense our human failure in really bad family behaviors such as injustice and racism, misogyny and many other forms of prejudice?  Why?  Because the ultimate family to which we belong is led by such perfect Persons.

Today is the Day of the Holy Divine Family of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And they are perfect.  They were perfectly Three in One, long before we in America could come up with E pluribus unum.  From the many one.  And why do we often fail to act as one in our differences?  In our sin and our group egos, we magnify difference and use the power of group egos to hinder the unity that is best expressed in justice for all.  Justice is not a privilege of people with money and power; justice is the right of everyone, like air, water and food. 

So, what are we going to do when we are faced with this failure of ours to let the unity of justice prevail for all of our many people?

We’re going to repent and return to the Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Why?  Because that is what we promised when we were admitted into the Family of the Father, the Son and the Spirit at our baptism.

We have been baptized, immersed into the nature of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we took vows to this holy, holy family and we’ve confirmed those same vows in the presence of each other many times.  What are two of those vows which we have made and confirmed and reconfirmed in the presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and each other?

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?

I will with God’s help.

This past week calls out to us to repent and return to more truly representing the Holy Trinity, into whom we have been baptized.

The other baptism vow that we have made and confirmed many times is this:

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will with God’s help.

There have been people who have not had equal justice and not been able to have peace and whose dignity has been diminished even unto wrongful death, even murder in the custody of peace and safety officers.  And what has that death spark around the entire world?

A cry for repentance.  A cry to renew our promise to strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being.

We prefer to whisper these promises in our quiet baptismal liturgies, but this past week people are yelling and crying this same baptismal pledge loud and together.

What we can thank God the Holy Trinity for this: that the Baptismal covenant has hit the streets and all over the world.  It is not a cute little baptism with a young baby boy dressed in the family baptismal garment.  It is shouting marching people in the street saying with God’s help and/or by holding each other accountable we will strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of all.  And yes, you will repent, because I will repent, and we will all be more diligent about holding each other to repentance.

If in the sadness of this past week we can rejoice that the baptismal covenant has come to be loudly confirmed in the streets of our world with blaring publicity, then we can know we have not given up trying to approximate our behaviors in the direction of the Perfect, Holy, Holy Family of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Let us rejoice that this week we had it made known that we have failed miserably in doing what the Holy Trinity would have us to do in our relationships with each other.

But let us rejoice that we are mourning and lamenting our failures and that at least we have had our consciences rebuked and renewed by the high standard of our baptism when water was poured over us and it was said, “I baptize you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Why do we do this?  Because we want to keep alive the high and holy standard of the perfect family of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And we want to renew our initiation and we want to plead, "God keep making me a better Christian and let me live out better my baptismal vows and so that my confession of the Trinity on Trinity Sunday might be authentic, even as I endeavor to keep my vows."

In the Name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we renew our endeavor to strive for peace and justice among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.  Amen.