Discipling the Nations
HOLY TRINITY
Prayer of the Day: Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
“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.” Matthew 28:19-20.
The American author, Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) once said that “to be good is noble. To teach another to be good is more noble still-and a lot less trouble.” I think of that quote often when I read the bold social justice proclamations by churches like my own. It is all well and good for the church to speak truth to power, to expose, challenge and call for the eradication of systemic racism in government, education and commerce. But when it comes from a church that has been and still is overwhelmingly white, has benefited historically and continues to benefit from white privilege and whose ecclesiastical wealth far exceeds that of most Black churches with which we claim to united-it tends to lack credibility. The cruel, unjust and heartless society we purport to condemn might well throw our own Bible back in our faces with the admonition to “remove the log” from our own eye before attempting to open theirs. Matthew 7:1-5.
In Sunday’s gospel, Jesus utters what we have come to call “the great commission.” He sends his disciples out to “make disciples of all nations.” Well, no he doesn’t. Read more
Peter's Outer Cape Portico 