For Sunday Trinity Sunday A
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
Reflection
This gospel passage is known as “The Great Commandment” which is often quoted for the purpose of encouraging Christians to be evangelists, that our place in the world is to proclaim the gospel to everyone.
This reading of the passage doesn’t sit right with me, though I can see where it comes from. And the main reason is that Jesus gave an earlier command that should have a greater place than this one. When asked by a scribe what is the great commandment, Jesus said to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Then he goes on to say that everything else hangs from these two: which would include this one.
Loving your neighbor as yourself ought to put a leash on the unabashed conversion approach that many have toward the Great Commandment. Precisely because the purpose isn’t uniformity or divine control, it is to love.
Though many will say that’s why I’m doing this! I love them! But this strikes me as justification more than inspiration. Because love would lead to a whole host of other postures toward the person: encouragement, joy, sacrifice, honor.
When we love, we do these things for people. The pursuit of conversions is more about winning souls for Team Jesus. It isn’t love for them that inspires that behavior, it’s following what they assume is the command and then saying that love inspires it.
It is also notable that Jesus tells them to teach what he has commanded. It strikes me that this is less the greatest command as much as the last one. I’ve taught you, now teach others.
In this way, Jesus puts the emphasis on the previous commands, which revolved around love, reordering of society, economic and social equity, and rejecting oppressive systems and practices. In this way, Jesus’s previous commands have all been tangible and relational. So now, he seems to be saying, focus on spreading this good news to the ends of the earth.
How does this change our view of evangelism, then? Since Jesus has been infinitely more focused on saving people’s lives (and livelihoods) and not merely their souls.