The key word for today is “awe.”

 

It is a word that does not trip lightly off the tongue; neither is it a concept in which we can live easily in 21^st century America.

We can do things that get in the way of awe; or we can cultivate it and enjoy it.

 

I'll give the example of my home congregation, contrasted with St. Mark's.

When I was young,  my home congregation was and is still using the original white clapboard country church building from 1867.

In those days, the interior was covered with brown linoleum squares on the floor and fairly hard tiles on the ceiling.

It was practical, not elegant, but that served for many years.  It is where I learned to sing out.

When they finally got a little money together, they improved it to death.

They put in a drop ceiling with acoustic tile panels, and carpeted and padded everything in sight.

In effect, it became a large funeral parlor, and you know what it is like to try to sing joyfully in one of those parlors.

It was as dead as can be imagined, without awe, wonder, or joy.

They even installed a real organ, but in a dead room, it sounds more like a calliope.

 

How different it is to step into this room provided to us by a previous generation. 

Size, height, color, volume, resonance, instrument, reflective surfaces, and arrangement all work together to make this a truly awe-inspiring place.

How great and majestic is the God who has provided us with such resources.

Is there thought and beauty for us to discern from the mind of the Father?

How small we are in comparison!

In the way that the room is arranged, we must focus on the cross of Christ and his gifts to us in Word and Sacraments.

The pulpit, the altar, and the font are all cemented in place so that someone would not come along and try to relegate one or more of them to a corner somewhere.

The story of our worship service and the story of our daily life as Christians is told in glass surrounding us.

What a marvelous place this is, inspiring awe from beginning to end.

 

If we allow ourselves to hear it this way, our First lesson today also expresses  wonder and awe!

In our modern impatience, we may say it is just a tediously long reading,

but when we revel in the pattern of speech throughout, what a joy it becomes!

...evening and morning, the first day, second day...

...and God said...and it was so...

...and God saw... and behold it was good...very good!

Oh, to hear it that way!  What joy!

 

This is our one day in the year to struggle through the Athanasian Creed.

When will this thing be over?, someone will surely growl.

It grew up in the arguments of the 4^th century, when there were those who wanted to cut down the picture of God to a more humanly manageable size.

Some wanted to eliminate Jesus' humanity; others wanted to forgo his divinity.

Some wanted to forget about God's first saving works through the Exodus, and the promises made to the patriarchs.

Still others wanted to turn the Spirit into “mother nature.”

No, the writers of the Creed said, we point to a God who is much larger than any of those limitations that anyone would put on the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, which is the name of God forever and ever.

And so in language effusive and yet precise, they said each thing about God three ways.

It is not so much to explain it as it is to point to the wonder and awe of our God, who has the aim of bringing us into the conversation of the Father with the Son in the Spirit.

That is our destiny, the writers of the Creed affirm, and all that we can do is sing Amen, and enjoy it forever!

 

With building and lesson and creed we have gathered in wonder and awe this day.

That is the first portion of the day's Good News; and now to the second portion, where we are sent out with resolve and joy.

 

We take our cue from the Gospel lesson today.

Notice how the disciples are silent this time, without questions or objections. 

They are simply listening and receiving from their Lord and Master.

And the message is not just “Come, cozy up next to me, where you can be safe.”

The purpose of the awe-inspiring words and deeds of Jesus is to prepare us for action in his Name.

Go...make disciples...

It is not a suggestion or a possibility, but a command, an imperative!

And it may not be something safe at all.

Each week we name one or more of those  who are suffering for the faith in this day somewhere around the world.

What God's Spirit will empower them to do!

Go...make disciples.

You have some hints about the scope of the big picture through the building, the lesson, and the creed.

Now, let that vision shape what we say and do throughout the days to come.

And how do we make disciples?

...baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

How appropriate it is that we have the final event of this year's series in The Way today with this gospel lesson being heard!

The Way is all about preparation for Baptism or reflection on Baptism from times past.

It involves teaching by way of guided conversation.

It engenders koinonia, fellowship in the name of Christ Jesus.

It is one part of this congregation's faithfulness to Jesus' command. 

It is not the whole of that obedience, of course.

The command is not addressed to the pastor alone, but to every one who hears this message with joy.

Go, make disciples, teaching by word and example.

This past week has been Vacation Bible school at St. Mark's.

We had as many older youth and adults as we did young children; and that is OK, because not only do the youngest need to know the stories and how they fit together,

but those of every age need to review them, think about them, wonder over them, and see how they make sense of our lives still today.

We hear the exuberance of the kids' voices; may it become joy for us all! 

We come together in wonder and awe; and we depart this day with resolve and joy. 

Our hymns frame the context, the lessons state the content of our hope and joy, and our actions will demonstrate whether or not we believe what we hear and see.

Let awe and wonder and praise of the Father be our entry into this life, and action of making disciples be our legacy for the next generation. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.