Don't just be a child of God
behave like a child of God.[1]

Where do we learn in the Church how to behave as children of God? It begins when we are young. We hear the stories of Scripture. We learn the prayers. We are taught who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. As we grow, the Church continues to form us, and eventually many of us encounter one of its beautiful rites of passage: Confirmation. How old were you when you were confirmed? Some of you know immediately. Through that process, we something and it forms us deeply.

There is a story about a teacher who spent more than two years preparing a class of young people for Confirmation. They studied the catechism, learned about liturgy and theology, and wrestled with the great questions of the faith. Most importantly, they learned about the nature of God.

Then came the big day. The bishop arrived to lay hands on them and confirm what they had learned. But before doing so, he decided to examine the class. Looking at the students lined up before him, he asked a simple question: "What is the Trinity?" The room fell silent. Every teenager suddenly became fascinated by their shoes. No one wanted to make eye contact with the bishop. Again, he asked, "What is the Trinity?" Still silence. Finally, from the back of the group, one brave teenager mumbled, "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." "I'm sorry," said the bishop. "I couldn't hear you." The teenager repeated, "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Still the bishop strained to hear. Now thoroughly frustrated, the young man blurted out, "Look! It's a mystery! You're not supposed to understand it!"

There is probably more truth in that answer than we might like to admit. If a friend were to ask you, "What is the Trinity?" how would you answer? If someone challenged you by asking, "Do Christians worship three gods?" what would you say? There is no scientific test that can measure the Trinity. There is no formula that fully explains it. We are left trying to describe the mystery of who God is. Perhaps it helps to begin not simply with who God is, but with what God does. Years ago there was a famous Army slogan: "Be all that you can be." The emphasis was on becoming something. Being part of something larger than yourself. Having purpose, identity, and mission. Being matters.

I've also noticed over the years that people often understand themselves in different ways. Some define themselves by relationships. They know who they are because of the people they belong to. If I were to describe myself, for example, it is complex. I am a son, a husband, a father and grandfather; a teacher and yet a student. All of these are in relation with others. Some define themselves by accomplishment. They know who they are because of what they do or what they have done. I am a priest. I preach and give out the sacraments. The mystery of the Trinity contains both our being and our doing.

When we studied the catechism, we learned that God the Father is Creator, God the Son is Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit is Sustainer. Those descriptions tell us something about what God does. The Father creates. The Son redeems. The Holy Spirit sustains. But we must be careful. God is not divided into three separate jobs. The Church has always taught that the Trinity is one God in three Persons. Three Persons. One Nature. Mysterious? Absolutely. Yet that mystery is woven throughout Scripture.

Today we heard the story of creation from Genesis. We heard how God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and the dry land, the plants and animals, and finally humanity itself. Again, and again the refrain echoes: "And God saw that it was good." God brings order out of chaos. God creates beauty. God creates life. Then on the seventh day, God did something remarkable. He rested. Now if God rested, perhaps there is something we should learn from that. Sometimes I become so busy doing that I forget the importance of being. Sometimes the greatest ministry is not activity but presence. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is simply rest in God. Personally, I wish God had given us three days of rest instead of one. Maybe then we'd take at least one of them seriously. But rest is part of our formation.

The catechism teaches that we are made in God's image. We are created to reflect His life and character. Just as God creates, sustains, and redeems, we are invited to participate in His work in the world. We create. We sustain. We redeem. Not by our own power, but by sharing in His. And this raises another question. If God is complete in Himself, why did He create anything at all? The answer is astonishingly simple. Because He loves. He created because He loves. He called creation good because He loves. He created us because He loves. And He delights when His children live in that love. That is why, before ascending into heaven, Jesus gave His disciples a mission. Whether we hear it in Matthew's Gospel or Mark's Gospel, the command is clear: Make disciples. Baptize. Teach. Share the Good News.[2]

The Church did not invent that mission to fill empty time. The disciples understood that if Christ was living within them, His life would naturally overflow into the world around them. That is what children of God do.
We gather here each week to rest in His presence, to receive His grace, and to be renewed by Word and Sacrament. Then we are sent back into the world carrying that grace with us. I don't want you leaving today thinking that Christianity is merely a list of obligations. We do not serve because we have to. We serve because we love the One who first loved us. We engage the world because God loves the people in it. We care for others because they, too, were created by God. They need to be sustained. They need to be redeemed. And God desires to work through us to accomplish that purpose.

So today, remember this: Do not simply be a child of God. Behave like a child of God. Live as one who has been created, sustained, and redeemed by the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

[1] The Rev. Jon Roberts
[2] Matthew 28:16-20