In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Matthew 28:16-20

    My husband’s grandfather hated his middle name, Archibald, so much that he had it legally removed from his name as an adult.  You can kind of see why, right? I mean, who names a kid Archibald (except for Prince Harry & Megan I guess)!  At least it was his middle name.  However, when we traveled to Scotland, as a part of my sabbatical last year, we saw the name Archibald all over the place – there were Archibalds connected to royalty in castle and palaces and Archibalds who were mayors and bishops of great cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh.  We learned that the name Archibald has a very long and proud legacy on the Scottish side of Rich’s family, that some of these Archibalds were people we were probably related to, and we wondered out loud if his grandfather had known that, would he have kept the name?  Once we had that historical understanding, the name Archibald didn’t sound so bad!
    Names are powerful.  One of the most basic and yet highest forms of respect is to call someone by the name they prefer to be called, especially if it is difficult for us to remember or pronounce their name.  The opposite is also true – we can hurt someone very much by calling them names.  On this Holy Trinity Sunday, we wrestle with the mystery of who God is and what God prefers to be called.  It is difficult to describe and understand fully how God is three persons and yet one.  One quickly gets into Christian heresies in trying to accurately teach about God as the Trinity.  Maybe it’s best, then, for today, to talk about how we relate to God – how we call upon God with different names grounded in scripture, how God is in relationship to us because the Trinity after all is God’s core identity – God is a relational God who wants to be in relationship with his creation!  And finally, we hear Jesus’ call to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
    God’s name is holy and powerful.  The second commandment is not to use the name of God wrongfully.  Nonetheless, many of us casually say “Oh my God” because it’s a part of the culture.  If we don’t want others to call us names we don’t like, we should think about more intentionally how God would prefer we use and not misuse the name of God in our speech.  Some faithful Jews still today in trying to avoid misusing God’s name do not use “God” at all but write out G-d or say “Hashem” which in Hebrew simply means, “The name.”  As we read through scripture, there are many holy names for God, yet this is the ultimate answer – God is the name above all names, the name or Word that is higher than any other name or word.  Our God’s name is holy!
    So when you talk with God, what names do you use for God?  In our first reading from Genesis, God is creator and God is referred to over and over again as simply God.  Psalm 8 celebrates God as Lord – “Our Lord!  How majestic is your name in all the earth!”  You may know that the word “Trinity” never appears in scripture.  I would say I rarely if ever speak with God in my prayer time as “holy Trinity,” but we could!  Even though “Trinity” as a word is not used in scripture, in our New Testament the trinitarian name for God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is used regularly – by Jesus in our gospel, for example.  In our second reading for today, we have the biblical text for the apostolic greeting I share with you every Sunday morning in worship – from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:  “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  Paul not only names the Trinity as God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, he describes three core attributes of God: grace, love and communion.  This greeting not only helps us call on God as our father, brother and spirit living within us, but celebrates and invokes those qualities of God that are at work in and around us!  
    As we come to our gospel for today, Jesus not only names God as three but gives a threefold command – make disciples, baptize them, and teach them.  God’s name reminds us of who God is and what God has done for us with grace, love, and peace, in creating, redeeming, and sustaining us.  Now, Jesus calls us to discipling, baptizing, and teaching all nations in the NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God’s name gives us the power to do these things.  Sometimes people do things in “the name of the law!” or “in the name of all that is holy!”  Christians disciple, baptize, and teach in the holy triune name of God.  We extend the grace, love and communion of God in using God’s holy name.  
    Our prayer life and conversation with God can be enriched when we use a variety of names, titles and attributes for God as we study scripture and come to know and understand God in various ways.  Our first reading from Genesis also reminds us that we, each of us, are created in the image of God, both male and female.  Using different names for God, grounded in scripture, expands our image of who God really is rather than limiting God into someone solely of our own making – the god in our head.  In using expansive language for God, we only begin to grasp the holy mystery of God as Trinity.  Here’s the really good news – we have been baptized in the holy name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we take on the name “Christ” for ourselves; we carry the invisible mark of the cross of baptism on our foreheads.  Whether we like our name or not, we are brought into communion with God, a relationship with God, through baptism!  We begin to see ourselves as created, redeemed, and sustained in the image of God – a reflection of God himself.  Jesus assures us because of the power of this holy name in which we baptize and are baptized, that we CAN make disciples and teach them and throughout it all, God is with us always, to the end of the age.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.