Commissioned Co-Creators

Text focus: Matthew 28:16-20 & Genesis 1:26-31

There are some places where it feels easier to believe that God is near.

This morning, we gather in one of those places. We sit in the first church building established in Washakie County. Nestled in the beauty of Ten Sleep Canyon, embraced by the Bighorn Mountains, surrounded by towering rock walls, rushing water, the bright blue sky; held in the wonders of creation itself. It is a place that reminds us that long before there were church buildings, there were mountains. Long before there were denominations, there was creation. Long before there was Wyoming, there was God.

I think of the circuit riders who traveled these mountains and plains on horseback. Methodist preachers who crossed difficult terrain, often alone, carrying little more than a Bible, a saddlebag, and a conviction that God's grace was meant for everyone. They planted churches where there were none. They gathered communities in homes, schoolhouses, and simple wooden buildings like this one. They believed the Gospel was not something to be preserved behind walls but something meant to move outward into the world. They were commissioned people.

And today, gathered in this place, surrounded by creation and connected to generations of faithful disciples, we hear again, the commission of Christ.

"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." But before we can understand what Jesus is commissioning us to do, we must understand who God is and who God created us to be.

Because today's Gospel and today's Genesis reading are deeply connected.

One begins with creation.

The other ends with a commission.

And between them is the story of God's relationship with humanity.

Today is Trinity Sunday, the day in the church year when we celebrate one of the deepest mysteries of our faith: that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three gods, but one God known in three persons. A God whose very nature is relationship, communion, and love. And perhaps there is no better place to reflect on that mystery than here, where we are surrounded by creation itself.

In Genesis we hear:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.’”

Notice the language.

Let US make.

In OUR image.

According to OUR likeness.

Christians have long seen in these words a glimpse of the Trinity. Not a fully developed doctrine, but a hint that even from the beginning, God is not solitary.

God is relationship. Father. Son. Holy Spirit. Three persons. One God. Perfect unity without losing distinction. A divine communion of love.

Before there was creation, there was relationship. Before there was humanity, there was the eternal fellowship of our Creator God, Jesus Christ the Word of Life, and the Ever-Present Holy Spirit. The Trinity reminds us that relationship is not something God does. Relationship is who God is.

The Trinity is not just a doctrine to understand. It is a reality into which we are invited. The God who exists eternally in relationship creates humanity for relationship. God creates us in that image. Not merely as individual or isolated souls, but as people created for relationship. Relationship with God. Relationship with one another. Relationship with creation.

Genesis tells us that humanity is made in the image of God. For centuries, people have questioned what exactly that means. One thing that becomes very clear throughout Scripture: being made in God's image means we are created to reflect God's into the world. This is one reason the Trinity matters so much. Because if God was fundamentally isolated, then independence would be the highest virtue, but if God is eternal relationship, then love becomes the center of reality itself.

Connection is not an accident.

Belonging is not optional.

Community is not secondary.

Relationship is woven into the very fabric of creation.

Being created in the image of God, means being created as a mirror to who God is, because God is loving, we are created to love. Because God is creative, we are created to participate in that creativity. Because God is relationship, we are created to belong. Because God cares for creation, then we are called to care for creation too.

Which brings us to a word in Genesis that has often been misunderstood. God says: “Let them have dominion.”

For some people, dominion has sounded like permission to control, exploit, or dominate. The Hebrew word used here is radah, and looking at it in the context of who God is, we discover something deeper. The word means to rule or exercise authority, Biblical authority.

Biblical authority is never meant to be abusive or destructive. Throughout Scripture, faithful rule is connected with stewardship, responsibility, and care. The same God who gives humanity dominion is the God who takes dirt into hand to form Adam from the earth. The same God who entrusts humanity with creation walks in the garden alongside them. God never rules through exploitation. God rules through relationship.

And that becomes even clearer when we place Genesis alongside our Gospel lesson.

Because in Matthew 28, Jesus says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Now this in not the first time that Jesus has stood on a mountain and had a conversation about authority. Back in Matthew chapter 4, Jesus stood on another mountain. There, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and said: “All this I will give you.”

The devil was tempting Jesus with authority as power over. Control. Dominance. The devil's understanding of authority was simple: force people to do what you want.

But Jesus rejected that vision. Throughout his ministry, Jesus never forced anyone to follow him. He invited. He welcomed. He called. He loved. People were free to walk away. People were free to say no. His authority was not domination; his authority was love. And now, after the resurrection, standing once again on a mountain, Jesus declares: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

But by this point, we know what kind of authority Jesus means. It is the authority of a Savior who washed feet. The authority of a King who carried a cross. The authority of one who forgave his enemies. The authority of sacrificial love.

So when Genesis speaks of dominion, and when Jesus speaks of authority, we should understand both through the lens of God's character. Authority is not power over. Authority is responsibility for. Dominion is not exploitation. Dominion is stewardship. To bear God's image means caring for what God loves and witnessing to who God is. And standing here in the beauty of this historic church, in Ten Sleep Canyon, that feels especially important.

I invite you to take some time after service today to look around. Take in the mountains, the trees, the creek, the wildlife, the bright blue sky. This is not merely scenery. This is creation declaring the glory of God. The wind in the canyon, the sound of the rushing river, the tweet of the birds, these are all testimony. Creation itself bears witness to the Creator. And humanity's calling has always been care for and join that witness. To be co-creators with God. Not creating from nothing as God does. But participating in God's ongoing work of bringing life, healing, beauty, justice, mercy, and restoration into the world.

Every act of compassion and kindness.

Every effort toward peace and welcome.

Every moment of forgiveness and reconciliation.

These are acts of co-creation; joining God in the work God is already doing.

The first chapter of Genesis repeatedly says: “And God saw that it was good.”

Creation matters because it belongs to God. And those made in God's image are called to care for what God has called good. Including all of creation, the plants, the animals, the soil and the waters, and humanity. That calling has been handed down generation after generation.

In many ways, this church building is a testimony to that. Long before there were paved roads, long before many of our towns looked the way they do today, Methodist circuit riders crossed vast stretches of wilderness to bring the Gospel to scattered communities.

They traveled on horseback.

They crossed rivers.

They endured storms.

They rode through mountain passes and rugged terrain.

Not because they were building an institution.

But because they believed every person deserved to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. They planted churches because they believed communities mattered. They believed faith was meant to be lived together. They did it because they heard Jesus say, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

And in a place like this, surrounded by mountains and history, we can feel a special connection to those early worshippers, in these sacred moments we feel connected across generations. We may come bearing different faces. Different voices. Different experiences. Yet we meet the same Spirit here. The same Gospel here. The same God here.

All connected and gathered because Jesus said, “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.” Notice that the Trinity appears again. The God hinted at in Genesis is proclaimed openly here. Father. Son. Holy Spirit.

The disciples are sent out in the name of the God who is relationship itself.

Jesus tells them: “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” So what exactly did Jesus command? Interestingly, Matthew places this commission on a mountain in Galilee, perhaps as a mirror to the Sermon on the Mount which also took place on a mountain in Galilee. A sermon that described how to live righteously like citizens of the Kingdom of God. Some of the highlights include:

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Love your enemies.

Pray for those who persecute you.

Store up treasures in heaven.

Do not judge others.

Practice forgiveness.

Practice prayer.

Trust God.

Do not divide your loyalties, serve only God.

Treat others as you would want to be treated.

The sermon on the Mount spans 3 chapters, however if we want a simple summary, Jesus gives us a beautiful cliff notes version in Matthew 22: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And Love your neighbor as yourself.”

That is the curriculum we are suppose to teach. That is what the disciples are commissioned to teach. That is the mission of the church today. Go into the world and teach people to love God and love their neighbor.

The question then becomes, how do we teach that?

Those of you who have ever been teachers will know that merely by talking about it is not the best way to teach a lesson. Most people learn best through experience. We learn by seeing, by doing, by participating. So, we teach it by living it.

You can explain compassion all day long, but people understand compassion when they receive it.

You can describe grace, but people understand grace when someone forgives them.

You can define hospitality, but people understand hospitality when they are welcomed.

If we want people to learn what God's love looks like, then we must show them God's love. If we want people to know belonging, we must create belonging. If we want people to know Christ, then our lives must point toward Christ.

We teach people to follow Jesus by following Jesus ourselves.

The church becomes the lesson plan, and our lives become the demonstration.

Which leads us back to Genesis: “Let us make humans in our image.” If we truly believe we are made in the image of God, then every person you encounter carries that image.

The person who agrees with you.

The person who disagrees with you.

The person who votes republican, The person who votes democrat, The person who doesn’t vote.

The stranger.

The neighbor.

The immigrant.

The lifelong friend.

The difficult family member.

The person sitting beside you in worship.

The person you struggle to understand.

Every one of them bears the image of God.

If we believe that, it changes how we interact these image bearers. It changes how we speak to people. It changes how we treat people. It changes how we think about people. Because when we look into another person's face, we are looking at someone whom God has created, loves, and calls good.

The Trinity teaches us that relationship is at the heart of reality. The creation story teaches us that we were made in God's image. The Great Commission teaches us to carry that love into the world. And this holy place, an old church building, reminds us that generation after generation, disciples have been trying to do exactly that.

So I leave you with this:

Remember who you are. You are each created in the image of Triune God, One God, in three distinct persons, eternally in relationship. You belong to God, but not only to God, in a profound sense, you belong also to one another.

This is the heart of the Trinity.

This is the heart of discipleship.

This is the heart of the Great Commission.

That you should love in such a way that people encounter the love of the Triune God through you. That you would join the work of creation and reconciliation. That you would teach love by practicing love. That you would demonstrate grace by extending grace. That you would reflect the image of God into a world desperate to remember its own sacred worth.

Because you were created in God's image.

Commissioned by Christ.

Empowered by the Spirit.

Thanks be to God.