Welcome to Resurrection Parish as we begin the second week of our message series, “Next Door:  The Art of Neighboring.”  The premise of this series is that God wants us to be a source of his goodness and grace in our neighborhoods. If we are a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit is sending us to be an instrument of his goodness and grace to the people that live near us.  We do not live where we live by accident but for reasons of providence, reasons known to God.  With God there are no accidents, no fate or chance or luck.
It’s true: we probably didn’t move into our neighborhood or choose our house to be a blessing to our neighbor. We chose our house because we liked the kitchen or the closet space, we choose our neighborhood because of its location or because the schools are good.  However, throughout the course of this series we are going to work to change our thinking and take some initial steps towards allowing God to use us in our neighborhood.
Last week, we started with a simple step; we were encouraged to pray for our neighbors and neighborhood.  Today we are going to suggest another very simple step that is a little more challenging. But it is a very simple way we can work with God for his purposes in our neighborhoods.
We are looking at a passage from the very end of the Gospel of St. Matthew.  Right before ascending to heaven, Jesus tells the Apostles, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).  This statement is packed with meaning.
In the book of Genesis, when God creates the heavens and the earth, he gave authority over the earth to Adam and Eve.  Genesis then tells us that they, in turn, surrendered that authority by their selfishness and foolishness.  When they chose what they wanted rather than what God wanted, they cut themselves off from God and his authority.
One of the purposes of Jesus’ coming into the world was to win back the authority our first parents surrendered. Whereas they had chosen their will over God’s will, Jesus surrendered his will to his Father’s will – even when that meant death on a cross. Through his death and resurrection Jesus wins back all authority. And, in turn, he places that authority on his Apostles.  He says I want you to take the authority and, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18).
The Universal Church exists to renew and restore creation by bringing human beings into a growing relationship with Christ.  While there is a universal call to renew and restore all of creation, our own responsibility is more parochial: to make that work as specific as possible.
Jesus continues, “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-19).
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Today is Trinity Sunday and we are reminded of a core truth of our faith. God is not alone. God is a community of three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At the very center of being and existence, at the very center of the reality that is God we find a community. This means that God, in his essence, is relational.  God, who is the ultimate reality, is a community of persons who know and love one another.
Since God is a community of love and all three persons live in an interdependent relationship with one another, the very center of reality is community.  We’re created for community.
We are made to live in connection with others. We might like the work we do, but if we don’t have a connection to the people at our workplace, we probably don’t like our job.  We might enjoy sports, but we enjoy them a whole lot more when we are in company with people who enjoy them as much as we do.  It is why for those of you who are parents, when your son or daughter is going away to college one of the things you worry about the most is whether they will make friends or the right friends. You know intuitively that if they don’t find community they are not set up for success.
It is not good for us to be alone because God is not alone. It is not good for us to try and meet all our own needs on our own because that is impossible. We are not created to meet all our needs on our own.  Independence and self-sufficiency are fine things to strive for and maintain, but there are limits to them.  Self-centeredness that becomes self-absorption creates psychological alienation.
25% of Americans say they don’t have anyone to talk to – to share their troubles or their triumphs, or anything else with. So that means in our neighborhoods there are some very lonely people.
The truth of the Trinity tells us that we cannot be fulfilled or content by pursuing a life cut off from others. God has created us to be connected with others. Wherever we are, God offers an opportunity for connection.
There are two truths we see in the Gospel this weekend.  The first truth is that God gives us a mission to be agents of change to restore the world to what God intended. The second truth is that God gives us a mission to be undertaken in community.
What does that mean practically? How do we restore our communities? Where to begin? Look again at the passage from Mathew.
When Jesus passes on his authority to the apostles and establishes the core purpose of the Church, he tells them to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are not to simply relate to God in some ambiguous, vague, or indefinite way, instead, Jesus gives us the name for each person of the Trinity.
By knowing these three different names we know what we need to know about God.
God is Father because he is our Creator, the origin of absolutely everything. God is Father because he is the transcendent authority of creation.
God is Son. The second person of the Trinity, God from God, light from light, true God from true God who became flesh and who showed the Father’s love for us by dying on the cross.
God is the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity who proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Spirit lives in us and is with us to guide us.
Jesus reveals the name of each person of the Trinity so that we can know what we need to know about God.
This week our assignment is simply to get to know the names of our neighbors.  A majority of Americans say that they don’t know the names of any of their neighbors. Identify one or two neighbors whose names you don’t know and get to know them this week. Then, add their names to your prayer intentions.
Jesus gives us this huge mission to go out into all the world to build his kingdom, to renew and restore the world.  Yet, it all comes down to some very simple steps we can take just next door. 
Pray for them and then get to know their names so you can pray for them by name.  And, when you have the opportunity, greet them by name.  The sweetest sound to anyone’s ears is the sound of their name.