Threefold Cord: Trinity, Community, and Compassion in Action

And then he gives this promise, I myself will be with you every day until the end of the present age. And that is the heart of Trinity Sunday. The God who sends us is also the God who goes with us into the mission. The risen Christ sends the church into the world and the spirit, the holy spirit empowers us to live the way of Jesus and the love of Jesus in the world. The creator's love holds all people as beloved, and the mission is not ours alone. We are woven together into the life and story of God. [00:16:55] (47 seconds)  #GodWithUs

Another strand is Christ's mission. The call of Jesus to go and serve and teach and love and make disciples by your example. And the third strand is the spirit's power. The presence, the loving presence of god with us every day, giving us courage, compassion, and strength for the journey because we could not do it without God. Grace, mission, and power. Creator, Christ, spirit. Love received, love shared, and love multiplied. That is the cord of hope, the three that we hold today. [00:23:03] (58 seconds)  #ThreeFoldHope

And we should say honestly that packing meals today will not solve global hunger at home and abroad. Hunger is connected to deeper realities, poverty, war, equality, displacement, climate, and systems that too often leave some with more than enough while others struggle to survive day by day. So Christian love cannot stop at charity alone. We are called to works of mercy and works of justice. We feed the hungry, and we also ask why people are hungry. We serve meals, and we also seek a world where every child of God has enough. [00:19:31] (55 seconds)  #FeedAndJustice

And Matthew gives us a detail I've always found deeply honest. When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped him, but some still doubt it. That is such good news for the church. Jesus does not wait for perfect disciples before giving them a mission. Jesus doesn't say come back when your faith is flawless. He doesn't say come back when your theology is fully sorted out. He meets them in worship and in their doubts, and then he sends them into the world. Jesus says, go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them, teach them, form them in the way that I have shown you. [00:15:55] (60 seconds)  #MissionNotPerfection

So let us live today with joy. Let us pack with purpose, and let us serve with humility. Let us remember neighbors who will receive these meals, not as statistics, not as numbers, not as strangers, but as beloved children of God. Because two are better than one. Because when one falls, another can lift them up, and because Christ is with us always, and because a three ply cord of grace, mission, and spirit filled love doesn't easily snap. May our hands become a blessing, may our work become hope, and may our life together bear witness to the god who never intends for anyone to struggle alone. [00:24:41] (57 seconds)  #HandsBringHope

And today, that mission takes a very concrete shape. Today, we don't simply talk about hunger or imagine those who are hungry. We respond to it. Hunger is not an abstract issue because hunger is a face. Hunger is a child trying to learn in school with their stomach growling. Hunger is a parent wondering how to feed their whole family. Hunger is a community pushed to the edge by poverty and disaster, conflict, and injustice. Hunger is a wound in the human family. And as followers of Jesus, we cannot see a wound in the human family and remain unchanged. [00:17:42] (60 seconds)  #HungerHasAFace

There's a story, an African proverb that tells the story of these children that kept falling into the river. And as they were coming by this village, there were some elders in the village who were standing in the river to catch all these children who were just floating downstream to their death. Until one of them said, well, why don't one of us go upstream and see why these children are falling into the river? And one of them goes up, sees that the bridge is gone, takes a team with him, goes, builds the bridge, and guess what? No more children floating down the river. [00:20:26] (51 seconds)  #GoUpstream

We've all been there, haven't we? We've all fallen. We've all tripped, and hopefully, someone was nearby that could help us. And that's what we're practicing today. Every meal packed is a small act of lifting, uplifting. Every scoop, every bag, every box, every prayer becomes a way of saying, you are not forgotten. You are loved. You are loved by God. You are loved by me. You are loved by us. And we should say honestly that packing meals today will not solve global hunger at home and abroad. [00:18:48] (52 seconds)  #MealsLiftLives