The Sending Forth – Homily for Trinity Sunday

I wonder if anyone here
has ever felt under-appreciated, overlooked, or even forgotten.
If so, then this homily is for you.
Today we’re going to sing the praises
of one of the most under-appreciated
and over-looked parts of the Mass.
Everyone always talks about how the scripture readings spoke to them,
or how great the music is,
or even sometimes how the homily touched them.
But no one ever walks out of Mass saying,
“Wow, that dismissal, it really hit me today.”
The dismissal is often forgotten or just overlooked.

But today we’re going to honor the dismissal.
We’re going to sing its praises
and see that it is as essential as all the other parts,
and maybe our entire outlook on the Mass will change.

We gather here today at Mass as we always do:
to hear the words of Scripture;
to receive Christ in the Eucharist.
But also to be sent by Christ.
Jesus is very clear in today’s Gospel:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
To be a Christian is to be sent.

This is clear even at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry,
where in the early part of Mark’s Gospel we’re told,
He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles]
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach
and to have authority to drive out demons… (Mark 3:14-15)

He appoints them for two reasons:
To be with him, and to be sent out.

Those same two reasons show up today,
at the very end of Matthew’s Gospel:
“Go…and make disciples of all nations,…
And behold, I am with you always…”

This is the the twofold call of discipleship,
and it’s our call as well:
to be with Jesus, and to be sent out:
“Go,” and “I am with you always.”

In John’s Gospel, Jesus puts it another way,
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
So much is contained in those little words “as” and “so.”
The “as” and “so” express a deep mystery,
the mystery of the Trinity, which we celebrate today.
The Son comes forth from the Father in the unity of the Spirit,
and in that same way, from those same mysterious depths,
we come forth now from the risen Lord
and are sent into the world accompanied by the Holy Spirit.

What a privilege and what a responsibility!
It’s so important, so crucial,
I wonder what part of Mass brings that to life.
Oh, right, the dismissal!
As the Son was sent from heaven,
so we are sent from this heavenly banquet.

After the Liturgy of the Word,
after the Liturgy of the Eucharist,
after the final blessing,
the deacon dismisses the people.
It happens so fast
that we might overlook it.
It’s not simply a good-bye: “We’re done, you can go home now.”
The dismissal is a formal sending forth
and one of the most important elements of the Mass.
How important?
Well, the very name “Mass” comes from the dismissal.
In Latin, the words for the dismissal are Ite missa est,
That’s where the word Mass comes from.
It’s as if we’re summing up the entire celebration
by calling it “The Sending Forth.”
Once we understand this,
Mass takes on a whole new dimension.

Think about all the ways we use the word “Mass.”
“Get dressed for Mass.”
“Which Mass are you going to this weekend?”
“Come on, we don’t want to be late for Mass.”
And now, with a little mental adjustment:
“Get dressed for The Sending Forth.”
“Which Sending Forth are you going to this weekend?”
“Come on, we don’t want to be late for The Sending Forth.”

When we come here to Mass
we are coming here to respond to that twofold call of discipleship:
to be with Jesus and to be Sent Forth.
We are with Jesus in the Eucharist, and we are sent forth in the dismissal.
Being sent is a foundational reality of being a disciple.
Being sent means that someone in authority has chosen you
to go somewhere and do something on their behalf.
You have been chosen.
God has chosen you, specifically,
to go forth from the Eucharistic banquet and do something.
To do what?

Here is where the importance of the dismissal comes in again.
The various forms of the dismissal tell us what we are sent to do.
The shortest form of the dismissal tells us simply and directly,
“Go in peace.”
In other words,
we are being sent to be the peace of Christ to an unsettled world.
The longer form of that dismissal is,
“Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
In other words, we are being sent to live our lives in such a way
that people are drawn to Christ.
A third form of the dismissal sends us to
“Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.”
This is what Jesus means when he says,
“Go and make disciples of all nations.”

And while each form of the dismissal has its own focus,
what they all have in common is the word, “Go.”
Go. You cannot remain here.
We might wish that we could stay safe and peaceful
within our parish family, among those with whom we feel comfortable.
But we can’t.
As the final form of the dismissal says bluntly,
“Go forth, the Mass is ended.”
The Mass is ended.

I imagine the disciples would have loved to continue sitting
at the feet of Jesus indefinitely, listening to him teach.
But they were sent.
Jesus didn’t call them together to create a private little community
separated from the rest of the world.
He commanded them to go and make the entire world his community.
“Go and make disciples of all nations…”
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

So we cannot remain here, isolated and private,
as much as we might like to.
We are called together in order to be sent out.

This week I invite you to find a quiet spot some time, close your eyes
and imagine yourself with Jesus.
Imagine Jesus calling you by your first name and saying,
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And then just sit with that for a while,
resting in the truth that you have been chosen.
And how will you respond?

On this Trinity Sunday Mass,
this Trinity Sunday Sending Forth,
we recognize our participation
in the work of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
As the Father sent the Son, so we are sent,
accompanied by the Holy Spirit.
You might be feeling under-appreciated, overlooked or forgotten,
but Jesus knows you, values you, and loves you.
Jesus has chosen you
to go out and do something on his behalf.
Where is he sending you?
And what is it that he wants you to do this day,
this week, this month, this lifetime?

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