Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son 

and of the Holy Spirit.
(Matthew 28:19)

Matthew 28:16-20

The Gospel of St. Matthew ends with the Risen Jesus commanding his disciples to baptise in the name of the Trinity. Baptism is, first and foremost, an incorporation into the family of the Trinity. The formula St. Matthew uses can be found nowhere else in the Gospels, but, reading carefully, we see that the individual members of the Trinity have been distinguished and active through his Gospel. 

Baptism is to be in the name of the Father—for Matthew, the God of providence, revealed in the Old Testament, who ensured the incarnation through a long line of ancestors. He is the God who shines on the just and the unjust (5:45), and he is the one who knows the Son and is known by him (11:27). 

Baptism is also to be in the name of the Son whose birth came through the Holy Spirit (1:20). He tells us that through his life, Jesus lived in intimacy with the Father (11:26) and did the will of the Father (7:21).  

Baptism is in the name of the Holy Spirit, who is active at creation and in the lives of the prophets (12:18) and descends upon Jesus at his own baptism (3:16). In the time of challenge, the Spirit speaks through the troubled disciples (10:20).  

St. Matthew does not speculate at all about how God can be three in one. He tells his readers what the individual members of the Trinity do and how they, together, are at work in the world. 

Through baptism, we are incorporated into the family of the Trinity. It is because of this incorporation that we are invited to live the dimensions of the Trinity in our own lives and relationships:

• Noticing and being grateful for the providence of God.
• Seeking to do God’s will.
• Allowing ourselves to be moulded and created to face the challenges of our own time.

Matthew teaches us that the Trinity is not a formula we have to work out but rather, living in the family of the Trinity, an example we are to follow in all we do and say. 

What does being incorporated into the family of the Trinity mean to you? How do you, in your life, live the qualities of the Trinitarian family you belong to?
 

Reflections by Russell Pollitt SJ

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
In baptism, we are welcomed into your community of love.
We are invited to live our daily lives in this community, 

in what we think, say, and do. 
Awaken in my heart today what it means to be incorporated into your life and love. 

Help me to be faithful to my baptism. 
Amen.

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