May 31, 2026
Genesis 1:1–2:4a; 2 Corinthians 13:11–13; Matthew 28:16–20
Theme: The Power of the Word
Have you ever spoken a word you wished you could take back? Maybe you said something too quickly, too sharply, or too loudly-and the moment the words left your mouth, you thought, “If only I could rewind.” Words have power. They can build or break, heal or wound, create or destroy. And if our human words carry such weight, how much more the Word of God? In Genesis 1, God spoke the Word and the creation came to be.
A section of Eucharistic Prayer C reads, “At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this fragile earth, our island home.” BCP. p.370.
In (Genesis 1:1–2:4a), the Word of God Creates the Universe
Genesis opens with a God speaking and creation responding.
“Let there be…” and there was.
God does not build with tools. God builds with speech.
He speaks order into chaos, light into darkness, life into emptiness. This tells us that God’s Word is creative and has power.
The same God who spoke creation into being still speaks today-into our lives, our darkness, our worries. God’s Word still creates hope, still creates courage, still creates new beginnings. Because God’s word is the ONLY word that has a final say in our lives. (“Who has the final say?”)
In our Epistle reading this morning (2 Corinthians 13:11–13), Paul tells us that the Word Forms Community.
Paul ends his letter to the Corinthians with a blessing many of us know well:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” v.13. Some of us preachers have used Paul’s blessings as just a mere benediction, but it goes beyond benediction. It is a blueprint for Christian community. Because grace forms God’s family, the Love binds us together and the Communion sustains us as a family of God. The beloved community.
Paul is telling his audience, let the Word of God shape how we live with one another. Let the Word of God heal our divisions and let the Word of God make us one family of God.
In the Gospel (Matthew 28:16–20), Jesus uses the Word to Send His disciples to to go all nations.
He gives His disciples a final Word. One that still echoes through the Church today in the 21st century: “Go therefore and make disciples… and remember, I am with you always.” Matthew calls it the “Great commision of the disciples”
This is the sending Word. Notice what Jesus does: He does not send them with money. He does not send them with political power. He does not send them with weapons or armies. He sends them with a Word-a Word strong enough to cross borders, break chains, create relationships and transform lives.
This morning the Trinitarian God is sending us into our families, communities, with His Word to:
- Speak life where there is despair 2. Speak peace where there is conflict
- Speak truth where there is confusion 4. Speak hope where there is fear.
5. Speak justice where there is silence
My dear friends, remember our world is full of destructive words-this age of AI, social media, in politics, in families, even in churches. But as followers of Christ, we are called to be different. We are called to be a people shaped by the Word that gives life.
So, my brothers and sisters, may we be a people who not only hear the Word, but who are also mindful about the words that come out of our mouths. Because Words have Power to destroy or to build.