Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (RSV)

Perhaps you are familiar with the poem, "The Blind Men and the Elephant," by John Godfrey Saxe. It concerns six men who decide to satisfy their curiosities as to what an elephant is like. Upon arriving where the elephant was, each man approached him from a different stance. The first man, as he encountered …