SERMON: HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, May 26, 2002
There are ideas and things in life that are so complicated - so complex - that we struggle with understanding them. Today we encounter two of them. On the one hand it is Trinity Sunday. We believe that there is one God, and in God there are three Divine Persons. On the other hand tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is a day that we remember all of those who have served our country and have since died. Today we struggle with all he questions that we have about death.
As people of faith, we gather here this morning to look to scripture for the teachings and answers to our many questions. As we look at the first lesson, we find that it is one of the creation stories from Genesis.
In verse 26 God said, "Let us make humankind in our image". "Us" and "Our" are used. We find God the Father creating.
Jesus is present as the Word. Remember John's gospel? "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."
The Holy Spirit is also present: verse 2, "wind from God swept over the waters." Last week we heard about Pentecost and the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit.
In Paul's letter to Corinth he writes about the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Paul uses simple words to describe the persons of the Trinity: Grace, Love, and Communion. The translations in Greek are Charis (grace) meaning God's ongoing favor to us, Agape for God's abiding and engaging love, and Koinonia for communion and fellowship. We recall John's gospel of two weeks ago, where we saw Jesus praying that we may be one as He and the Father are one. What we need to know about the Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in community - they are a family - and they invite us into their relationship.
I don't know about you, but I have a way of making the simple things in my life complicated. A good example of this is a dinner I gave in March when my son was home on leave. I should have kept it simple - lasagna with the no boil noodles, salad from a bag, and ice cream and cookies for dessert. But no...I baked a turkey, with stuffing and gravy. I made real mashed potatoes along with steamed fresh broccoli and cauliflower. Before hand I served bean dip and roasted red pepper and artichoke dip with homemade bread. After dinner there was homemade pumpkin pie!
I do this with God, too. I know that God loves me, unconditionally and that he is always with me - inviting me into a personal relationship with him and fellowship with the church. And then I make it complicated:
I believe that grace is real,
But then I try to earn His love.
I believe that He cares about me personally,
But then I start to think that He doesn't understand me and my life here.
I believe that he's always present,
But then I start to think that He's too busy or that He can't or won't help me.
I want Him in my daily life,
But then I keep Him out of certain corners.
I want to give Him all of my burdens,
But sometimes I really enjoy worrying.
It's not that God isn't ever complicated. He certainly can be. For centuries theologians have been pondering His being, nature, character, presence and expression. Sometimes they make progress explaining this to us. Sometimes they confuse our beleaguered brains. What we need to remember is that God explains Himself best to each of us in our relationship with Him and within the church. (Baptism and Holy Communion are His visible words to us.)
I have another example of how we can complicate the simple through an Audrey story. Audrey is my granddaughter. Last summer, when she was 2 1/2, her great-grandfather died. Audrey started asking questions about death. How do you explain death to a toddler? I don't know. It's much too complicated for us adults to understand.
Audrey was relentless in her questions. We had hoped that the arrival of a baby sister would put an end to the questions. And it did, until someone gave Audrey the "Lion King" book as a gift. In this Disney story, the father lion dies. The questions were unending...One morning as she was asking the death questions at breakfast, her dad finally admitted to her, "Audrey, I don't know. I don't have the answers! You'll have to ask Jesus!" At that, Audrey climbed down and ran for her toy phone. She dialed 111222 and said, "Hello Jesus." She proceeded to tell Jesus about her great-grandfather and then about Mufasa. After each story she stopped to listen and then replied, "Yes, uh huh, ok". When she had finished, she said good-bye to Jesus and hung up.
My daughter relayed this story to me two weeks after it happened with the comment that the questions had stopped. She asked me what I thought of it. I answered that God is real and that the Holy Spirit was definitely working with Audrey. A few days later Audrey spend the night at my home. Our bedtime ritual is a story, prayers, and a talk. When I asked her what she would like to talk about, she answered, "I called Jesus on the phone." I asked her what she told Jesus, and she replied that she told him about grandpa and Mufasa dying. I asked her, "What did Jesus say to you?"
Before I tell you her answer, let me say that even though I believe that God invites us into a personal relationship and that he talks to us, I am as much a doubter as the early disciples. I didn't expect the answer Audrey gave me. She told me that Jesus said, "It's ok, don't worry, I love you!" Pretty simple - pretty powerful - and very true.
Throughout the Bible, God calls us into a relationship with Him. Father - Son - Holy Spirit.
He tells us that "It's ok" -- God created us in His image. And God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good. In Baptism we are marked by the cross of Christ forever. We belong to God.
He tells us 'not to worry' -- "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age".
He tells us that He loves us --"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you". Amen.
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