Listen to the gospel reading and sermon here:
Romans 8:12-25
12So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. 18I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
John 3:1-17
3Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Grace and peace to you in the name God, the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Happy Holy Trinity Sunday. Today is a festival Sunday dedicated to celebrating our triune God. Three-in-one. One-in-three. Simple enough, right. God is the creator of all things, known and unknown, seen and unseen. God became incarnate in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Jesus, fully human AND fully divine walked this earth to teach, preach, and offer a new way of life. By the power of God, Jesus conquered the grave and rose to new life and ascended to heaven. Of course, we can’t forget the presence of the Spirit. In creation the breath of God blew across the waters like a wind. The Spirit descended like a dove into Jesus at baptism. Jesus promises that the Spirit will abide with us, and at Pentecost that promise is fulfilled as the Spirit descends, dances, and swirls.
It’s the Holy Trinity. A Sunday dedicated to this uniquely perplexing doctrine of faith. One-in-three, father son and Holy Spirit working together seamlessly yet individually. Father, son, and Holy Spirit as God, Three-in-one. Remarkably Interconnected and intertwined, yet distinctly individual and unique in their ways. The three-in-one, each completely dependent upon the others, and yet the one-in-three, each completely self-sufficient and independent. And today we celebrate this beautifully complicated yet simplistically divine doctrine of God. Seems simple enough. So, happy Holy Trinity Sunday everyone.
The Holy Trinity as a doctrine is incredibly elusive. It seems that any time we get close to understanding, defining, and explaining it we find ourselves trapped in some form of heresy. How is that three distinct beings can wholly be one. And one distinct being can wholly be three.
I think that second to Holy communion, the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most widely debated doctrines of faith in all of Christian history. For example, the Nicene creed, which we typically use for festival seasons and Sundays..it was initially written and approved in 325. It was edited, debated, argued, and fought over for another 50 years until they settled on a the Nicene creed. But even in the 6th century some churches changed the language about the relationship between God and the son. As of 20 years ago, the Vatican was still having debates and discussions of proper grammar of the creed to avoid heresy. In a few moments we’ll confess together the Athanasian creed. It was written in the 6th century and it goes to incredible lengths to shed light on the Trinity. For nearly 2000 years, since God became incarnate, Christians have dedicated their lives to explaining the divine doctrine of the Trinity. The three in one, the one in three.
And yet today, we’re supposed to celebrate the Holy Trinity. How do you celebrate something that doesn’t make sense. So on this celebration of the Holy Trinity, I feel confident is saying two things about the Trinity. 1) I can not fully explain the trinity to you. Just being honest and 2) There is nothing I can say about the Trinity that hasn’t already been said or debated in the previous 2000 years of Christianity.
The other week I was in Tony’s office and we were talking through the events of upcoming Sundays. As we got to Holy Trinity Sunday, I sat down in the chair and lamented, “Oh what can I possibly preach on about the Holy Trinity that isn’t heresy. This incredibly complex yet beautifully simple doctrine of faith is a nightmare for pastors, and I would bet that 9 out of 10 would tell you they lament preaching on Holy Trinity Sunday more than any other Sunday.
So what is it about the Holy Trinity that makes it so elusive...so unable to define? What is it about the trinity that has the power to cripple our language and imaginations at every effort to define it. What is it about the Trinity that makes it feel so close to us yet so distant. Why dedicate a Sunday to the Holy Trinity and call it a festival?
Each and every single week our worship revolves around the Trinity. I stand up there and say “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” We talk about the Trinity. We just sang about the Trinity in our opening hymn: Holy and blessed three, Glorious Trinity, Wisdom, love, might! Boundless as ocean’s tide, Rolling in fullest pride, Through the earth, far and wide, Let there be light!. We pray in the name of the Trinity. We confess the Trinity. We believe in God the father almighty...I believe in Jesus Christ God’s only son. We believe in the holy Spirit…Our worship is drenched in Trinitarian language.
The truth is, we may never fully understanding the Holy Trinity. The three-in-one and one-in-three. If 2000 years of debate haven’t sorted out some form of Christian consensus then the reality is that we may neverput the power of the Trinity into a complete and comprehensive definition. And honestly, I think there is something completely freeing about that.
So rather than devote ourselves to gaining knowledge of the trinity and how it works...rather than over analyze and stress about the details of the divine, I think we are well off to devote ourselves to embracing and sharing our experience of the trinity. Rather than how the Trinity works, we might consider what the trinity teaches us.
Because deep down, as the foundation of every theological attempt to define the trinity..at the core of each creedal statement is relationship.
The Holy Trinity...the three-in-one, one-in-three is about relationship. It is all about relationship. God and the Trinity of God is first and foremost a witness to us of the relationship that God created us for. The type of relationship that God invites us to participate in.
The creeds teach us that the three persons of the trinity are so interconnected and interdependent, spiraling togethering in a divine dance, and God invites us into that dance--the dance of the Trinity.
This relationship begins for us in baptism. In the waters of baptism our very lives in Christ are tied to the Holy Trinity. When we were washed and named, we were claimed in the name of God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. Our new birth into the body of Christ is rooted in the Trinity. We are born anew as relational beings, and God created us and deeply desires for us to be in relationship with God and one another.
In our gospel text, Nicodemus approaches Jesus with theological curiosity. Now Nicodemus is a Pharisee, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities. He has scriptural and theological education and training. And yet, he has observed something new and intriguing about this jesus character that urges him to know more. So he asks Jesus about being born anew, about the kingdom, and how one comes to participate in the kingdom.
So Jesus says, “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” According to Jesus there is some different way of living that makes one aware of the kingdom of God. There is something different about a life apart from God and a life within God’s kingdom.
Life in the kingdom of God is a life rooted in and created for relationship.
You and I are created to be relational beings. We are created to care for, depend on, nurture, love, sustain, encourage, lift up, compliment, and accompany one another. In the waters of baptism we are interconnected and interdependent beings. We are welcomed into this divine dance between God, the father God the son and God the Holy Spirit.
We are welcomed into a relationship that is so filled with love, that God would even sacrifice part of God’s self for the world. A sacrifice of God for something God created in the first place. And in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the savior, God welcomes all nations, all peoples into the relationship of salvation.
God’s salvation means living a life of relationship with God and one another. And when we come to understand the Trinity in light of this relationship of God’s love for the world, we begin to have the wisdom of the trinity.
Whereas generations before us have sought knowledge of the trinity, seeking facts and definitions…. it is our experience of God’s love poured out for the world in creation, God’s love through Jesus Christ to offer salvation, God’s love in the Spirit to accompany us in our journey of faith that gives us wisdom of the Trinity.
Martin Luther suggested that the Holy Trinity is the greatest mystery in heaven and on earth. We celebrate the Holy Trinity today not strictly as mystery of theological doctrine that we may never fully understand. But we celebrate the trinity because it is a true witness to the outpouring of God’s love between God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit that we may never fully understand. Each member of the trinity empties itself of love for the others, but is in turn overflowing with love poured out. Love for a world in creation. Love for a world in salvation. Love for a world that continues to try and figure it all out.
And until we do figure it all out, perhaps God would have us live into the kingdom created for us. A kingdom built on a relationship of love. A kingdom inviting us to be in a loving relationship with God and one another. And perhaps...just perhaps...once the whole world has come to witness and participate in that relationship of love, we might truly know God.
Amen.
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