\u201cGo\u201d \u2026 <\/strong>\u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.\u201d As was read in the Gospel of Matthew 28 a few minutes ago.<\/p>\nJesus\u2019 deity rings out to us in this verse as we give our undivided attention today to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit\u2026 we focus on what God reveals about Himself\u2026 His innermost being… His divine nature without any miracles or works. Trinity Sunday is a pivotal week because what we call the three persons of God, is a reality we as Christians must anchor our faith on\u2026.<\/p>\n
A reality in what God says of Himself. \u00a0This reality and belief in our Triune God is the foundation of our salvation. And we must rise above any reasoning the world dares to say differently. And believe me it will.<\/p>\n
Martin Luther once said of the Trinity\u2026 \u201cTherefore, we should not dispute about how it can be that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One God\u2026 for it is by its very nature beyond all reason, but it should be enough for us that God speaks thus about Himself and reveals Himself thus in His Word.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond Our Reason<\/h3>\n Very true! It should be enough for us to learn these things through scripture. This truth we do not dispute\u2026 but wrapping our mind around it can be easier said than done. This truth beyond all reason makes it hard to resist applying analogies to help understand this mystery.<\/p>\n
I have used several of these analogies in the past\u2026 like an egg having three parts but is still and egg. Or like me being a father, husband, and son\u2026 but still one person\u2026 Water, steam, and Ice\u2026three natures of H2O\u2026 and there are many more. All having their own theological discrepancies. I have even heard these to describe the Trinity\u2026 Speaker\u2026 Spoken Word\u2026 and Listener. Or this one\u2026 the Father is the one who wants to comfort, the Son who prays for the comforter, and the Spirit who is the comforter.<\/p>\n
Our mind searches for something to help understand the mystery of the Trinity. We know but we don\u2019t understand. But it’s ok though to know something and still not understand it. I have trouble with this quite often it seems.<\/p>\n
One episode I recall started at a council meeting here at church several years ago. My bride was getting teased about her animals, connecting it to Christmas that was quickly approaching. My gears were not turning, but I could see the look in her<\/u> eye… and I have seen that look before\u2026 I could tell something was brewing. Sure enough, when we get home, she presented the idea of a living nativity. It sounded like a wonderful idea actually. So, the next few days I processed in my mind what kind of apparatus I must build to accommodate this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I then revealed my construction plan of using a few animals in a fenced area on a trailer and a small manger scene on the end. She looked at me with bewilderment\u2026 obviously I didn\u2019t understand. I did not understand the definition of \u201cLiving Nativity.\u201d So, I asked the question that I should have already known\u2026 So, you mean real people too? Well\u2026 the rest is history and my project no doubt had to get bigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The point being though, I ignored the real purpose of a living nativity with my own reasoning and lack of understanding.<\/p>\n
Truth In The Trinity<\/h3>\n Understanding what God is like, how He relates to us, and how we should relate to Him is all revealed in the truth of the trinity. This understanding should make our hearts joyful towards God. For we know that all three Persons, the whole Godhead, turns Himself toward us to help our sinful nature battle the forces of sin, death, and the devil\u2026 And that is a constant battle.<\/p>\n
He reveals Himself to us so we may be brought close to Him through forgiveness and the promise of eternal life.<\/p>\n
You may or may not know, this is the only Sunday of the year we proclaim our faith with the Athanasian Creed. You can find it in the front of your hymnals on page 319. I\u2019m sure this is not your favorite creed as it is quite long and somewhat repetitive\u2026 but if you really concentrate on this profession of our faith\u2026 the comprehension of the Trinity\u2026 understanding who God really is\u2026 and the apprehension of our eternal destiny is clearly<\/u> proclaimed\u2026 in triplicate.<\/p>\n
Did I really say understanding again? Well to help with that, I like to use a visual description called the Trinity triangle. As you look at this triangle up on the screen, you can see that it is fittingly an equilateral triangle. Its name derives from its equal values. All three sides of the triangle are equal in length, and the angles are all an equal 60 degrees. In more ways than one, this Equilateral Triangle is a perfection of equivalence. It might help to copy and paste this image in your mind as we confess our belief in the Athanasian Creed here pretty soon.<\/p>\n
One God<\/h3>\n Coeternal and coequal. You can read this triangle any direction you want. The equality, the unity of the divine presence of our Lord\u2026 keeps circling and pointing to the center as one God. This is indeed the fundamental nature of our triune God.<\/p>\n
This divine community, our three-in-one and one-in-three God\u2026 shaped the universe into existence.<\/p>\n
We heard this in the Genesis reading earlier as God\u2019s plan was set into motion. Six days of creation our Lord made the heavens, the earth, and everything in it… But something special was created on that sixth day. Let me read again verse 27\u2026 \u201cSo God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.\u201d Creating the heavens and the earth and everything in it is no doubt quite remarkable. However, creating you and I in the image of our triune God?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Created In His Likeness<\/h3>\n When our grandson was born a little over a year ago, we all agreed how much he looked like his dad. When he was a few months old, it was fun to compare pictures with his father when he was about the same age. Father and son could just as well have been twins. I see family similarities in many youngsters from the time they are infants and beyond. Who does this child take after? Where does the red hair come from? What similarities are there with their posture, their laugh, or their attitude<\/u>…. I often get blamed for that last one\u2026<\/p>\n
Whose image and likeness do they bear? In verse 26 God says, \u201cLet us make man in our image, after our likeness.\u201d (Did you catch this hint of the trinity\u2026the words us and our?).\u00a0 At any rate, the answer applies to all of us.<\/p>\n
We bear the image and likeness of God. Not that our image like I compared a second ago will actually resemble God. But instead, our image reflecting God\u2019s holy personality in thought, word, and deed.<\/p>\n
Our triune God tells us something critical about ourselves. About whom we are created and shaped to be. The purpose for our existence and path for our eternal destination. When God created the heavens and the earth, darkness and light, plants, and all living things\u2026. Moses writes, \u201cAnd God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Satan Bluring Our Image<\/h3>\n But then, Adam and Eve decided to eat of the forbidden fruit and suddenly, certain things in God\u2019s creation were NOT good.<\/p>\n
Even though we were created in the image of God, Satan blurred that image. Yes we are sinful and unclean\u2026 and that has been passed along to every generation since Adam\u2026 In our sinfulness, our focus easily zero\u2019s in on the great evil in the world. The theological question arises \u201cIf our God made everything so good, why are things so bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
That question entered my mind during the onset of the pandemic. Why now Lord when it seems Christianity is on a decline, must we close the church doors? Remember how we only could meet with less than ten people\u2026with a mask on\u2026 I\u2019m sure most of us would agree. At the covid onset many of us probably thought or said\u2026\u201d This is not good.\u201d And it wasn\u2019t. Social distancing seemed to distance our relationship with God.<\/p>\n
Not only did it affect our worship, but it also changed our way of life. Businesses faced financial stress. People were out of work. Events were being canceled. Medical facilities understaffed. We were told where we could go and where we could not. Decisions had to be made of what was essential and what was not… Life as we knew it was not good.<\/p>\n
God Made It Good<\/h3>\n So, it seemed. But you know what? If you recall that parking lot service in the midst of the pandemic when Pastor Felcher stood on a trailer\u2026 in a snowstorm\u2026 praising our Risen Lord on that wet and cold Easter Sunday. The congregation in rows of cars\u2026. As Pastor\u2019s fingers grew numb and our fellowship weakened on what should have been the greatest celebration of the year… Was changed\u2026 and Lutherans don\u2019t like change\u2026. But looking back, it shaped us into the truth of what the value really is of being made in the image of God.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The genuine equality of the trinity, shaping our hearts and minds to the realization\u2026. We are ok as we live out God\u2019s plan of what trials we encounter to ultimately make us stronger.<\/p>\n
So here we are. Even though we face many challenges and hardships, the Bible makes it clear… God made it good. It is repeated in Genesis 1 too often to be ignored. Even though certain things in our life fall from that goodness, our loving God does not. He is always there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like I mentioned earlier\u2026 Not only is the creation story fundamental to the expression of the Trinity\u2026 it is also fundamental to the story of our salvation.<\/p>\n
This reality is clear through the scriptures as we reinforce our image as Christians. Making our understanding crystal clear of why we are here with the Son… Where we are going with the Father\u2026 And how to get there with the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
Truth In The Cross<\/h3>\n On this special Sunday\u2026 \u00a0we reflect who was on the cross. That person on the cross is the Lord of heaven and earth. He made the whole universe\u2026 And the first thing He said about it was that it was good. Very good.<\/u> He loved it.<\/p>\n
It was the love of creation that brought Him to that cross in the first place. Jesus came in the flesh of this world to redeem us amidst the unescapable disruptions we face daily… and it is our love for Him that roots us deep in the truths of our faith that we proclaim in the creeds\u2026 holding fast to the belief in the resurrection of the body\u2026 And eternal life for all who believe. \u00a0<\/p>\n
So it\u2019s not as much of how three can be one, or one three\u2026 this day is the celebration of God\u2019s work to restore us to himself\u2026 of restoring the image of God in us\u2026 and of restoring us to the fellowship and togetherness of the divine life. We are made in the image of God\u2019s love, and righteousness\u2026 \u201cLet us rejoice and be glad.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Christ, the image of God has been restored. Christ lives in us, baptized as we are by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
Our creator feeds us the feast of salvation. This is our God\u2026 true Father, Son, and Holy Spirit\u2026 vibrant in life and love\u2026 welcoming us into this enthusiasm and love through the merits of the Son… To this Son.. Jesus Christ\u2026 be all the glory, forever and ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in\u2026 The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
Amen<\/p>\n
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Triune God - goodshepherd<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n