John 8:48-59; The Festival of the Holy Trinity; May 30, 2021;

John 8:48-59; The Festival of the Holy Trinity; May 30, 2021; Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN; The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” (John 8:48–59, ESV) Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To say that these Jews were unhappy with Jesus, is quite an understatement. They wanted him dead. The great fourth century preacher John Chrysostom talks about this text, he says. "Now, if they could not bear the comparison with Abraham (although this was only a minor comparison", just imagine if he had continually made statements about making himself equal to the Father. Would they have ever stopped throwing stones at him?"[1] And really who could blame them. Just before this, Jesus talks to them about the truth, how he is the truth. They do not recognize him or the truth. Jesus says the truth will set you free and the truth that he brings comes from the father. "Our father is Abraham!" They said. "No," Jesus says in reply, "your father is the devil. If your father were Abraham, if the true God was your God, then you would listen to me, you would hear the truth." They respond by calling Jesus a Samaritan and demon possessed. They mean it to be an insult. But notice, Jesus only refutes the idea that he is demon possessed. He doesn't say "I'm not a Samaritan." Listen again to another church father, St. Augustine: In this Samaritan the Lord Jesus Christ wanted us to understand himself. "Samaritan," you see, means "Guardian."… He could have answered, "I am not a Samaritan, and I do not have a devil." But what he did answer was, "it is not I who have a devil." What he answered, he refuted; What he kept quiet about, he confirmed. He denied he had a devil, knowing himself to be the expeller of devils; He did not deny that he was a guardian of the weak.[2] So just how is Jesus the Samaritan? Will should go back to the parable. It comes to us from Luke chapter 10. The whole parable comes up because a lawyer asks Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus points him to the law. "What do you read in the Law?" And the lawyer answers correctly, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Then Jesus says, "Okay, do this and you will live." That wasn't enough for the lawyer. He wanted to justify himself by proving that he was keeping the law perfectly enough. "And just who is my neighbor?" And to this Jesus tells the parable that we know is the good Samaritan. You know how it goes. A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho was beaten up by robbers and left on the side of the road for dead. A priest comes by but when he sees the man he passes by on the other side of the road. The Levite does the same. It should be noted that these two men were both Jews. And both highly respected "church" people. The people listening to Jesus’ parable would be a little surprised. Most of the time priests and Levites were the heroes of the story. But not today. Jesus turns the story on its head. He says a Samaritan has compassion on the man who was mugged. This is the last person any Jewish hearer would expect to be the hero of any story. The Jews in the Samaritans were at odds. Samaritans had Jewish heritage, but it was all corrupted through intermarriage. And worse their religion is bastardized Judaism. They didn't worship in the temple but instead on Mount Gerizim. When the Jews told jokes, Samaritans were the butt of jokes. But here the Samaritan is the good guy. He binds up his wounds. He gives him medicine. He puts him on his own donkey and takes him to a place of safety. And pays for his recuperation without regard to the cost. And then Jesus asks, "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to this man?" The lawyer was forced to say the Samaritan. He can't bring himself to say the word, so he says, "The one who showed him mercy." This is not what the Jews were saying of Jesus. And yet they speak better than they know. Jesus is indeed the one who shows mercy. Jesus is the defender of the weak. In fact, he is doing exactly what they should be doing and aren't. Jesus said he comes from the Father and is doing exactly what the Father has asked him to do. And when they speak evil of him, calling him demon possessed, their dishonoring God. They are not keeping God's word. They are not doing what Samaritan and the parable did. Jesus is pushing the law in their face. They were throwing roadblocks between people and God for the sake of lifting themselves up and making themselves look good. So the truth of Jesus accuses them. Then Jesus says, "Anyone who keeps my word will never see death." And they attack again. "Who do you think you are? Abraham is dead there's no way he listened to you!" And Jesus says it. "I know who I am. I am doing what the Father has sent me to do. Abraham saw my day and was glad." It's an important part of the text. And one completely misunderstood by Jesus' enemies. Abraham had faith in God, the Father, and what he would do to save the world from sin. Abraham looked forward to the day of Jesus. Abraham looked forward to the day of the cross. Make no mistake Abraham saw Jesus clearly in many ways. At the Oaks of Mamre God appeared to Abraham as three men. They appeared and told Abraham that even in their old age he and Sarah would indeed have a son as God had promised. But also, after the son, Isaac was born God tested Abraham telling him to offer that son as a sacrifice. God gave him a ram is a substitute instead. It is the perfect picture of what God would do in Jesus Christ. So not only had Abraham met God but he had faith that God would offer a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Jesus, The Samaritan, the defender of the weak, the substitute Lamb of God, has his day on the cross. He does exactly what the good Samaritan did. He saves broken and bloody people. He cares for and gives medicine to them. Brings them to a place of safety not regarding the cost. The cost for Jesus was great. He gives himself. He is the replacement. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The one in the picture Abraham saw on the mountain. The one that was given in place of his own son. Jesus perfect life is given in his perfect death. He gives it for those who are helpless. Jesus enemies were helpless. They were lost in their sin. Jesus gave his life on the cross for them. He offers rescue for them from the side of the road where they were beaten and bloody from their sins. They were helpless and lost. And yet they refuse to be saved by him. They refuse to recognize him for who he is. You and I are helpless. We are lost in our sin. It is no less sin than those who accused Jesus of having a demon. And yet, in love Jesus still gives himself on the cross for us. He rescues us from the side of the road where we are beaten and bloody by our sins, we are helpless and lost. His life is given is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We gathered here have received Jesus our Savior. We confess faith in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We confess Jesus our Savior is true God and true man. The one whose day Abraham saw and rejoiced. We cling in faith to our defender, our Savior, our good Samaritan, our Substitute Sacrifice. We rejoice in the Good News and receive the medicine of our Lord's Supper. The Jews in our text did not. They could not tolerate Jesus’ comparison to Abraham. They could not tolerate Jesus saying he saw Abraham. They could not tolerate that Jesus said Abraham believed in him. They dishonored Jesus. They dishonored God the Father by rejecting Jesus. But Jesus wants their rejection of him to be clear. He wants them to understand who he is. He wants them to repent and turn to him in faith. And so, he answers the question they asked. "Who do you think you are?" "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." He could not have said it any more clearly. He used the words, the very name of God, which came from the burning bush. He used the name of God that was given to Moses to give to the people when he rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Moses asked God, "When the people asked me who you are, what name shall I give?" And God said "I AM WHO I AM." What Jesus is saying to the Jews is I AM the very God of Abraham whom you claim to follow. I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I AM the God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. I AM the one you dishonor when you claim I have a demon. I AM the good Samaritan who has come to save you from your sin. I AM here to bring you to safety. I AM the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. I AM God. Repent and believe the good news I AM here. They rejected him. They pick up stones to kill him. But Jesus walks away from them. It is not time for them to kill him yet. His day, on the cross is yet to come. The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. [1] page 318. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, volume IV a Inter-Varsity Press, 2007 [2] page 311. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, volume IV a Inter-Varsity Press, 2007

Romans 11:33; Festival of the Holy Trinity; June 7, 2020;

Romans 11:33; Festival of the Holy Trinity; June 7, 2020;

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN;

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! (Romans 11:33, ESV)

(Thanks to Norman Nagel)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What is God like? You probably don’t get asked that question very much. But if you did I’d be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that you wouldn’t answer the question with the Athanasian Creed. In some ways it feels more like the “Athanasian Confusion” rather than a statement of what we believe. And yet again I guess we shouldn’t expect it to be all that easy to understand it is after all speaking about God. God is well beyond our understanding. To attempt to describe Him in human language is to attempt the impossible. God is farther above us then we are above insects. The author of The Letter to the Romans says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord?” (Rom 33:34, ESV). So, any creed that tries to explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity is going to be tricky. And yet, it is a confession of what we believe. Its purpose is to state what the Bible tells us about God in as clear a fashion as possible. To say a creed is to say what God’s Word says. To confess what God tells us about himself. To “Same-Say.”  We say what we say about God because it is what He tells us about Himself.

I said God was far beyond our understanding. It’s true. Our brains can’t do it. They just don’t have the ability since sin has corrupted us. We can’t understand “depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.”  In Isaiah it tells of God looking down on the earth and the people are like grasshoppers. Think about holding a grasshopper in your hand. What would it think of you? It probably only understands that it can’t escape as you hold it, but it will try to escape to preserve its life, because it fears being crushed. There is nothing else it can understand about you. It can’t understand anything about who you are, or what you are like. Its brain isn’t big enough to understand. It can’t fathom the depth of your knowledge. Its reaction to you is based on its fear and desire to preserve its life. If grasshoppers had a language, how would that language be able to describe you?

If you want to know what humans think about God, you only have to look at the world religions outside of Christianity. You’ll see that same kind of fear. Without God’s Word nature is our only information about who God is and nature is a dangerous place. If it is God’s creation and human beings are routinely swept away in tsunamis and swallowed up by earthquakes what language can be used to describe Him? Consider the billions of people on the earth and the insignificance of a single person among billions. The human reaction to the God of nature is to do whatever it can to appease Him. We must live the best life we can to keep His anger away from us. We must make something of our lives to be noticed in the right way. Or even more common today, deny the obvious and ignore the Creator so as to not be accountable to Him.

Human beings who fear God do so naturally. We have been given a conscience that tells us what is right and wrong, what pleases God and what makes Him angry. Human beings have every right to be afraid of God. You know what He expects of you, and when you look at yourself you know you don’t live up to it. It is remarkably similar to the fear the grasshopper in your hand feels. You have the power to destroy. God could just as easily destroy you.

How could that grasshopper come to understand who you are? Well there is no way it for you to communicate with it except to become a grasshopper yourself. As one of his own you could tell him about you in grasshopper language.

When we want to know what God is like, we only have to look to Jesus who did that very thing for us. Jesus is God become man, to tell us what God is like in human language. He tells us that He is God. He does things only God can do. He says things that only God can say. He is worshipped by people who see Him for who He is. There are people who don’t believe He is God. They call Him crazy. And it’s true, Jesus is either God or He is insane. You can’t just make Jesus a great moral teacher. If what He says is true, then He is either crazy, or He is God.

Jesus is God, expressed in human person, language, and action. Jesus is God speaking to human beings about who He is and what He wants for us. St. John even says that Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is God speaking about Himself in a living and breathing way. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV) If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is God that can be heard, and seen and touched and most importantly, understood.

Jesus says to us, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, ESV) He’s telling us something about God that we can’t know any other way. He shows us of God’s love for us at the cross. The cross is what God thinks of us, we are His friends. But friends just doesn’t quite cover it does it. Jesus laying down His life is even more than we expect. It isn’t what we would do. In Jesus, God becomes human and suffers the eternal agony of hell’s punishment. He dies for everyone, not just the ones who say they love Him. God’s love is expressed even for those who reject Him and wish Him out of existence. His love is for those who hide from Him in fear. It is for those who know what God expects and know they can’t do it. Let me say it very clearly. The love of God you see in the death of Jesus Christ is for you.

There is no greater love. God loves the un-lovable. God loves sinful people. He loves you. He loves me, even in the depth of our sin. That is what God is like. God dies to set aside our sin, to bring us forgiveness instead of punishment. When punishment is set aside fear of the Judge is gone. Because of Jesus’ paying the punishment for our sins we no longer need to be afraid of God. In fact, we now call God our Father.

“Our Father…” we pray in the prayer that Jesus gives us. “I believe in God the Father…” we confess in the other creeds of the church. We have that relationship with God, the Father, because of Jesus. He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV)  Faith believes in the forgiveness that Jesus has made. With that forgiveness in hand we can approach God, the Father, as Martin Luther put it: With these words [Our Father Who art in Heaven] God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Without faith is to be without forgiveness. God is no longer Our Father, but only Our Creator and Righteous Judge. When the cross of Jesus is rejected, Jesus is rejected, and forgiveness is rejected. A Jesus without the cross is not the true Jesus. Where there is no forgiveness there is only God’s inescapable wrath and punishment.

So, Jesus shows us God the Father, and our relationship to Him through the forgiveness of sins, blood bought by His death on the cross. He also shows us the Holy Spirit. It’s important to know about the Holy Spirit because if it weren’t for Him we’d have no faith. No human being can believe that Jesus is God any more than we could believe that a person could become a grasshopper. Jesus Christ completely God and completely man is nonsense. It’s not something that we can believe on our own. Lot’s of people out there say that Christianity is right because it makes sense. The truth is that Christianity is the most non-sense-ical religion there is. You can’t prove it with science. You can’t convince people its true by arguing with them. God become man to die a criminal’s death, to take punishment he doesn’t deserve, is foolishness. You can’t believe it without God giving you faith.

Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter confessed it clearly. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  (Matthew 16:16, ESV) Jesus reply tells us of the work of the Spirit. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 16:17, ESV) It isn’t specifically the work of the Father that Jesus is talking about; St. Paul clarifies it for us. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV)  The Holy Spirit works faith in us to believe and confess that Jesus is Lord, faith to see that Jesus is God’s son sent to be the sacrifice for our sin and restore our relationship to God the Father.

The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, which is all about Jesus. The Spirit never points to Himself; He’s only interested that we see Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus enters our ears and hearts and the Spirit turns us to Jesus so that we can see who He really is. When the Holy Spirit works in us, He points to us He points at our sinful hearts. Then He shows us Jesus, our only hope for freedom from sin’s punishment. He shows us Jesus, our only way to the Father. Since you can never quote Martin Luther too much:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. (Luther’s Small Catechism, The Apostle’s Creed, The Second Article: On Redemption)

The Holy Spirit enlightens me with His gifts, Luther says. The gifts he’s talking about are God’s Word, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Holy Spirit has confined himself to those means of working. He doesn’t work outside of those ways. That’s God, doing what God does, active in our lives bringing us Jesus and the forgiveness of our sins.

What is God like? Did you notice that in answer to that question we talk about what God does?  God is a living and active being. He is best known for what He does, most clearly in what He has done in Jesus. God’s action shows us that He is a unity in trinity, three persons in one God. We speak most clearly about The Trinity when we speak about God and say what He does.

Look at the Apostle’s Creed. God creates. God saves. God makes us holy. God is three persons, unified in action, unified in purpose, unified in love for you and me. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Apostles' Creed, June 16, 2019

The Apostles' Creed, June 16, 2019

Festival of the Holy Trinity, June 11, 2006

Life in Christ Lutheran Church, Grand Marais, MN

The Apostles’ Creed

It’s Trinity Sunday and that means we’re talking about this great mystery that is difficult for us to understand. After reading together the Athanasian Creed at the beginning of the service I was tempted to just give this sermon…

The Holy Trinity: Three in one, one in three. Got it? Amen.

Or maybe the tweet from Rick and Ted: The Dad the Son & Spirit are God; God is Dad, Son and Spirit; Son ≠ Dad; Dad ≠ Spirit; Son ≠ Spirit; Spirit ≠ Son; Done;

The real problem is, in spite of Ted says, that we really can’t understand what it means that God is one in three, and three in one. It’s a mystery beyond our understanding. We just don’t have anything we can compare it to. We don’t have language to express it. I’ve read the book 3-in-1 to the children and although it helps us to understand the Trinity a little better it’s not perfect either. God isn’t like anything we know. He’s the most unique thing in the whole universe. He’s totally outside of it all, and yet he’s everywhere in it all. How do you explain something like that so that we can understand?

Well, I’ve found, when trying to understand the things of God, it’s best to remember and talk about what we’ve been told already. That’s what it means to confess our faith. To say back to God what he has told us about himself. One good place to find what God tells us about himself is in the Apostles’ Creed. Turn to page 322 in the front of your hymnal. There you’ll find the Apostle’s creed and Martin Luther’s explanation of each article. This creed (or confession) is an important document for Christians. It’s how we’ve been confessing what we believe about the Trinity for millennia. It gathers together in one place what God tells us about himself in his Word in a form that’s easy to remember and easy to speak. So today, on Trinity Sunday, let’s do just that. It’s a good time to review. Let’s read the first article together.

The First Article - Creation

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean?

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

First, we should notice that we confess together, and call God our Father. Father’s Day is coming. The Creed reminds us that God is our Father. It’s the first way we must get a handle on what the Trinity is. We may not understand exactly what it means that God is a Trinity, but we can understand what it means that God is our Father. This links the Apostles’ Creed closely to the Lord’s Prayer, where our Lord invites us to call God, Father. Just as our earthly fathers are supposed to provide for us, we confess that we believe that our Heavenly Father provides us with everything we need: Body, soul, eyes, ears all my members, reason and senses… etc. clothing shoes, food drink… I really don’t think Luther left anything out. God has provided all these things to us, everything necessary for us to live, and work and play. I think the important phrase here though is “and still take care of them.” God is not the kind of Father that gives and forgets. He’s the Father that gives and keeps on giving! In fact, God is the kind of Father that never stops giving. He gives everything, and then He gives more. One of my seminary professors said you can’t understand God unless you begin to speak in mathematical impossibility. God is three in one. That’s a mathematical impossibility. God gives us everything, and then He gives us more. Just think, the bed you slept in last night, the food you ate for breakfast, the pew you are sitting in right now, all gifts from a loving Father. He gives you all that and there is still more to give.  It’s impossible but that’s what He does. He gives us complete forgiveness through the all that Jesus has done. We have full and complete salvation right now, and yet there is more to come as we look forward to the end of time, when God will give us even more. We have the complete forgiveness of sins, and yet God gives us even more through the Word of forgiveness spoken through the lips of your Pastor, and even more when we open our mouths and he puts forgiveness into us through the Body and Blood of Christ. We also confess that He protects us from harm and danger. God does what our earthly fathers are supposed to do and more. It is a picture we can come close to understanding.  So maybe this Trinity isn’t completely beyond our understanding after all.

What about the second article? Let’s read it.

The Second Article - Redemption

[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His-only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

This article is at the center of the creed and it’s also the center of our faith. It is the center of our faith. It’s about the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ. We are Christians. Christian means “Little Christ.” We are believers in Jesus, the Christ, followers of Jesus Christ. Our faith is in the life death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. That’s the big gift given to us from God, the Trinity. And right here in the creed we have the whole story about what He has done for us: He was born, lived, suffered, died, raised again to life, ascended into heaven, and coming again. And Luther doesn’t waste any time when he tells us, he uses an economy of words to get right to the point. Thru Jesus Christ, “God has redeemed me a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil;” Think of John 3:16 (which one could consider the most famous passage in the whole bible). We could all even say it together even if we’ve never memorized a single verse of the bible I’ll be we know this one “for God so loved the world…” This is the heart of everything we confess here in this church.

Notice how it doesn’t talk about what we do, but only about what God gives to us through faith.  And because of all that Jesus has done, He is my Lord.  Jesus is born of the Virgin. Jesus has redeemed me.  Jesus has purchased and won me from sin that lives in my heart, death that is my just reward for that sin, and Satan who tries to uses that sin to drive me away from God. And he didn’t do it with gold or silver, as we would try to do it. It wasn’t bribery; the gift that God gives was earned.  It was purchased by His holy and precious blood of Jesus Christ. He let out his blood on the cross where nails pinned him as a payment for your sin. His willingness to die for you and me is the price that He paid. That I may be his own and live under him…  The gift that he gives through his life and death is real life: a life of righteousness, innocence and blessedness.

And there’s one more thing to talk about here. It’s the resurrection of Jesus. All the gifts God gives through Jesus are secured through His resurrection. As the creed says just as he has risen from the dead, so these things are also true for us. The resurrection is the proof of Jesus perfect life and death. The resurrection is the promise of God’s gifting us more in the future. Life here can be good with God’s gifts, but if there was nothing after death it would all come to an end. But that’s God’s addition again. He gives all there is to give, all that we need to support this body and life, and then He gives more yet; eternal life, life that goes on and on forever; a perfect life with Him every day. All that He has to give is beyond our thinking. Just as the Trinity is beyond our thinking, just as the forgiveness of sins is beyond our thinking, just as Jesus resurrection as a promise of our resurrection is beyond our thinking, so God’s giving is beyond our thinking.

That’s what the Christian faith is all about. That’s what we confess when we talk about the second person of the Trinity.

But there is still one part left. You see, after all that God has done, He still does more!

Let’s look at the third article and read it:

The Third Article - Sanctification

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

Finally, we talk about the Holy Spirit, the third person in God’s Trinity, but we also talk about more than the Holy Spirit, too. We talk about ourselves. Look at how Luther begins his description talking about whom we are. I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; You see, despite what many Christians believe (even some Lutherans!) our faith isn’t due to anything we do. It isn’t something that we have to figure out. It’s not something we have to become accept by asking Jesus into our hearts. In fact, it has nothing to do with anything we do at all. I cannot by my own reason or strength.  Luther says. That just goes against all our American pride. We want to be self-sufficient. We don’t want to be dependent on anyone. That’s one of the things that makes Christianity so difficult to swallow here in the US these days. It goes against our national grain. But God makes it very clear in his word, and Luther simply confesses what God has said. Faith is totally and completely a gift of God, worked out in us completely by the Holy Spirit, through Word and Sacrament. It’s God’s math again. He gives and gives and keeps on giving. We don’t deserve what He gives. We can’t earn what He gives. God is a gracious giver.

Some Christians insist that we must “accept” Jesus or “decide” to follow Him. “He has done his part and we do our part.” But we confess here in Luther’s explanation to this part of the creed that we are totally reliant on God for our salvation. When we say these words of the Creed, when we say these words that echo what Scripture tells us, we confess that we don’t meet God part way… the Holy Spirit gently calls us to faith.

These days, too, many people are focused on the Holy Spirit. They look for churches where they think they can “feel” the Spirit working. It’s a part of that idea that we’ve got to have a part to play… at least we must feel the Spirit working. But unfortunately, what they find may not be the Holy Spirit at all. You see, He’s a background player. He works behind the scenes. Just look at the list of things he does: He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. He keeps the church with Jesus Christ.  If a church focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit, they are really missing the point. His purpose is to point to Jesus. Often, we think of the Spirit in the form of a dove, but I think another picture would be a hand pointing to the cross. When the Spirit is working people are looking at and thinking about Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… That’s a picture of the Spirit working right there. We get the work of the Spirit mixed up when we equate it with feelings. God, The Holy Spirit, works in our hearts through His Word, and Sacraments weather we feel him working or not. God, the Holy Spirit, works through the miracle of Holy Baptism even if we don’t feel clean afterward. The biggest testimony of that is when we bring infants here to the font. They don’t even know what’s happening and often cry with the water. Yet, we believe God, the Holy Spirit, gives them faith just as he promised. God, the Holy Spirit works when we hear His Word preached, when those words tell us of our sin and God’s gracious gift of forgiveness in Jesus, even if we don’t feel moved by the words that are spoken.  God, the Holy Spirit, is at work strengthening our faith through the really present Body and Blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, even if we don’t feel any different walking away from the altar than we did when we walked toward it. If our faith was dependent on our feelings, then we’d all be in trouble, because our feelings are so fickle. If our faith was based on feelings, we’d never be able to say, this is most certainly true, because the only thing we can know about our feelings is that we can’t depend on them.

So, if you can’t depend on your feelings to show you that the Spirit is at work, how do you know he’s at work? We look to what we can know for sure, God’s Word, God’s promises. That’s what the creed is all about confessing God’s promises that are given through His Word. You want to see the Spirit at work? You don’t have to go very far. He is working right now, right here! All you have to do is look and listen and taste and feel where God promises to be. Right here in God’s word, right here in Holy Communion, right here in Baptism. Anytime your attention is focused on Jesus Christ crucified for your sins, any time find yourself dependent on Jesus alone, you can be sure that the Holy Spirit is at work in you. Any time you find God giving it all, and giving some more you can be sure the Holy Spirit is at work, daily and richly supplying…

So that’s the Trinity. Do I understand what it means that God is three-in-one and one-in-three? Not really. If you get it figured out let me know. It’s God’s math. The truth is that it isn’t surprising that we don’t understand it, because we are trying to describe the God who was powerful enough to create this whole universe, that we struggle to understand, and God is bigger than that. It’s OK not to understand the Trinity. What’s important for us to know is just what’s been given for us to know. What’s important is for us to confess what we’ve been given to confess about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is how God works in our lives. The Father – Creator, preserver, provider, protector; the Son, Jesus – Savior, the Holy Spirit – Faith giver. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

John 8:48-59; The Festival of the Holy Trinity; May 26, 2013;

 

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church; Creston, Iowa;

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The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” (John 8:48–59, ESV)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

To say that these Jews were unhappy with Jesus, is quite an understatement. They wanted him dead. The great fourth century preacher John Chrysostom talks about this text, he says

"Now, if they could not bear the comparison with Abraham (although this was only a minor comparison", just imagine if he had continually made statements about making himself equal to the Father. Would they have ever stopped throwing stones at him?"[1]

And really who could blame them. Just before this, Jesus talks to them about the truth, how he is the truth. They do not recognize him or the truth. Jesus says the truth will set you free and the truth that he brings comes from the father. "Our father is Abraham!" They said. "No," Jesus says in reply, "your father is the devil. If your father were Abraham, if the true God was your God, then you would listen to me, you would hear the truth." They respond by calling Jesus a Samaritan and demon possessed. They mean it to be an insult. But notice, Jesus only refutes the idea that he is demon possessed. He doesn't say "I'm not a Samaritan." Listen again to another church father, St. Augustine:

In this Samaritan the Lord Jesus Christ wanted us to understand himself. "Samaritan," you see, means "Guardian."… He could have answered, "I am not a Samaritan, and I do not have a devil." But what he did answer was, "it is not I who have a devil." What he answered, he refuted; What he kept quiet about, he confirmed. He denied he had a devil, knowing himself to be the expeller of devils; He did not deny that he was a guardian of the weak.[2]

So just how is Jesus the Samaritan? Will we should go back to the parable. It comes to us from Luke chapter 10. The whole parable comes up because a lawyer asks Jesus, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus points him to the law. "What do you read in the Law?" And the lawyer answers correctly, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Then Jesus says, "Okay, do this and you will live." That wasn't enough for the lawyer. He wanted to justify himself by proving that he was keeping the law perfectly enough. "And just who is my neighbor?" And to this Jesus tells the parable that we know is the good Samaritan.

You know how it goes. A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho was beaten up by robbers and left on the side of the road for dead. A priest comes by but when he sees the man he passes by on the other side of the road. The Levite does the same. It should be noted that these two men were both Jews. And both highly respected "church" people. The people listening to Jesus parable would be a little surprised. Most of the time priests and Levites were the heroes of the story. But not today. Jesus turns the story on its head. He says a Samaritan has compassion on the man who was mugged. This is the last person any Jewish hearer would expect to be the hero of any story. The Jews in the Samaritans were at odds. Samaritans had Jewish heritage but it was all corrupted through intermarriage. And worse their religion is bastardized Judaism. They didn't worship in the temple but instead on Mount Gerizim. When the Jews told jokes, Samaritans were the butt of jokes. But here the Samaritan is the good guy. He binds up his wounds. He gives him medicine. He puts him on his own donkey and takes him to a place of safety. And pays for his recuperation without regard to the cost. And then Jesus asks, "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to this man?" The lawyer was forced to say the Samaritan. He can't bring himself to say the word, so he says "The one who showed him mercy."

This is not what the Jews were saying of Jesus. And yet they speak better than they know. Jesus is indeed the one who shows mercy. Jesus is the defender of the weak. In fact he is doing exactly what they should be doing and aren't. Jesus said he comes from the Father and is doing exactly what the Father has asked him to do. And when they speak evil of him, calling him demon possessed, their dishonoring God. They are not keeping God's word. They are not doing what Samaritan and the parable did. Jesus is pushing the law in their face. They were throwing roadblocks between people and God for the sake of lifting themselves up and making themselves look good. So the truth of Jesus accuses them.

Then Jesus says "Anyone who keeps my word will never see death." And they attack again. "Who do you think you are? Abraham is dead there's no way he listened to you!"

And Jesus says it. "I know who I am. I am doing what the Father has sent me to do. Abraham saw my day and was glad." It's an important part of the text. And one completely misunderstood by Jesus' enemies. Abraham had faith in God, the Father, and what he would do to save the world from sin. Abraham looked forward to the day of Jesus. Abraham looked forward to the day of the cross.

Make no mistake Abraham saw Jesus clearly in many ways. At the Oaks of Mamre God appeared to Abraham as three men. They appeared and told Abraham that even in their old age he and Sarah would indeed have a son as God had promised. But also after, the son, Isaac was born God tested Abraham telling him to offer that son as a sacrifice. God gave him a Ram is a substitute instead. It is the perfect picture of what God would do in Jesus Christ. So not only had Abraham met God but he had faith that God would offer a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus, The Samaritan, the defender of the weak, the substitute Lamb of God, has his day on the cross. He does exactly what the good Samaritan did. He saves broken and bloody people. He cares for and gives medicine to them. Brings them to a place of safety not regarding the cost. The cost for Jesus was great. He gives himself. He is the replacement. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The one in the picture Abraham saw on the mountain. The one that was given in place of his own son. Jesus perfect life is given in his perfect death. He gives it for those who are helpless. Jesus enemies were helpless. They were lost in their sin. Jesus gave his life on the cross for them. He offers rescue for them from the side of the road where they were beaten and bloody from their sins. They were helpless and lost. And yet they refuse to be saved by him. They refuse to recognize him for who he is. You and I are helpless. We are lost in our sin. It is no less sin then those who accused Jesus of having a demon. And yet, in love Jesus still gives himself on the cross for us. He rescues us from the side of the road where we are beaten and bloody by our sins, we are helpless and lost. His life is given is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We gathered here have received Jesus our Savior. We confess faith in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We confess Jesus our Savior is true God and true man. The one whose day Abraham saw and rejoiced. We cling in faith to our defender, our Savior, our good Samaritan, our Substitute Sacrifice. We rejoice in the Good News and receive the medicine of our Lord's Supper.

The Jews in our text did not. They could not tolerate Jesus comparison to Abraham. They could not tolerate Jesus saying he saw Abraham. They could not tolerate that Jesus said Abraham believed in him. They dishonored Jesus. They dishonored God the Father by rejecting Jesus. But Jesus wants their rejection of him to be clear. He wants them to understand who he is. He wants them to repent and turn to him in faith. And so he answers the question they asked. "Who do you think you are?"

"Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." He could not have said it any more clearly. He used the words, the very name of God, that came from the burning bush. He used the name of God that was given to Moses to give to the people when he rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Moses asked God, "When the people asked me who you are, what name shall I give?" And God said "I AM WHO I AM." What Jesus is saying to the Jews is I AM the very God of Abraham whom you claim to follow. I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I AM the God who brought you out of slavery in Egypt. I AM the one you dishonor when you claim I have a demon. I AM the good Samaritan who has come to save you from your sin. I AM here to bring you to safety. I AM the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world. I AM God. Repent and believe the good news I AM here.

They rejected him. They pick up stones to kill him. But Jesus walks away from them. It is not time for them to kill him yet. His day, on the cross is yet to come.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] page 318. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, volume IV a Inter-Varsity Press, 2007

[2] page 311. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, volume IV a Inter-Varsity Press, 2007

Festival of the Holy, The Apostles' Creed, June 11, 2006

Festival of the Holy Trinity, June 11, 2006
St. John’s, Howard, SD
The Apostles’ Creed
It’s Trinity Sunday and that means we’re talking about this great mystery that is difficult for us to understand. After reading together the Athanasian Creed at the beginning of the service I was tempted to just give this sermon…
The Holy Trinity: Three in one, one in three. Got it? Amen.
The real problem is that we really can’t understand what it means that God is one in three, and three in one. It’s a mystery beyond our understanding. W just don’t have anything we can compare it to. I’ve read the book 3-in-1 to the children and although it helps us to understand the Trinity a little better it’s not perfect either. God isn’t like anything we know. He’s the most unique thing in the whole universe. He’s totally outside of it all, and yet he’s everywhere in it all. How do you explain something like that so that we can understand?
Well, I’ve found, when trying to understand the things of God, it’s best to remember and talk about what we’ve been told already. That’s what it means to confess our faith. To say back to God what he has told us about himself. One good place to find what God tells us about himself is in the Apostles’ Creed. Turn to page 301 in the front of your hymnal. There you’ll find the Apostle’s creed and Martin Luther’s explanation of each article. This creed (or confession) is an important document for Christians. It’s how we’ve been confessing what we believe about the Trinity for centuries. It gathers together in one place what God tells us about himself in his Word in a form that’s easy to remember and easy to speak. So today, on Trinity Sunday, let’s do just that. It’s a good time to review. Let’s read the first article together.
The First Article - Creation
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean?
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
First, we should notice that we confess together, and call God our Father. Father’s day is coming. The Creed reminds us that God is our Father. It’s the first way we have to get a handle on what the Trinity is. We may not understand exactly what it means that God is a Trinity, but we can understand what it means that God is our Father. Just as our earthly fathers are supposed to provide for us, we confess that we believe that our Heavenly Father provides us with everything we need: Body, soul, eyes, ears all my members, reason and senses… etc. clothing shoes, food drink… I really don’t think Luther left anything out. God has provided all these things to us, everything necessary for us to live, and work and play. I think the really important phrase here though is “and still take care of them.” God is not the kind of Father that gives and forgets. He’s the Father that gives and keeps on giving! In fact, God is the kind of Father that never stops giving. He gives everything, and then He gives more. One of my seminary professors said you can’t understand God unless you begin to speak in mathematical impossibility. God is three in one. That’s a mathematical impossibility. God gives us everything, and then He gives us more. Just think, the bed you slept in last night, the food you ate for breakfast, the pew you are sitting in right now, all gifts from a loving Father. He gives you all that and there is still more to give.  It’s impossible but that’s what He does. He gives us complete forgiveness through the all that Jesus did. We have full and complete salvation right now, and yet there is more to come as we look forward to the end of time, when God will give us even more. We have the complete forgiveness of sins, and yet God gives us even more through the Word of forgiveness spoken through the lips of your Pastor, and even more when we open our mouths and he puts forgiveness into us through the Body and Blood of Christ. We also confess that He protects us from harm and danger. God does what our earthly fathers are supposed to do and more. It is a picture we can come close to understanding.  So maybe this Trinity isn’t completely beyond our understanding after all.
What about the second article? Let’s read it.
The Second Article - Redemption
[I believe] in Jesus Christ, His-only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
This article is at the center of the creed and it’s also the center of our faith. It’s at the center of our faith. It’s about the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ. We are Christians. Christian means “Little Christ.” We are believers in Jesus, the Christ, followers of Jesus Christ. Our faith is in the life death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. That’s the big gift given to us from God, the Trinity. And right here in the creed we have the whole story about what He did for us: He was born, lived, suffered, died, raised again to life, ascended into heaven, and coming again. And Luther doesn’t waste any time when he tells us. Thru Jesus Christ, God has redeemed me a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and the power of the devil; Think of John 3:16 the most famous passage in the whole bible and part of what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the Gospel lesson for today. We could all even say it together even if we’ve never memorized a single verse of the bible I’ll be we know this one “for God so loved the world…” This is the heart of everything we confess here in this church.
Notice how it doesn’t talk about what we do, but only about what God gives to us through faith.  And because of all that He did He is my Lord.  Jesus is born of the Virgin. Jesus redeemed me.  Jesus purchased and won me from sin that lives in my heart, death that is my just reward for that sin, and Satan who uses that sin to drive me away from God. And he didn’t do it with gold or silver, as we would try to do it. It wasn’t bribery; the gift that God gives was earned.  It was purchased with His holy and precious blood. He let out his blood on the cross where nails pinned him as a payment for your sin. His willingness to die for you and me was the price that He paid. That I may be his own and live under him…  The gift that he gives through his life and death is real life: a life or righteousness, innocence and blessedness.
And there’s one more thing to talk about here. It’s the resurrection of Jesus. All of the gifts God gives through Jesus are secured through His resurrection. As the creed says just as he has risen from the dead so these things are also true for us. The resurrection is the proof of Jesus perfect life and death. The resurrection is the promise of God’s gifting us more in the future. Life here can be good with God’s gifts, but if there was nothing after death it would all come to and end. But that’s God’s addition again. He gives all there is to give, all that we have to support this body and life, and then He gives more yet; eternal life, life that goes on and on forever; a perfect life with Him every day. All that He has to give is beyond our thinking. Just as the Trinity is beyond our thinking, just as the forgiveness of sins is beyond our thinking, just as Jesus resurrection as a promise of our resurrection is beyond our thinking, so God’s giving is beyond our thinking.
That’s what the Christian faith is all about. That’s what we confess when we talk about the second person of the Trinity.
But there is still one part left. You see, after all that God has done He still does more!
Let’s look at the third article and read it:
The Third Article - Sanctification
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
Finally, we talk about the Holy Spirit, the third person in God’s Trinity, but we also about more that the Holy Spirit, too.  We talk about ourselves. Look at how Luther begins his description talking about whom we are. I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; You see, in spite of what many Christians believe (even some Lutherans!) our faith isn’t due to anything we do. It isn’t something that we have to figure out. It’s not something we have to become accept by asking Jesus into our hearts. In fact, it has nothing to do with anything we do at all. I cannot by my own reason or strength.  Luther says. That just goes against all our American pride. We want to be self sufficient. We don’t want to be dependant on anyone. That’s what makes Christianity so difficult to swallow here in the US these days. It goes against our grain. But God makes it very clear in his word, and Luther simply confesses what God has said. Faith is totally and completely a gift of God, worked out in us completely by the Holy Spirit, through Word and Sacrament. It’s God’s math again. He gives and gives and keeps on giving. We don’t deserve what He gives. We can’t earn what He gives. God is a gracious giver.
Some Christians insist that we must “accept” Jesus or “decide” to follow Him. “He has done his part and we do our part.” But we confess here in Luther’s explanation to this part of the creed that we are totally reliant on God for our salvation. When we say these words of the Creed, when we say these words that echo what Scripture tells us, we confess that we don’t meet God part way… the Holy Spirit gently calls us to faith.
These days, too, many people are focused on the Holy Spirit. They look for churches where they think they can “feel” the Spirit working. It’s a part of that idea that we’ve got to have a part to play… at least we have to feel the Spirit working. But unfortunately what they find may not be the Holy Spirit at all. You see, He’s a background player. He works behind the scenes. Just look at the list of things he does: He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.  He keeps the church with Jesus Christ.  If a church focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit they are really missing the point. His purpose is to point to Jesus. Often we think of the Spirit in the form of a dove, but I think another picture would be a hand pointing to the cross. When the Spirit is working people are looking at, and thinking about Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… That’s a picture of the Spirit working right there. We get the work of the Spirit mixed up when we equate it with feelings. God, The Holy Spirit, works in our hearts through His Word, and Sacraments weather we feel him working our not. God, the Holy Spirit, works through the miracle of Holy Baptism even if we don’t feel clean afterward. The biggest testimony of that is when we bring infants here to the font. They don’t even know what’s happening and often cry with the water. Yet, we believe God, the Holy Spirit, gives them faith just as he promised. God, the Holy Spirit works when we hear His Word preached, when those words tell us of our sin and God’s gracious gift of forgiveness in Jesus, even if we don’t feel moved by the words that are spoken.  God, the Holy Spirit, is at work strengthening our faith through the really present Body and Blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper, even if we don’t feel any different walking away from the altar than we did when we walked toward it. If our faith was dependant on our feelings, then we’d all be in trouble, because our feelings are so fickle. If our faith was based on feelings we’d never be able to say, this is most certainly true, because the only thing we can know about our feelings is that we can’t depend on them.
So if you can’t depend on your feelings to show you that the Spirit is at work, how do you know he’s at work? We look to what we can know for sure, God’s Word, God’s promises. That’s what the creed is all about confessing God’s promises that are given through His Word. You want to see the Spirit at work? You don’t have to go very far. He is working right now, right here! All you have to do is look and listen, and taste and feel where God promises to be. Right here in God’s word, right here in Holy Communion, right here in Baptism. Anytime your attention is focused on Jesus Christ crucified for your sins, any time find yourself dependant on Jesus alone, you can be sure that the Holy Spirit is at work in you. Any time you find God giving it all, and giving some more you can be sure the Holy Spirit is at work, daily and richly supplying…
So that’s the Trinity. Do I understand what it means that God is three-in-one and one-in-three? Not really. If you get it figured out let me know. It’s God’s math. The truth is that it isn’t surprising that we don’t understand it, because we are tying to describe the God who was powerful enough to create this whole universe, that we struggle to understand, and God is bigger than that. It’s OK not to understand the Trinity. What’s important for us to know is just what’s been given for us to know. What’s important is for us to confess what we’ve been given to confess about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is how God works in our lives. The Father – Creator, preserver, provider, protector; the Son, Jesus – Savior, the Holy Spirit – Faith giver. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Trinity Sunday, May 22, 2005, Romans 11:33

Our Savior, Swea City ~ St. John’s, Burt

(Romans 11:33, ESV)

(Thanks to Norman Nagel)

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What is God like? You probably don’t get asked that question very much. But if you did I’d be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that you wouldn't answer the question with the Athanasian Creed. In some ways it feels more like the “Athanasian Confusion” rather than a statement of belief. And yet again I guess we shouldn’t expect it to be all that easy to understand it is after all speaking about God. God is well beyond our understanding. To attempt to describe Him in human language is to attempt the impossible. God as farther above us then we are above insects. The author of The Letter to the Romans says “For who has known the mind of the Lord?” (Rom 33:34, ESV). So any creed that delves into the mystery of the Holy Trinity is going to be tricky. And yet, it is a confession of what we believe. Its purpose is to state what the Bible tells us about God in as clear a fashion as possible. To say a creed is to say what God says. To confess what God tells us about himself. To “Same-Say.” We say what we say about God because it is what He tells us about Himself.

I said God was far beyond our understanding. It’s true. We don’t have the brains to understand “depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.” And sin, our broken relationship with God, makes it even more difficult. In Isaiah it tells of God looking down on the earth and the people are like grasshoppers. Think about holding a grasshopper in your hand. What would it think of you? It probably only understands that it can’t escape as you hold it but it will try to escape to preserve its life, because it fears being crushed. There is nothing else it can understand about you. It can’t understand anything about who you are, or what you are like. Its brain isn’t big enough to understand. It can’t fathom the depth of your knowledge. Its reaction to you is based on its fear and desire to preserve its life. If grasshoppers had a language, how would that language be able to describe you?

If you want to know what humans think about God, you only have to look at the world religions outside of Christianity. You’ll see that same kind of fear. Without God’s Word nature is our only information about who God is and nature is a dangerous place. If it is God’s creation and human beings are routinely swept away in tsunamis and swallowed up by earthquakes what language can be used to describe Him? Consider the billions of people on the earth and the insignificance of a single person among billions. The human reaction to the God of nature is to do whatever it can to appease Him. We must live the best life we can to keep His anger away from us. We must make something of our lives to be noticed in the right way. Or even more common today, deny the obvious and ignore the Creator so as to not be accountable to Him.

Human beings who fear God do so naturally. We have been given a conscience that tells us what is right and wrong, what pleases God and what makes Him angry. Human beings have every right to be afraid of God. You know what He expects of you, and when you look at yourself you know you don’t live up to it. It is very similar to the fear the grasshopper in your hand feels. You have the power to destroy. God could just as easily destory you.

How could that grasshopper come to understand who you are? Well there is no way it for you to communicate with it except to become a grasshopper yourself. As one of his own you could tell him about you in grasshopper language.

When we want to know what God is like, we only have to look to Jesus who did that very thing for us. Jesus is God become man, to tell us what God is like in human language. He tells us that He is God. He does things only God can do. He says things that only God can say. He is worshipped by people who see Him for who He is. There are people who don’t believe He is God. They call Him crazy. And it’s true, Jesus is either God or He is insane. You can’t just make Jesus a great moral teacher. If what He says is true, then He is either crazy, or He is God.

Jesus is God, expressed in human person, language and action. Jesus is God speaking to human beings about who He is and what He wants for us. St. John even says that Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus is God speaking about Himself in a living and breathing way. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV) If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is God that can be heard, and seen and touched and most importantly, understood.

Jesus says to us, Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, ESV) He’s telling us something about God that we can’t know any other way. He shows us of God’s love for us at the cross. The cross is what God thinks of us, we are His friends. But friends just doesn’t quite cover it does it. Jesus laying down His life is even more than we expect. In Jesus, God becomes human and suffers the eternal agony of hell’s punishment. He dies for everyone, not just the ones who say they love Him. God’s love is expressed even for those who reject Him and wish Him out of existence. His love is for those who hide from Him in fear. It is for those who know what God expects and know they can’t do it. Let me say it very clearly. The love of God you see in the death of Jesus Christ is for you.

There is no greater love. God loves the un-lovable. God loves sinful people. That is what God is like. God dies to set aside our sin, to bring us forgiveness instead of punishment. When punishment is set aside fear of the Judge is gone. Because of Jesus’ paying the punishment for our sins we no longer need to be afraid of God. In fact, we now call God our Father.

“Our Father…” we pray in the prayer that Jesus gives us. “I believe in God the Father…” we confess in the other creeds of the church. We have that relationship with God because of Jesus. He says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, ESV) Faith believes in the forgiveness that Jesus has made. With that forgiveness in hand we can approach God, as Martin Luther put it: With these words [Our Father Who art in Heaven] God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Without faith is to be without forgiveness. God is no longer Our Father, but only Our Creator and Righteous Judge. When the cross of Jesus is rejected, forgiveness is rejected. Where there is no forgiveness there is only God’s inescapable wrath and punishment.

So Jesus shows us God the Father, and our relationship to Him through the forgiveness of sins, blood bought by His death on the cross. He also shows us the Holy Spirit. It’s important to know about the Holy Spirit because if it weren’t for Him we’d have no faith. No human being can believe that Jesus is God any more than we could believe that a grasshopper could be a person. Jesus Christ completely God and completely man is nonsense to our way of thinking.

Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter confessed it clearly. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16, ESV) Jesus reply tells us of the work of the Spirit. “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17, ESV) It isn’t specifically the work of the Father that Jesus is talking about, St. Paul clarifies it for us. “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV) The Holy Spirit works faith in us to believe and confess that Jesus is Lord, faith to see that Jesus is God’s son sent to be the sacrifice for our sin and restore our relationship to God the Father.

The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, which is all about Jesus. The Spirit never points to Himself; He’s only interested that we see Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus enters our ears and hearts and the Spirit turns us to Jesus so that we can see who He really is. When the Holy Spirit works in us, He points to us He points at our sinful hearts. Then He shows us Jesus, our only hope for freedom from sin’s punishment. He shows us Jesus, our only way to the Father. Since you can never quote Martin Luther too much:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. (Luther’s Small Catechism, The Apostle’s Creed, The Second Article: On Redemption)

The Holy Spirit enlightens me with His gifts, Luther says. That’s talking about Holy Baptism and Holy Communion: God’s Word in visible form; God, doing what God does, active in our lives bringing us Jesus and the forgiveness of our sins.

What is God like? Did you notice that in answer to that question we talk about what God does? God is a living and active being. He is best known for what He does, most clearly in what He has done in Jesus. God’s action shows us that He is a unity in trinity, three persons in one God. We speak most clearly about The Trinity when we speak about God and say what He does.

Look at the Apostle’s Creed. God creates. God saves. God makes us holy. God is three persons, unified in action, unified in purpose, unified in love for you and me. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.