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Holy Trinity (Trinitarian) John 3:1-17 June 11, 2006 1 We used to say the Lord’s Prayer at bed time. As early as I can remember—I remember lying in bed with my Mom and Dad (these two) standing over me. We would say the Lord’s Prayer together before they would turn out the lights, leave the room and shut the door… This was my first conscious experience of God. Lying there in the stillness of night—trying to fall asleep. I wouldn’t have called it this at the time, but I remember sometimes (not all the time) “meditating” on the meaning of these words, these ideas about God…”Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” There is a lot in there, you know—in the Lord’s Prayer. For one, it taught me what was not for me to worry about—what God promises to be responsible for—the Lord’s prayer taught me that I wasn’t in this thing alone—that God was supposed to help us: from giving us something to eat, to helping us stay out of trouble, to bringing about his Kingdom in the world. If you think about it…and I did…it pretty much meant that we were to trust God in everything—allow God to be a part of everything. 2 Later in life, I learned to listen to more of what Jesus said—I didn’t know then that I was beginning or had begun a lifelong journey with Jesus, but that is what happened. For, with Jesus, I realized that his words were alive somehow—and that he was talking to me. For, even if I had heard his instructions or listened to his parables many times before, they more often than not, would strike me in my life precisely where I was. Like an good teacher who repeats his fundamental lessons when you need to hear them again. I guess you never fully grasp the full depth of Jesus or his words—but you can be sure he will say them again if you stick around to listen. 3 Later yet, in life, I began to look back at where I had been, and I saw more and more what I had learned—to see what I didn’t even know while it was happening. I began to see that there were ways in which God was calling me (and sometimes pushing me) to grow. Also at times, when life seemed dull and mundane, I would turn and look and discover unexpected happiness in life…joy, peacefulness. I found comfort in a feeling that I was not alone somehow…a feeling, like a refreshing breeze that brings life into a stuffy room. That’s what the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of God—can bring into your life. Brothers and Sisters, Today, I am telling you a little bit about my experience with God…This is how it has worked for me: first I learned to pray to the Father, then I learned how to listen to his Son, Jesus Christ, and then I began to feel God’s presence, somehow. And I suppose you could call that feeling the work of the Holy Spirit. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday—the one day of the Church year when our theme is a doctrine—the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. There is a lot I could say about the Trinity, believe me…how God is one God, not three Gods, and how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in relationship to each other…, but I’m not going to go there today. I have discovered that there is a great danger in talking too much about God, and at the same time, not talking to God—or trying to experience God…perhaps that is what was happening in our Gospel today, when Nicodemus comes trying to understand who Jesus is. Jesus responds by saying that you must be born of the Spirit. I believe that is Jesus way of saying “experience it with your own life, Nicodemus.” God is here, but you will never begin to understand God, until you begin to experience him. I always begin any conversation about the trinity doctrine, with the story of Moses and the Burning Bush…the third chapter of Exodus (you should read it when you get home today). (tell the story) In this story, God reveals his divine name—and ironically his name means I AM WHO I AM OR I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE. It is not through any sort of doctrine that we will come to know God, but only by experiencing him you will know him. So, that being said, the thing that I would point out to all of you on this Trinity Sunday is this…we are Trinitarian…That is , our encounter with the living God is a threefold expression of that encounter… We pray to the Father, as Jesus taught us,
We listen to Jesus. Joshua W. Magyar, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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