Holy Trinity – Sunday 26 May A✠D 2024
✠ Psalmody: Psalm 8:1-2a, 3-5;Daniel 3:26
✠ Lection: Isaiah 6:1-7;Romans 11:33-36;St. John 3:1-15
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s an indescribable joy to be the one installed into the Office of the Holy Ministry, the Office instituted by God Himself, which is carried out in the lives of the Church by God the Holy Spirit Himself. The joy is immeasurable to have the honor and privilege of standing before you every Sunday morning, at the least, and beginning the Divine Service, His Divine Service of you, by blessing you with His holy Name: that of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; within the Trinity the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. We also remember the Name of the triune God right before the sermon, asking that He, by whose Name we are made the children of God when it is placed upon us when He baptized us, would bless both the proclaimer and hearers of His most precious Word. For we are not deists, meaning we don’t believe that a distant god created all things then removed himself on a self-imposed, heavenly quarantine, leaving mankind to determine what becomes of it as He simply watches it unwind as a clockmaker does with one of his pieces. We believe, teach, and confess that God is, as He always has been and always will be, intimately involved in the world, especially among and within those belonging to His kingdom.
To enter such an eternal kingdom of life, one need not enter again into his mother’s womb as Nicodemus wondered when he came to Jesus by night, hearing our dear Lord tell him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” This is a defining verse for believers who call themselves “born-again Christians”, for indeed the text is referring to a second birth, one following the original by which we entered into death, but this one into the everlasting re-creation of new life in Christ.. The more-than-just-a Good Teacher’s intent wasn’t to inform Nicodemus, nor us, that we must figure out how to make our spiritual rebirth happen. It happens from above when we receive the Good News and the Holy Spirit stirs up within a response of belief and a desire to hear more of this Good news. The Spirit opens our ears to hear Jesus’ deeper meaning that unless one is born from above, unless one is born into the second, new, eternal life, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, then he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Unless one believes this clear truth about the mysterious yet revealed Three-in-One, he cannot enter the kingdom that has no end. The Source of salvation is the Most Holy Trinity Who is from above: He, the Father, Who willed that His only begotten Son come into the world to die for the sin of the entirety of it; He, the coeternal Son, Who became man, while still fully God, in order that man He could redeem by His sacrificial death; He, the Holy Spirit, Who is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding, calling dead sinners by the gospel, sanctifying and keeping all believers in the one true faith unto all eternity.
Laying hold of the truth that salvation is of God alone, entirely from outside of us, completely by the grace and goodness of the Lord Almighty, keeping this Word, guarding it as our greatest treasure, storing it up in our hearts as that which will see us to and through all ages to come, this is what you need, what I need, and the whole world without exception needs. The blessed Trinity is the source for all true joy, for all true hope.
Too much focus and credence are given to the fallen creature, to man’s distorted emotions and perverted feelings, all the while the source of all true goodness, from above, namely the blessed Holy Trinity, continues to be dismissed by the world as an outdated tradition. By God’s design, life, daily life, is found in and revolves around Him, His Word, and His sacraments as found in His Holy Church. That is reality, not a fleeting idea of ancient man. The world does not see that real, lasting change, that true value of life, true love for one another, is only brought about from above by the work of the Holy Trinity. Meanwhile, the Church also has her own struggles of living as though we truly believe that the Trinity is holy, holy, holy.
All people upon the earth need the same air to breath, the same food and water to drink. All of us procreate the same way. We see, hear, taste, smell, touch the same way. All of us need the exact same salvation, to be born from above because every single one of us is born as condemned enemies of God. Yet the unity in the Gospel that God has made known in His Beloved Son is most detestable to Satan and the wicked ones among us who seek to divide us, to stir up hatred, and to bring chaos instead of God’s orders of creation. Your rest and relief is sure to come when you to tune out the noise and the venom, to spend less time seeking to hear the latest headlines, to actually do some healthy distancing from contagious worldliness. Do not lose heart in these days for you will always have much reason for joy, even as it becomes all-the-more important that you fight the trials and tribulations of this life with all that is given you in your second birth, which is from above. With it, with Him comes hope. With Him comes peace. With Him comes joy, strength, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; all things good for you and for those with whom you share this planet. Simply put, the best answer for you, for me, and for all people is as complicated as the best Sunday School answer there is: Jesus. More and more of Jesus. More of His deliverance that comes from outside of you, and in spite of you. More of His strength in these evil days as the world steers for the cliff, yet as the Church carries on and stands firm. More Jesus in as many ways as you live in the gift of faith He has given you: praying, singing, reading, fasting, giving, and obviously coming as much as you can to where you know to find Him here, where you can lift your voice in praise to the Lord of your salvation, for salvation is of Christ the Lord. Take heart, take comfort knowing that as much Jesus as you seek, He, Who is the caretaker of you in body and soul, will gladly give Himself to you as much as you desire and, yea, even more, forevermore.
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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