SPECIAL DAYS, TRINITY SUNDAY, MEMORIAL SUNDAY

May 30, 1999

LESSONS: Psalm 8; Genesis 1:1-2, 4, 26-27; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20, NRSV

SERMON TITLE: Three! or One? or One in three? or What Is the Trinity?

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INTRODUCTION:

1. Tomorrow is Memorial Day.
1. It is a day to remember the sacrifices of those who have given their lives in service to their country.
1. To help us there will be a parade
2. It will stop at Oak Knoll Cemetery.
1. Small American flags on some graves
2. There will be a prayer and gun salute with the playing of taps
3. The parade will proceed to the library
1. At the library there will be speeches.
2. The speeches will emphasizing patriotism. sacrifice, and freedom.
2. It is a day to reflect on the ways of the world and the way of God.
1. The ways of the world are full of dominance and violence.
2. The way of God is the way to hope and peace.
2. Today is also a memorial day.
1. We call it a sabbath.
1. To the Jews it is a memorial to creation.
1. (Genesis 2:1-3 NRSV) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. [2] And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. [3] So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
2. (Exodus 20:8-11 NRSV) Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor and do all your work. [10] But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. [11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
2. For us it is a memorial of the power and purposes of God in the Resurrection.
1. God in creation.
2. God in salvation.
3. God in redemption.

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Main body:

1. Today is also Trinity Sunday
1. We are given the opportunity to recall, remember, and reflect on the God who resurrects.
2. We are given an opportunity to review what we know about the God whom we worship and seek to serve.
1. We are confounded by the mystery of God.
2. We rejoice in the revelation of God.
2. In our attempts to understand God and to defend the faith we have developed creeds.
1. Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
   maker of heaven and earth;

And 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, dead, and buried;*
   the third day he rose from the dead;
   he ascended into heaven,
      and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
   from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

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

1. Do you believe it?
2. Do you accept it?
1. Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
   Father, the Almighty,
   makerof heaven and earth,
   of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
   the only Son of God,
   eternally begotten of the Father,
   God from God, Light from Light,
   true God from true God,
   begotten, not made,
   of one Being with the Father;
   through him all things were made.
   For us and for our salvation
      he came down from heaven,
      was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
   and became truly human.
   For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
   he suffered death and was buried.
   On the third day he rose again
   in accordance with the Scriptures;
   he ascended into heaven
   and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
   He will come again in glory
   to judge the living and the dead,
   and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
   who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
   who with the Father and the Son
   is worshiped and glorified,
   who has spoken through the prophets.
   We believe in the one holy catholic* and apostolic church.
   We acknowledge one baptism
      for the forgiveness of sins.
   We look for the resurrection of the dead,
      and the life of the world to come. Amen.

1. Do you believe it
2. Do you accept it?

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1. We do not have much difficulty in envisioning God.
1. Although our vision may be faulty.
1. An old bearded, benign presence.
2. The holy and righteous one who is demanding in accountability.
2. We do often question what kind of God.
3. There is a simple way to understand God and our relationship with God.
4. Read the story of the Fall in Genesis 3.
2. We have much more difficulty in accepting Jesus Christ as God.
1. All the New Testament writers declare the divinity of Christ.
2. He even said that He and the Father were one.
1. If you have seen one you have seen the other.
2. This makes it possible for us to better understand God.
3. But the Holy Spirit, that is an altogether different matter.
1. We could spend a lot of time exploring the biblical material to prove the divinity and uniqueness of the Holy Spirit.
1. We use the term "Holy Ghost," and we envision a ghost.
2. We use the term "Holy Spirit," and we envision a spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit is not a ghost nor a spirit, but a person.
4. The Holy Spirit who is part of and equal to the persons we call Father and Son (Jesus the Christ)
1. Genesis
1. The Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.
2. Let us make human kind in our image.

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2. 2 Corinthians
1. The triune God is invoked in a benediction.
1. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
2. the love of God (the Father),
3. and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
2. The power and equality of God is invoked.
3. Matthew
1. At Jesus baptism:
1. He heard the voice of the Father with approval.
2. The Holy Spirit lighted on him like a dove.
2. Go and make disciples.
3. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
4. Many, many more.
2. What would it accomplish.
1. Would you be more convinced?
2. Would you be more confused?

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CONCLUSION:

1. Celebrate the tri-unity of God.
1. Accept the gifts of God.
2. Celebrate the unity of God
3. Celebrate the purposes of God
2. God wants us to fly.
1. We cannot take flight under our own power.
2. But we can prepare for the flight of a lifetime.
1. Peter Pan has gotten a lot of bad press lately, from psychologists, feminists, down-to- earth realists--but the "flying song" in the Disney version of this childhood dream story still offers sound advice.
2. To soar "all it takes is faith and trust ... and a little bit of pixie dust.
3. The dust is a positive must!"
3. God desires us to be energized.
1. If you've missed the battery ads featuring that perpetual-motion machine, the Energizer Bunny, you've been living on another planet these past few years.
2. No matter how many obstacles are put in his path or how ingeniously the opposition plots against him, the Bunny just "keeps going, and going, and going,..."
3. We need the energizing presence and spirit of God to help us successfully meet the challenges of life that we must face.
4. We are the beneficiaries of all that god is providing.
1. Thank God for the Trinity.
2. We may not fully understand it, but in and with faith, we can accept it, and be transformed.

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