This Sunday is Trinity Sunday. All over the world the lead song in most liturgical services will include the line “God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.” Preachers will follow with a sermon trying to explain just what the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) means and few will be successful.
I think we might communicate the Trinity and its importance more effectively if we used more inclusive terms to help people imagine the Trinity as “The Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit.” After all, the “Trinity” is not an attempt to explain God but speaking of the 3 major manifestations that God chose to reveal God’s Self to humanity that we find in Holy Scripture. Let’s be clear: “God is still speaking!” But these are the 3 major manifestations of God that we find in scripture.
I attended the “Festival of Homiletics” this week in Atlanta and was inspired by some of the greatest preachers of our time. Though not one speaker spoke of The Trinity, I thought about it when one speaker encouraged us to (and I paraphrase) Know Your God, Know Your Body and Know Your Truth. In those 3 things I allowed myself to imagine a new way to think about the Trinity.
- Know Your God. The Creator created you and me to have fellowship with God because God loves us. If we come to know our God as the Creator who loves us and not some distant, non-relatable entity out there somewhere, we will discover that “God is for us!” Not out to get us!
- Know Your Body. The Christ, as our example, taught us to live our lives with balance. He demonstrated those things we need to do that strengthens us spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentality including taking the time to rest. If we follow Christ’s example, we come to know that “God is with us;” all the time. We are not forgotten and never abandoned!
- Know Your Truth – Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead, guide and direct us. Do you ever feel something inside you tugging at you to do the right thing, even when you want to do just the opposite? That’s the Holy Spirit. “Trust your integrity” and allow the Holy Spirit to be a constant reminder that “God is within us.”
These three things are “Examples of God’s Love,” and they go a long way in helping us to understand “The Trinity.” Join us in worship at Covenant on this “Trinity Sunday.” I promise I will have neither a long nor doctrinal sermon on the Trinity. I will however, be preaching about “The Trinity” as “Examples of God’s Love,” using “Psalm 8.”
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