Readings: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Psalm 8 (2) Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15
In
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Silence.
I
would rather stand here and say nothing than give you a definition of a word I
must confess I myself do not fully understand.
A church doctrine that is over 1600 years old does little good to any of
us if it does not somehow fit into the lives we are living right here and
now. But me giving you a definition or
trying to create some metaphor to explain the great mystery of our faith is not
going to help you. Should you ask the
hard questions? Of course you should.
Theology
is not a closed door of study. The door
is not just open to pastors. You are
invited to study and examine your faith to whatever degree you may choose. Martin Luther was very supportive of Christian
education in the home as well as the church.
From Luther we have the priesthood of all believers. From the posting of the 95 Theses at
Wittenberg to today, and into the future, we are encouraged to ask questions
and learn more about our faith. You will
encounter some difficult subjects and some confusing doctrines.
I
truly believe some of the most difficult questions are the ones we have to ask
ourselves not about doctrine or who God is but questions about who we are as children of God.
I
don’t want to try and oversimplify the Trinity or put it in a neat little
box. One thing we know about God, as we
know God in Jesus, is that God defies lines and limits, boundaries and
boxes. The Trinity is not a mathematical
problem or a logic puzzle. How can you
define that which defies definition or limit that which is beyond limits?
The
Trinity is, at least in part, an experience of relationship—and it is an
ongoing experience at that. God is Jesus
and the Holy Spirit. God is God. Jesus lived among us in the flesh. And the Holy Spirit has worked in and through
us from long ago, and will continue to do so into a future which we cannot see.
God’s
relationship with God’s own self is an ongoing, ever growing thing, just as we
are called into an ongoing and on-growing relationship with God through Jesus
and the Holy Spirit. It is by virtue of
our individual relationships with God that we are also in relationship with one
another…like it or not.
Who
are you?
You
are a child of God.
You
are not an only child.
You
have roughly 7.4 BILLION brothers
and sisters.
Yet,
you matter to God.
God
wants an intimate relationship with you.
Just
as the psalmist wrote, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them? Yet you
have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and
honor. You have given them dominion over
the works of your hands.”
We
are co-workers in the care of God’s creation.
We are blessed with the responsibility of the earth and all the many gifts
she brings in due season. See, you
matter a lot for God to so trust and so value you.
God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work
as One to bring about the Work, Word, and Wisdom of God. Together they strive to help us be in
relationship not only with God but with all of our brothers and sisters, all of
our co-creation co-workers.
Broken
relationships…
You
probably already know this—from observation of others, or from your own
personal and painful experiences…
Broken
relationships make care and creation difficult.
Lack of good communication.
Failure to uplift and appreciate the contributions of others. Diminishing one’s self or anyone else and
what you or they have to offer. All
these things hurt the World, Word, and Work of God.
Yet,
oddly, all these sins do nothing to change our
Worth.
You
are priceless in the sight of God.
God
came among us in flesh, resides within us in Truth of Spirit, and will be with
us always, all out of sheer, unbreakable, uncontainable love.
You
don’t have to have 7.4 billion perfect relationships. Maybe for today just try and focus on making
one relationship better. Just one.
For
the love of God…
No comments:
Post a Comment