God’s grace, peace and mercy be with
you. … My focus is Acts, chapter two, where Peter addressed the men of Israel.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the
psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the
Lord.’”[i]
Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we
listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply
as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.
Anthony
de Mello tells of a pastor whose ship anchored at a remote island. Since he
only had one day there, the pastor was determined to use the time profitably.
He
strolled along the seashore and came across three fishermen, mending their
nets. In broken English, they explained to him that missionaries converted
their village to Christianity. “We
Christians!” they proudly proclaimed. The pastor was impressed. In
talking some more, he discovered that they had never heard of the Lord’s
Prayer. The pastor was shocked. “What,
then, do you SAY when you pray?”
“We lift eyes to heaven and say, ‘We are three, you
are three, have mercy on us.’”
The
pastor was appalled. This would never do. In fact, it sounded almost heretical. So,
he spent the whole day teaching them the Lord’s Prayer. Even though the
fishermen were slow learners, they were finally able to struggle through it
before the pastor sailed away the next day.
Months
later, the pastor’s ship happened to pass by that same island. The pastor
paced the deck, recalling with pleasure the three men who were now able to
pray, thanks to his patient efforts. While he was lost in his thoughts, he
happened to look up, and notice a spot of light to the east. The light kept
approaching the ship and, as the pastor gazed in wonder, he saw three figures
walking on the water. The captain, too, was amazed and he stopped the boat
so everyone could see. When they got within speaking distance, the pastor recognized
the three fishermen.
They
exclaimed, “Pastor! We see your boat go
by the island, so we come to see you.” Awestruck, the pastor asked, “What do you want?” “Pastor, we are very sorry. We forget lovely prayer. We say, ‘Our
Father, in heaven, holy be your name….’ Then we forget. Please tell us prayer
again.”
With
a quiet voice, the pastor answered, “Go
back to your homes, my friends. And each time you pray, say, ‘We are three, you are three, have mercy on
us.”[ii]
Have mercy on us. Most pastors like to skip Trinity
Sunday because people expect them to explain the Trinity in simple terms. So,
in addition to the story of our three amigos, let me outline it for you – Persons,
Pentecost and a Postscript.
First, Persons. We often use symbols to
explain the Trinity – from Patrick’s clover to geometric designs. We find symbols
of the Trinity in our church – the equilateral triangle and overlapping
circles. Mathematicians and engineers may prefer triangles and circles, but they
are static. If you want to understand the dynamics of the Trinity, you really
have to observe and live the family experience. Families are dynamic. Think of
any family – the First Family or the Royal Family, your in-laws or your
neighbors. Based on your observations of the outer dynamics of any family, you
determine the breadwinner and the spender, the problem solver and the troublemaker.
You surmise their mission in life and predict where the children will be in 20
years. You rely on them for assistance or aggravation. We base our assumptions solely
on what we know as outsiders.
Hollywood tries to give us an experience of the
inner dynamics of family life – be it the Robertson Family, aka, Duck Dynasty or the Dysfunctional
Housewives of Any City in America. However, reality TV has limits. You cannot
live the experience of that family. The only way one grasps the inner dynamics
of any family is by living in it.
So it is for Jesus – as the Second Person of
the Holy Trinity. He knows the Father. The Father knows him. Together, they dwell
with the Spirit. John tells us that Jesus revealed himself to believers. Over
the past few weeks, we heard Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit. In today’s
passage, he discusses the Holy Spirit with Nicodemus. Jesus claimed, “Unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[iii] Perhaps Nicodemus needed
an infusion from the Holy Spirit to accept this teaching.
As believers, we accept the truth from
Scripture that there are Three Persons of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and
Spirit. We observe their outer dynamics – creation, redemption and
sanctification – all performed with loving-kindness. We surmise that the inner
dynamics of the Three Divine Persons is strong enough to overcome Satan, sin
and death. We rely on their love.
From Persons to Pentecost, my 2nd point.
Today’s passage picks up where we left last week – Peter’s Pentecost sermon.
Pentecost was an agricultural feast where Jews celebrated not only the harvest
but also the giving of the Torah. It was known as the Shav – u’ – oth or the
Feast of Weeks. This festival was celebrated 7 weeks or 50 days after Passover.
It brought farmers from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Asia, Egypt, Libya and Rome to Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot.
They came to thank God for the harvest and for the Law. To them Peter made a
fundamental presentation of the Gospel. And while Jesus could not convince his
hearers, by preaching Christ crucified, Peter stirred the hearts of some 3,000
that day. Scripture tells us that he converted and baptized 3,000 people. Through
baptism, Peter brought them into the inner family. They observed the community
of believers from the outside, and then experienced it from the inside. Peter
baptized the people who heard the Gospel as members of the Church, a believing
community, a dynamic community of people that reflected the loving
relationships of the Holy Trinity in their inner and outer activities.
Believers are members of a believing
community, a Pentecost community. … Are we members of a Pentecost community?
Are we a Pentecost people? … We are. … Turn to Roman numeral x in your Lutheran
Service Book and read the lower right hand corner: “The Time of the Church – The Season of Pentecost.” From now until Advent,
our corporate worship reminds us that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives.
Hence, we celebrate the Sundays of Pentecost.
Like the first converts, we too were baptized
in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We received
forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because we are attuned
to the Holy Spirit active in our lives as a faith community and individual
believers, we are a Pentecost people.
Are we a Trinitarian community? … Well, if
you turn to Roman numeral xxi, you will find that these Sundays are also
Trinity Sundays. They remind us to focus on the dynamic power of all Three
Divine Persons of the Trinity active in our lives. Therefore, according to our
worship, we are members of a Pentecost and Trinitarian community.
There is another way to know if we reflect
the loving relationships of the Holy Trinity in our inner and outer activities
– by asking outsiders what they observe. … This week, ask some outsiders how
they see us. Do they see us as Spirit-filled people? Do they see us as a
dynamic community? Would they say that we reflect the loving relationships of
the Persons of the Holy Trinity? Does our living proclamation of the Gospel stir
their hearts to the degree that they are kicking in the doors to enter our
church? Think about that this week, and really ask someone. Ask anyone. If we
are a Pentecost people, a Trinitarian community, it should be easily
observable.
That brings me to my third point: Postscript.
… Cindy and I enjoy camping. We enjoy it so much that several years ago, I
purchased Cindy the perfect birthday present any Christian husband can buy his
wife – a camping stove. Camping is an activity every Christian should embrace.
Camping is Biblical. Abraham and Sarah lived
their whole lives in tents. Moses and the Israelites camped 40 years. When
David decided to build God a fine house, God revealed His preference for a
tent. So, guys, buy your wives camping stoves.
We read in the Gospel of John, “The
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”[iv] Many Scripture scholars
interpret the verse this way – He pitched his tent among us. Cindy and I thank
you for inviting us to pitch our tent here and live among you. We have enjoyed
our time here.
Throughout our time here, God placed many
gifts before us. Above all, we appreciate the people He placed in our lives. We
appreciate all that you did to make our stay here welcome. We now pack up our
tent and camping stove and trek north to be closer to grandchildren. Thank you
for your kindness and prayers.
One last request, brothers and sisters:
Pray to the Holy Trinity for the grace to be grateful, especially to the people
closest to you. In Jesus’ Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
