Holy Trinity Sunday June 4, 2023
John 3:1-17
Believe It, Or Not
v.7-8 Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again." The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Dear friends in Christ, today is Holy Trinity Sunday, the day in the church year set aside to spotlight this holy teaching of the Christian faith. But it is not one which is readily understood by man. The Athanasian Creed--the creed which we will confess this day (named after the great church father of the 4th century, Athanasius, who was a stalwart defender of doctrine of the Trinity as confessed in the Scriptures)--begins this way: "Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance." Now, what does THAT mean? That is precisely what the rest of the creed outlines in detail for us--the blessed Holy Triune God--Three divine Persons in One Godhead. And it states, very clearly, that one must believe this in order to be saved. So…do you believe it…or not?
One of my favourite TV shows growing up was "Ripleys, believe it or not?" hosted by Jack Palance. He had the most amazing voice. And every episode he would narrate some sort of tall tale and then end with the same question, "Do you believe it…or not?" Often, your reason was stretched to grab hold of the amazing nature of the story that had been told--it was too strange to truly believe.
Such is the case for us in our text for today. Indeed, upon closer examination, we can clearly understand why the creators of the lectionary chose this particular reading for the Gospel text for this Sunday in which the teaching of the Holy Trinity is discussed. At first glance, we might think that a more appropriate text would be the story of Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptizer, or perhaps the Mount of Transfiguration--where the Trinity is in clear evidence.
Yet, there is a deeper wisdom at work by choosing this text in which one of Israel's teachers, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, goes to see Jesus by secret in the night to question Him. During their exchange Jesus tells Nicodemus quite clearly, "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." How is one to be born again? "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Ok. That doesn't really help Jesus. This talk of being born again by water and the Spirit is a hard teaching that is not easy to understand. We must be born again in a spiritual way--for the flesh can only give birth to flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus responds as we do to such strange and unbelievable talk--"How can these things be?" How can I be born again--must I enter a second time into my mother's womb to be born? Yeah, right (Nicodemus is being purposely slow on this point, trying to get Jesus to say more). Jesus expresses His amazement that Nicodemus does not already understand these things as he is a learned man--one of Israel's teachers. This concept of salvation by God's grace through faith--being born again of the Spirit is found throughout the O.T. scriptures in places like the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel just to name a few.
But the whole point of this text on this particular Sunday, a Sunday in which we confess together as the church the longest, and some would argue the most difficult, creed, is to point out to us that we regularly confess there are things beyond our understanding--and God is one of those things. Jesus notes this for Nicodemus in describing how the wind blows where it wishes--you can hear it--but you can't tell where it is coming from or where it's going--even with complex computer models we still struggle to map out weather patterns. So it is with the Spirit. God will be God. He will do what He will do and He is who He is and you can't fully understand Him and that's OK.
You see, the Scriptures clearly proclaim that sinful people like you and me--people who are born of the flesh--corrupted by sin and doomed to die--may only be reconciled to God by being born again--born of water and the Spirit--think Baptism. But the problem arises because this Spiritual rebirth defies our reason--and like stubborn children who don't understand something , we are tempted to jettison this teaching--this wondrous grace--to reject it out of hand--because we can't fully grasp how it can be.
In speaking to Nicodemus--and to us--Jesus calls for submission to His will and to His way of salvation by having us submit to Him in humility and reverence. Our salvation comes through faith in the Triune God--via Holy Baptism--whereby God takes you, the sinner, and washes you clean by the holy, innocent, shed blood of Jesus, the Son. You receive this by faith simply because God says so, NOT because you can understand it fully. Just as Nicodemus balks at the idea of Baptism bestowing the kingdom of God upon a person, you and I reject the idea of the Trinity--because we want to be able to understand Him perfectly. But that's not going to happen.
Jesus illustrates for Nicodemus that the way of salvation has always been one of faith and not by sight--one of humility and reverence for the Word of God--not our own strength or reasoning. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life." This recalls for us the story in the O.T. of the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled against God. He grew angry and sent poisonous snakes among them. After many died, they repented and asked Moses to intercede for them to God. He did so and God instructed Moses to construct an image of a serpent and put it on a pole so that whoever was bitten could look at the snake on the pole and live. And they did.
But really, when you stop to think about, what a weird story! You get bit by a snake--like a rattle snake or a cobra or a brown snake--deadly, deadly snakes--and instead of running to the doctor--instead of trying to leach the poison from the wound or administer anti-venom--you simply look to this image--and you live! What a fantastic and unbelievable story! But those who believed God's Word--who accepted His way of salvation--even though they couldn't understand it--were saved and they lived.
Just so with sinners today. You and I can't really fathom the depth of God's love--nor can we truly comprehend this Triune God who saves us. You receive forgiveness and life from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit working through the blessed Word and Sacraments. Can you understand it? No. Do you need to? No! [Like little children--you trust the Word of your Father who points you to Baptism, Supper, and Absolution as where God has revealed Himself to you and for you. You cling to His Word of promise and hope and joy--though you can't understand it (just as I can't understand how a car engine works, but I trust it to start when I turn the key in the ignition)].
As strange a story as the serpent on the pole is, it pales in comparison to the story of God becoming man--taking on human flesh and then suffering and dying like a common criminal in a most horrific and tortuous way. But God planned it this way that the Son might receive the judgement of God in your place for your sin--your doubt--your fear--your hatred and unbelief. Jesus is looked upon in faith on the cross and you receive forgiveness, life and salvation.
This is why God loved the world--for all sinners who look to Jesus will have eternal life. This is why God loves the world--it is an act of Jesus--an act we can't fully understand. God loved the world in this way--by giving up His only Son so that whoever believes will be saved. This verse, John 3:16, so well-known, is not actually talking about the depth of God's love so much as it is talking about the process of God's love--how His love is manifested for us in the world. His love is an action--one which led to His death on the cross for you and me and all sinners.
Beloved, this is the great joy of this Trinity Sunday. Do you believe it...or not? As Christians, we believe what God says, even though we can't always fully understand it. The Holy Spirit, working through the Word, creates the very faith for salvation that He Himself demands. So that you may answer with conviction, trust, and great joy--"Yes, I believe!" I believe and worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance…I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose again the third day from the dead…This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved. But by God's grace and His holy washing in Baptism, you have been born again of the Spirit--and so you do believe faithfully and firmly and have received eternal salvation for your souls--not because you understand it--but because you believe it. You believe the Word. You believe Jesus. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Am
John 3:1-17
Believe It, Or Not
v.7-8 Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again." The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Dear friends in Christ, today is Holy Trinity Sunday, the day in the church year set aside to spotlight this holy teaching of the Christian faith. But it is not one which is readily understood by man. The Athanasian Creed--the creed which we will confess this day (named after the great church father of the 4th century, Athanasius, who was a stalwart defender of doctrine of the Trinity as confessed in the Scriptures)--begins this way: "Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance." Now, what does THAT mean? That is precisely what the rest of the creed outlines in detail for us--the blessed Holy Triune God--Three divine Persons in One Godhead. And it states, very clearly, that one must believe this in order to be saved. So…do you believe it…or not?
One of my favourite TV shows growing up was "Ripleys, believe it or not?" hosted by Jack Palance. He had the most amazing voice. And every episode he would narrate some sort of tall tale and then end with the same question, "Do you believe it…or not?" Often, your reason was stretched to grab hold of the amazing nature of the story that had been told--it was too strange to truly believe.
Such is the case for us in our text for today. Indeed, upon closer examination, we can clearly understand why the creators of the lectionary chose this particular reading for the Gospel text for this Sunday in which the teaching of the Holy Trinity is discussed. At first glance, we might think that a more appropriate text would be the story of Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptizer, or perhaps the Mount of Transfiguration--where the Trinity is in clear evidence.
Yet, there is a deeper wisdom at work by choosing this text in which one of Israel's teachers, Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, goes to see Jesus by secret in the night to question Him. During their exchange Jesus tells Nicodemus quite clearly, "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." How is one to be born again? "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Ok. That doesn't really help Jesus. This talk of being born again by water and the Spirit is a hard teaching that is not easy to understand. We must be born again in a spiritual way--for the flesh can only give birth to flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Nicodemus responds as we do to such strange and unbelievable talk--"How can these things be?" How can I be born again--must I enter a second time into my mother's womb to be born? Yeah, right (Nicodemus is being purposely slow on this point, trying to get Jesus to say more). Jesus expresses His amazement that Nicodemus does not already understand these things as he is a learned man--one of Israel's teachers. This concept of salvation by God's grace through faith--being born again of the Spirit is found throughout the O.T. scriptures in places like the Psalms, Isaiah, and Ezekiel just to name a few.
But the whole point of this text on this particular Sunday, a Sunday in which we confess together as the church the longest, and some would argue the most difficult, creed, is to point out to us that we regularly confess there are things beyond our understanding--and God is one of those things. Jesus notes this for Nicodemus in describing how the wind blows where it wishes--you can hear it--but you can't tell where it is coming from or where it's going--even with complex computer models we still struggle to map out weather patterns. So it is with the Spirit. God will be God. He will do what He will do and He is who He is and you can't fully understand Him and that's OK.
You see, the Scriptures clearly proclaim that sinful people like you and me--people who are born of the flesh--corrupted by sin and doomed to die--may only be reconciled to God by being born again--born of water and the Spirit--think Baptism. But the problem arises because this Spiritual rebirth defies our reason--and like stubborn children who don't understand something , we are tempted to jettison this teaching--this wondrous grace--to reject it out of hand--because we can't fully grasp how it can be.
In speaking to Nicodemus--and to us--Jesus calls for submission to His will and to His way of salvation by having us submit to Him in humility and reverence. Our salvation comes through faith in the Triune God--via Holy Baptism--whereby God takes you, the sinner, and washes you clean by the holy, innocent, shed blood of Jesus, the Son. You receive this by faith simply because God says so, NOT because you can understand it fully. Just as Nicodemus balks at the idea of Baptism bestowing the kingdom of God upon a person, you and I reject the idea of the Trinity--because we want to be able to understand Him perfectly. But that's not going to happen.
Jesus illustrates for Nicodemus that the way of salvation has always been one of faith and not by sight--one of humility and reverence for the Word of God--not our own strength or reasoning. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life." This recalls for us the story in the O.T. of the Israelites in the wilderness who grumbled against God. He grew angry and sent poisonous snakes among them. After many died, they repented and asked Moses to intercede for them to God. He did so and God instructed Moses to construct an image of a serpent and put it on a pole so that whoever was bitten could look at the snake on the pole and live. And they did.
But really, when you stop to think about, what a weird story! You get bit by a snake--like a rattle snake or a cobra or a brown snake--deadly, deadly snakes--and instead of running to the doctor--instead of trying to leach the poison from the wound or administer anti-venom--you simply look to this image--and you live! What a fantastic and unbelievable story! But those who believed God's Word--who accepted His way of salvation--even though they couldn't understand it--were saved and they lived.
Just so with sinners today. You and I can't really fathom the depth of God's love--nor can we truly comprehend this Triune God who saves us. You receive forgiveness and life from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit working through the blessed Word and Sacraments. Can you understand it? No. Do you need to? No! [Like little children--you trust the Word of your Father who points you to Baptism, Supper, and Absolution as where God has revealed Himself to you and for you. You cling to His Word of promise and hope and joy--though you can't understand it (just as I can't understand how a car engine works, but I trust it to start when I turn the key in the ignition)].
As strange a story as the serpent on the pole is, it pales in comparison to the story of God becoming man--taking on human flesh and then suffering and dying like a common criminal in a most horrific and tortuous way. But God planned it this way that the Son might receive the judgement of God in your place for your sin--your doubt--your fear--your hatred and unbelief. Jesus is looked upon in faith on the cross and you receive forgiveness, life and salvation.
This is why God loved the world--for all sinners who look to Jesus will have eternal life. This is why God loves the world--it is an act of Jesus--an act we can't fully understand. God loved the world in this way--by giving up His only Son so that whoever believes will be saved. This verse, John 3:16, so well-known, is not actually talking about the depth of God's love so much as it is talking about the process of God's love--how His love is manifested for us in the world. His love is an action--one which led to His death on the cross for you and me and all sinners.
Beloved, this is the great joy of this Trinity Sunday. Do you believe it...or not? As Christians, we believe what God says, even though we can't always fully understand it. The Holy Spirit, working through the Word, creates the very faith for salvation that He Himself demands. So that you may answer with conviction, trust, and great joy--"Yes, I believe!" I believe and worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance…I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose again the third day from the dead…This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved. But by God's grace and His holy washing in Baptism, you have been born again of the Spirit--and so you do believe faithfully and firmly and have received eternal salvation for your souls--not because you understand it--but because you believe it. You believe the Word. You believe Jesus. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Am