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INJ
Isaiah 6:1-7
'The Holy Trinity Gives Himself to Us'
Morning Service
Trinity Sunday, June 11th, 2006
Dear Saints,
Every Sunday, week after week, God gathers us here in order that He might give out His gifts of life and salvation and the forgiveness of our sins, and we, in turn, worship and praise the God of our salvation, the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the Holy and Blessed Trinity. There is no other God. He alone saves and delivers us, and He alone is worthy of our worship and praise.
It is the Holy Trinity into whom you were baptized: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and it is this name, the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost that we come to worship. It is the Trinity that you confess when we say together the Creeds: I believe in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ His Son, I believe in the Holy Ghost. It is to the Trinity that we sing when we join our voices to the singing angels and say: Holy. Holy. Holy. And it is with the three-fold blessing of the Trinity that we are sent into the world: The Lord bless and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious unto you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you His peace. The Lord, the Lord, the Lord. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And so it is, that whenever we come to church, it is the Holy Trinity that comes to us to give us gifts, and it is the Holy Trinity that we worship. But is this Sunday, Trinity Sunday, that the church has set apart each year to spend even more time rejoicing in the Biblical teaching of the Trinity, this great mystery of our faith. And so let us consider the sublime article of the divine majesty under this theme:
The Holy Trinity Gives Himself to Us.
First, what is the teaching of the Trinity? There is one God in three persons. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, but there are not three gods but one God. We worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity. Who can understand this? One + one + one = one. This is incomprehensible. God has not given us minds to comprehend this; only hearts to believe it and mouths to confess it. You see, the teaching of the Trinity is not just a conundrum, a curious math problem; how terrible would that be! This is not just talk about numbers, for never has a number jumped off the page to create us. Never has an algebra equation died on the cross for your sins. Never has a Calclueless Book created faith and trust in the heart. The Trinity of God is not just a fact to be studied; God is not curiosity to think about like a dusty museum display. This is not some sort of dry triviality, an academic obscurity. The God who is the Holy Trinity is the Father who has created you, He is the Son who has redeemed you, and He is the Holy Spirit who is making you holy.
And so as we consider this awesome and mystery of the Trinity we see that a wonderful, living story begins to emerge, and it is a story about you and your God, and what He has done for you, what He has given you. And the gift, the gift that God gives us, is Himself.
We need God and His gifts, for with out Him we are nothing, or worse, we are sinners. History tells us that there was a scrap of paper found in Martin Luther's pocket when he died, and on that scrap of paper he had written, “We are beggars, that is true.” Beggars. The picture that comes to mind is the filthy man pan-handling at the intersection, or of the heap of human huddled under a pile of newspapers on a park bench or under a bridge. This is not a flattering picture. A beggar is without home, without family, without food, without money, without anything, really, but this, says Luther, is what we are, all of us. “We are beggars, that is true.”
This might be repulsive to us, to think of ourselves as beggars. After all, we have homes, food, full cupboards, saving accounts, and we've worked for it, earned it. We might be tempted to think that we are anything but beggars. But beggars we are, because sinners we are.
A beggar has nothing unless it is given to him as a gift. If a beggar eats, it is because someone gave him food. His a beggar is warm, it is because someone gave him a jacket. Nothing is earned, everything is a gift. And this is how the Holy Trinity would have us, that we know that nothing that we have is from our own efforts and works. We are first made poor before He makes us rich; we must first become beggars before we are made friends of God. It is our empty hand and mouth and heart that the Lord God fills with every good thing. We are beggars, that is true.
If we are full, it is because God has given us food. If we are warm, it is because God has provides us a home. If we are forgiven, it is because the Father has given His only begotten Son. If we are Christian, it is because the Father and Son has given us the Holy Spirit, and He has given us faith by the Word. If we have heaven and the Lord Jesus' kingdom, it is because He has given it to us as a gift. And on the last day, when Jesus returns with a shout and the sound of a trumpet, then our bodies will be raised as a gift of His pure grace and mercy. We are beggars with a tremendously generous God who gives us gift after gift and makes us rich.
The Father Gives Himself with all of creation. The Son gives Himself on the Cross. The Holy Spirit gives Himself with the Gospel and the forgiveness of Sins. The entire Holy Trinity gives Himself to us.
This is just how we confess it in the creed and the catechism. I believe in God the Father Almighty. What does this mean?
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit of worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
The Father gives Himself to us with all creation, and the Son gives Himself to us on the cross. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord... What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
The Son gives His life for us, and the Holy Spirit gives Himself to us with the Gospel and the promise of the forgiveness of all our sins. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life. What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
In all of this we see that God holds nothing back. Dear people of God, the Holy and blessed Trinity has given everything to you. The God who created the entire universe desires above all other things to have you, to redeem you, to keep you in all eternity. All of the works and efforts of this exalted and most-high God are for you, for you.
We are beggars, this is true, but our God and Savior, the Blessed and Holy Trinity gives Himself to us, and we are rich, children of the heavenly Father, lacking nothing, but having all as a gift. For this we give eternal and unending thanks to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO