Trinity Sunday, June 7, 2009 “Series B”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let us pray: Oh God, reveal yourself to us and give us the grace to love and to follow your self-revelation that we receive from you. Keep us open minded, always seeking to know more of your redeeming grace, revealed to us through your Son Jesus the Christ, and ever present to us through the presence of you Holy Spirit. Cultivate in us a desire to live in relationship with you, that we might at last, come to see you face to face, and know the splendor of your being. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Let me begin by saying that I can understand, that as we move into the season of Pentecost, the church has chosen this Sunday to sum up what we have learned to this point, about what God has done to reveal himself to us, and to the world. And in all honesty, I must admit that I do not fully understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity, even though I believe that we worship one God, who is known to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But then, who among us can dare to presume to completely understand God.
The only concept that makes sense to me is a cup of tea. You can take a tea bag which has a blend of Orange Pekoe and Black teas, place it in a cup of hot water, and the solution that results is tea. All three individual elements are present, but in solution, they can not be separated.
The author of our Gospel lesson for this morning also believed in the unity of the Trinity. John began his Gospel with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” It was John’s way of expressing his belief that there is, and that we worship only one God, even though God reveals himself to us in three persons.
With this in mind, let us turn to our lesson for this morning. Here, John tells us that a Pharisee named Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the darkness of the night, seeking to understand Jesus’ true identity. And listen to the words that Nicodemus uses in his approach to Jesus. “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do the signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
Clearly Nicodemus had some understanding that in order for Jesus to do the miracles that he had done to this point in his ministry, God had to be working through him. Yet I doubt that Nicodemus truly understood the extent to which God was truly present in Jesus. I believe that Nicodemus may have though that Jesus may have been a prophet, in the tradition of Elijah, who had found favor with God, and who was able to perform some miraculous signs in years past.
In answer to these opening remarks of Nicodemus, we need to turn to the concluding two verses of our text, where Jesus says to Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the word, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Here, Jesus affirms to Nicodemus that God is not just present to him, enabling him to perform miracles. Rather, Jesus affirms that the God who created the universe, the very author and giver of life here on earth, is the God who sent him. God, the Father of all that exists, is the one whose love for us, initiated the action to redeem the world. We can not read these verses without understanding that Jesus and his heavenly Father are so united in their love for us, their desire for our redemption, that they act as one.
Yet, from these verses, we are reminded that the action begins with the Father. The Father is the one to whom Jesus submits his will, and for whom he lives his life. And to clarify to Nicodemus just how God would redeem the world, Jesus says in verse 15, “Just 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.”
You may remember the story about how poisonous snakes came upon the Israelites during their exodus from bondage in Egypt. God instructed Moses to make a bronze image of a serpent, put it on a pole so that the people could see it. If a person was bitten by one of the poisonous snakes, they were to look at the bronze serpent, and they would live.
Here, at the very outset of John’s Gospel, we are given a glimpse into the very purpose for which the Son of God came among us in the person of Jesus the Christ. He tells us that he must be lifted up – not as a brass image on a pole, but as torn flesh on a Roman cross. He tells us that through his death on the cross, we might come to be embraced by the love of God, and have eternal life. Thus, although the action to redeem the world begins with the Father, it is the Son who fulfills God love for us. Jesus alone, is able to redeem us from our sin.
Finally, let us consider verses 3 – 8. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “‘Truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus answered him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ [Jesus said] ‘Truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit…’”
Here, Jesus tells us that it is through the gift of God’s Holy Spirit that we come to faith. Here, Jesus tells us that through water and the Spirit we are able to enter the kingdom of God – a reference to our baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. Here, Jesus tells us that through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we become people of the wind, not sure where the Spirit will lead us, but confident that God walks with us.
As I have mentioned before, the Greek verb that is translated “to be born,” is a present participle. As a result, what Jesus is describing to Nicodemus is not a one-time experience, but an ongoing process in which God continues to reveal himself and his saving grace to us.
If I read this lesson properly, Jesus tells us that the action to redeem the world began with the Father, and his love for us. Out of his love for us, he came among us in the person of his Son, Jesus the Christ, who revealed God’s love through his life, teachings, death and resurrection for our redemption. And through the gift of the Holy Spirit, God is present to us to enable us to grow in faith and understanding of God’s redeeming grace.
That growth in faith is evident in the life of Nicodemus, who appears but three times in John’s Gospel. In today’s text, Nicodemus comes to Jesus as a Pharisee with an open mind. But he leaves confused, not truly understanding Jesus’ true identity, or what God is about to accomplish through him. Later, in chapter seven, Nicodemus courageously speaks out in defense of Jesus. Then, at the end of John’s Gospel, Nicodemus joins with another new disciple to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.
Clearly, Nicodemus coming to faith in Jesus as the Christ, and God’s gift of salvation, was not a one-time event in his life, but a process of ever deepening faith. And is that not the same way God’s Spirit works within each of us. We are not zapped with the Holy Spirit at our baptism to become instantly aware of our salvation in Jesus the Christ. But we do begin the process of walking with the presence of God in our lives, as we live in fellowship with Christ’s church.
No, we may not be able to fully comprehend the mystery of God, who has revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But thanks be to God, for he continues to reveal himself to us throughout out lives. And even though what we do know of God may be a mystery, it is enough to assure us of his redeeming grace, which leads to eternal life.
Amen.
