Tag Archives: Trinity Sunday

Unknown's avatar

How Majestic!

Featured by

“How Majestic!”

Psalm 8:1-9 (8:1) – June 15, 2025

            Have you ever been far from the city lights, at night? Have you ever looked up into the sky, and seen countless stars spread out, twinkling high above? When I went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and again in rural central Indiana, the starry skies were absolutely breathtaking. Amazing. Majestic, as the psalmist King David said in our Psalm reading today.

            Listen again: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.” I can just imagine King David sitting far away from the lights of the city of Jerusalem, perhaps contemplating the stars as he saw them in his youth, when he looked after his father’s sheep, or as a younger adult, a leader of men in the wilderness of Judah, David certainly had many opportunities to gaze up into the night skies and see the breathtaking stars.

            As we gaze up into the night and see the amazing sight of all the stars laid out above us, we marvel. Marvel just as countless people have done throughout the millenia. As we think about the vastness and sheer beauty of the heavens, other vast, even unanswerable questions may come to mind. Just as countless people have done, and have reflected upon. Questions like: What was God doing before God created the world? And, how can there never be a time before or after God? And, how can God pay attention to each person in the world all the time? [1]

            These kinds of big questions have puzzled people for millenia, too. You and I could get hung up on these kinds of questions, and totally lose sight of the sheer, magnificent, bottomless awesomeness of God. Or, are we simply to return to the first verse of today’s reading, and be totally in awe at God’s glorious majesty? “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.”

            My husband tells me when I am thinking about big ideas, I am sometimes too focused on individual trees, rather than looking at a whole forest. That is what comes to mind when I get sidetracked by wondering what God was doing before God created the world. Or, maybe, why did God create rattlesnakes and mosquitoes? Perhaps – it is okay just to contemplate the vastness of the heavens and the sheer beauty of all the stars, comets, moons and other creations in the universe! Just as Psalm 8 invites us to do.

“How majestic is your name.” That’s the line that stands out, maybe because the psalm begins and ends with those same words. “How majestic is your name.” That sounds wonderful, indeed! Our opening hymn was written by Michael W. Smith, and we sang these exact words at the beginning of our service. And, the words sung by the angels, the seraphs flying around the heavenly temple in Isaiah 6 – they kept singing, kept repeating “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of God’s glory.”

            Over and over, the seraphs sang those words. And, it is sometimes in the singing and in the repetition that the majesty and awesomeness of God begins to make sense. I mean, as much as it can, to our puny, limited, human comprehension.

            The concept of the Trinity, one God, Three in One, is a difficult concept to start to believe, much less fully comprehend. For a small comparison, we can look at water. Water is liquid, at room temperature. Yet, when we freeze water, it turns hard. It becomes ice. Is it still water? Yes. And, when we heat up water, it turns into steam – becomes gaseous. Is it still water? Yes.

            This example of the three states of water is an imperfect way to talk about the Trinity. Yet, we can marvel at the awesome complexity of the doctrine of the Trinity just as we marvel at the glory and magnificence of our God and God’s creation, just as Psalm 8 leads us to do. Whether we sing about our awesome God, talk about the glory of God, or contemplate God and God’s magnificent creation, it’s all good. And, all these activities are exactly what we are led to do throughout the Bible, and especially here in Psalm 8.

            Looking to the skies and contemplating the glory of God may be a sincere way for people to begin to try to understand how huge God is. And, if we are coming at the theological concept of the Trinity – which is also a huge thought – perhaps it’s best for you and me to think about this huge thought from God’s end of things, from God’s point of view. Whether you and I “can fully grasp the nuanced theological understanding of what Trinity means, we can acknowledge that, in part, it means that God wants to be known and experienced by those who claim the majestic name of God as sovereign. We give thanks for an accessible God.” [2]

            I return to one of my tried and true ways of looking at biblical things, from a theological perspective. You all know that sometimes I view the topics or ideas from my sermons in a way that children see them, or in a way that young people more readily understand. Psalm 8 tells us about the wonders of God. Even little children can (and do) accept this as the truth of God! However, little children are definitely not interested in explaining how or why, or about lengthy sermons droning on about different theologians and their competing view on God and the Trinity.

            Very often, deep down, children understand that God made them and God loves them. This is a foundational truth! You and I can have – along with the children – a “simple” and “trusting” faith. We don’t need to use the “right” words in our prayers and creeds. Remember – God wants to be known by us, above all! And, our Lord wants to be experienced by all who claim the name of the majestic God. By those who praise God’s name.

            Yes, the theological understanding of the Trinity is also a deep theological truth. Yet – I can tell you right now that we as fallible, frail humans fall short of understanding God’s ways. I can also tell you that in the midst of everything, we can know we are loved. God wants each of us to know our Lord intimately! As my commentator the Rev. Dr. Derek Weber says, “We are being made more like the Christ we follow. Our love is being shaped by God’s love that is poured into us. We are God’s act of creation. That’s a part of the message of Trinity Sunday. The Creator works within us, choosing us to be a sign of God’s presence in the world.” [3]

            Yes, God’s message is quite simple. We can know we are loved by God. God wants each of us to know our Lord intimately! And, our awesome God works within each of us, choosing each of us to be a sign of God’s presence in the world. This is the best Good News we can bring to the world. Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2016/04/year-c-trinity-sunday-may-22-2016.html

[2] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/trinity-sunday-year-c-lectionary-planning-notes

[3] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/trinity-sunday-year-c-lectionary-planning-notes/trinity-sunday-year-c-preaching-notes

Unknown's avatar

Full of God’s Glory!

by

“Full of God’s Glory!”

Isaiah 6:1-8 (6:3) – May 26, 2024 

Have you ever visited a really beautiful church? Magnificent, with lovely stained glass windows, carved pews, high, vaulted ceilings? What comes to my mind is the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., or St. Paul’s Church in London, or perhaps one of the great Gothic cathedrals in the Rhine valley in France or Germany. Think of a church like that, only magnify the beauty and wonder of the building ten times. I cannot even imagine a place that spectacular.

Yet that is just what Isaiah is trying to describe for us in our scripture passage today. A church—or, more specifically, a heavenly temple—so magnificent that he can hardly even begin to describe it.

That is only the beginning! What is even more magnificent, more awe-inspiring is what Isaiah sees inside that heavenly temple. The prophet says he “saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Isaiah finds himself in the throne room of heaven in the presence of the Lord of creation. Awe-inspiring, terrifying, humbling, overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but God’s magnificence and glory can knock me off my feet when I least expect it. God can bump me and shake me up. God can turn my self-sufficiency inside out. Has that happened to you, too?

Perhaps you recognize the words from our opening hymn this morning: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!” Today is Trinity Sunday, that day in the church year, the week after Pentecost, when we lift up one of the ineffable mysteries of the Church: the holy Trinity itself. I love this passage from Isaiah for several reasons. First, this is Isaiah’s call story, how the Lord God reached out to Isaiah and touched this man with the power of God, and placed him on the road of being a prophet for God.

Such a moving story, and one that resonates with anyone who has been similarly called by the Lord into a God-ordained calling or vocation. (And not necessarily just a “churchy” vocation.) Some people feel very strongly that they have been called to be doctors or nurses, teachers or social workers, farmers or mechanics. God can call people to a variety of positions, all to serve to God’s glory and for the good of humanity.

Yet, this reading today is much more than that. Not only is Isaiah’s experience one of marvel and awe. This reading is one of the sources for our worship service today.

As Dr. Lisa Hancock advises, “The whole encounter begins with Isaiah showing up at the temple. So, consider taking some time to welcome and orient the congregation toward showing up to God’s presence in their midst. Acknowledge all that we bring with us into worship, the burdens and joys and everything in between.” [1] We as a congregation strive to tune into God’s presence with us even as we have come to be present to God and one another. The most amazing part is, we come into God’s presence each time we gather to worship!

            Orthodox Christianity confesses the Holy Trinity each time a congregation repeats the Apostles Creed. Confessing belief in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit – or in more modern language, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer – is an intellectual, static form of statement of faith. Yet, as we consider the Trinity more deeply, even more theologically, we often are thrust into the midst of relationship! This awe-inspiring, terrifying Presence that Isaiah saw in the heavenly temple is also a vibrant Three-Persons-in-One. Difficult for us to even comprehend, but the idea of a Divine Relationship, companionship, a heavenly Community-in-One is the beginning of our understanding. As complex and mind-blowing as it can be.             

            Just as those seraphim sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts!” and just as we are welcomed into God’s presence each time our congregation enters into worship, so the Holy Trinity is here in this place. The Three Persons of God are in beautiful relationship with one another, and we are invited into that heavenly relationship, too!      

            We are cautioned, however. God does not only want the people from this particular neighborhood as a part of that heavenly relationship. God does not only belong to this particular church. God also is God of our Catholic friends, and of Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago, and of Trinity UCC and San Lucas United Church of Christ. God is also God of the Quaker meeting in Evanston as well as Chinese Christian Union Church in Chinatown, and our Korean friends Love Sharing Disciple Church in Morton Grove. A whole multitude of different faith traditions, too, from every tribe, every nation under heaven.

            As my online friend Rev. Bosco Peters says, “We live in a world that so often fears difference. We bully them, persecute them, will not employ them, do not want to live in their neighbourhood, kill them, go to war with them. Yet the universe…holds wonderful diversity in unity. This beautiful multiplicity held in harmony in our universe is no accident because the source and heart of all reality is the one we call “God” – three in one. To live the Trinity life is to rejoice in diversity and to work towards holding it in unity.” [2]

It does not matter to God – the awe-inspiring, humbling and overwhelming God is above all and over all. Just as the Holy Trinity is in relationship and in heavenly community, Triune Three-in-One, our God wants a relationship with each of us! The Lord desires to develop an intimate relationship with every person, in beautiful diversity, promoting harmony and unity regardless of color, creed, cultural difference, language or nation of origin.

We are encouraged to enter into relationship just as we are encouraged to enter into worship each week! With God, yes! And with every other person in diversity, regardless of color, creed, cultural difference, language or nation of origin. God created each one of us to live the Trinity life! Rejoice in diversity and work towards holding it in unity. That means each and every person, each and every child of God. Including you, including me. Alleluia, amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship-planning/ascribe-to-god/trinity-sunday-year-b-lectionary-planning-notes

[2] https://liturgy.co.nz/trinity-sunday-2024?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR30CzSonnCEtgz7V1bvjxP9SYmzEmRrJj2NYa4L3R2dl-dmA1nf3cPFzL4_aem_ATWps3Va7lMKpyFuppPtoxnznrMJ8apyP_Fq3to2Rlo1zOv7fsosZJtrIT-639n4JB33Yo04O1K_sCdt-hhKevdp

Unknown's avatar

Trinity Benediction

by

“Trinity Benediction”

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 – June 4, 2023

            This is one of my favorite Sundays in the whole church year. Trinity Sunday! Today is a different kind of Sunday, one where we focus on a theological concept and place it in the center of our service today.

Yes, we can talk about the Trinity, and have Bible readings about the Trinity. But, the most important thing is to center our worship, praise and prayer around the indescribable reality of that most holy of holies, the God who created heaven and earth. No matter how many intellectual arguments or theological books we read, all else falls woefully short.

We have two short Bible readings today, one from the beginning of all things, from Genesis 1, and one from the end of one of Paul’s letters. We span from the beginning to a benediction. As we approach the reading from Genesis, it is the very opening of the Bible. The very beginning of the world. I will examine these verses more in depth next week, as I start our Summer Sermon Series, a Biblical view of God as Nurturer, God from a Feminine viewpoint.

 I wanted to highlight something important. When God created all things, God was there as Trinity just as much as God is here today as Trinity. But – you might ask, and I would not blame you if you did – what on earth is the Trinity? Great question! We see Trinity as One God in Three Persons, as from the marvelous hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Yet, even this soaring hymn cannot give us much information about the definition or composition of the Trinity.  

We know about our Lord Jesus, our Savior, the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep. We have some idea about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, the one who energizes God’s people (as we heard last week at Pentecost). And, we fall down before God the Father, the Almighty, the Holy One who created heaven and earth. We can say with the host of heaven, “Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” Just as I said a few minutes ago – as I do every week, after the Scripture Reading – “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen, amen.”  

            The Bible does not give a clear definition of the Trinity; it mentions it in general, several times in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. A mystery: One God, three Persons. We can compare the Trinity to a green, growing clover with three leaves in one plant (as St. Patrick did, centuries ago). We can think of it as St. Athanasius described it, as the three stages of water, as liquid, solid (ice) and gas (steam). All water, and yet in different forms.

            Some people, younger people and small children, find it easier to grasp this challenging theological concept if we use the different names of a person. Talking about different names of a person can be more relatable. Although my children were small, they could certainly understand how my mother could be “Mom” to me, “Grandma” to them and “Sister” to my Aunt Bernice. Three different names, three different aspects, yet one person.

            Most of us, if not all of us, can relate to being called by different names. Daughter, Mom, Grandpa, Brother, Teacher, Nurse, Chaplain, Pastor. Sometimes these names are more functional, some less so. Yet, still, no matter which name is used, you are still you. It’s the same way with God. God can be called any one of dozens of names, describing different aspects and functions. [1] And, these are all various ways of understanding our huge God, just a little bit more!  

            As I have been going over several commentaries and articles about the Trinity and about our Bible reading from 2 Corinthians, this idea of God as Trinity being too immense for us limited humans to understand is one aspect that I am certainly aware of. Yes, we can get a bit closer to the idea of God in Three Persons, but never fully understand it. God is too huge.

As Rev. Janet Hunt said, “Over these last days, I have simply found myself with my eyes and heart open, hopeful to simply see the face of God, even the many faces of God, which is and are represented by the concept of the Trinity.” [2] Is it the marvelous gift of God’s very good creation we hear about in Genesis 1? Is it the holy connection which is ours through Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as described in 2 Corinthians 13?

            Perhaps, we are simply to be blessed by this theological truth, this mystery, and not worry about fully comprehending it? Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in conversation one with the other, blessed One in Three, just as the Trinity is caught up in the eternal I AM, the constant and eternal present tense. How can we understand it, much less explain it, to come anywhere close to God’s reality or satisfaction?

            The apostle Paul shared these words with his readers at the end of this letter. Perhaps he did not understand it either! Yet, he spoke of the Trinity in his benediction with warm, loving words. “12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

            Perhaps this prayer by my friend Rev. Jo Anne Lesco Taylor can add another view to the different understandings I have put forth today, to close this meditation on the Trinity. I hope and I pray these words may bless us all.

Holy One in Three and Three in One, Let me dance with you.

I may not understand how you can be three distinct persons living in unity,
how you can sing in unison and harmony at the same time,
But I do not need to understand in order to trust your Presence.

I need not Know in order to Love as you love, as you open the circle to me
and invite me into your dance, into your grace,
into your wholeness and holiness, into your love.

Let it be so. Let me dance with you, God. Amen. [3]

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2014/05/year-trinity-sunday-first-sunday-after.html

[2] https://dancingwiththeword.com/the-face-of-god/

[3] https://pastorsings.com/2023/06/03/a-prayer-for-the-eve-of-trinity-sunday/?fbclid=IwAR2DW8vuOxwd8OzkZnSS1gD9-w9R4AxHMb66tpWUycbaf2_Ou3G9ZAL-1ZM

Unknown's avatar

Choose Someone Else!

by

“Choose Someone Else!”

Isaiah 6:1-8 (6:8) – May 30, 2021

            Have you ever had a really vivid dream? Colorful, psychedelic, surreal, even? Sort of like what we just heard in the Scripture reading this morning. I suspect that people first hearing about Isaiah’s vision from chapter 6 may have thought the prophet was going way overboard with such vivid, descriptive language!  

Let’s take a few giant steps back, and gaze upon the big picture of this vision. We see the immense Holy One, and we see little, tiny Isaiah. “God’s presence is so large, the hem of the Lord’s robe alone fills the temple space. This is vastness. Strange but faithful creatures envelop the throne. Smoke obscures the whole scene. We are used to the images of fire and smoke, cloud and height being associated with God. It is all here.” [1]

            Some might think that Isaiah was exaggerating a lot when he described the Almighty God, seated on a throne in the heavenly temple. Yet, that vivid, glorious scene from the heavenly temple is the template of what goes on in many worship services today.

            The first hymn many people think of when they consider Trinity Sunday is “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.” This hymn’s verses either refer to or directly quote this Scripture reading from Isaiah 6 – the first line, “Holy, holy, holy,” “Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee” and “all Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.” This Scripture reading from Isaiah does not give us any information at all about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, but has been used effectively as a backdrop and assist in helping Christians get some understanding of this mystical, almost ethereal doctrine that is so difficult to understand.

            What’s this about comparing Isaiah chapter 6 and worship services? Most worship services begin with a hymn of praise. Look at Isaiah 6:3 – “And [the seraphim] were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’” If that isn’t a hymn of praise, I don’t know what is. What’s more, some contemporary churches have several hymns or an extended praise time at the beginning of their services.

Many worship services then move to a confession (or admission) of sin. Let’s check out Isaiah 6:5 – Isaiah cried, 5 “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” We here at St. Luke’s Church have a confession of sin at the beginning of every worship service. I consider this vitally important! Just as Isaiah realized his sinfulness in the light of everything happening in that heavenly Temple, so we ought to confess our sins, too. We need to make ourselves clean on the insides before we can possibly come near to God.

After the confession and admission of sin comes an assurance or forgiveness of that sin, in Isaiah 6:6-7 – “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’” Just as we follow the prayer of confession in our worship with the assurance of pardon – Believe the Good News of the Gospel! In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!

This template for the worship service from Isaiah does not have a reading of Scripture, but many other instances in the Hebrew Scriptures do, where the minister gives further instruction and exhortation using the Scripture. (This is exactly what I am doing right now! Exhorting the congregation, based on the Word of God.) What follows is all-important, the whole point and reason for it all! Isaiah 6:8 holds a call to service extended from the Lord God Almighty. This call is the focal point of the retelling of this vision. “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

When I first felt that call from God, I was in my early 20’s, attending an evangelical Christian college as a music major. Women were definitely frowned upon as ordained clergy. I heard that call, and I even reflected upon it, turned it over in my head and heart, and talked about it with some other students at my school. However, not much came of it – then – yet.

As we take a look at another call narrative, the one from Exodus 3 involving Moses and the burning bush, we get a whole different response to the question “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Moses certainly does not want to lead the people of Israel! “Choose somebody else!” is his response. And, even after God says God will empower Aaron as Moses’ right-hand man, Moses still drags his feet.

Isn’t that like us, sometimes? Don’t we often drag our feet when God calls? Aren’t we more likely to say, “Choose somebody else!” when God taps us on the shoulder?

When you and I hear the Word of God rightly divided and expounded, when we breathe in the Holy Spirit-inspired Word, that divine response and possibility is there, for all members of the congregation, for each believer in the Good News. The heavenly touch of the Holy Spirit may well come upon each of us, bursting forth into fiery life! That Trinity, that Triune God can empower you and me, and help us to do things, to say words, to dream dreams that go far beyond what we could even think or imagine – like Isaiah.   

Yes, worship is wonderful, and the Lord has great joy in the worship of God’s people! Yet, what is the focal point of worship? Responding to the call of God. When God calls, can you respond, “Here am I, send me!” That is what God truly wants, an open heart, and a willing spirit.

Say with me, with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me!”

(Thank you to John Holbert for his Patheos commentary from 2015. I took several extended ideas from that article. https://www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/choose-somebody-else-john-c-holbert-05-28-2015

 “Choose Somebody Else!” John C. Holbert, Opening the Old Testament, 2015. )

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-2/commentary-on-isaiah-61-8-3

Commentary, Isaiah 6:1-8, Melinda Quivik, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.