Sermon Illustrations For Trinity Sunday (2023)
Illustration
Genesis 1:1--2:4
Richard Rogers, in 1965, wrote the lyrics to the song “Something Good” for the musical The Sound of Music. The lyrics include the lines, “Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could.” In the context of the song, it refers to doing something good in childhood that will bear fruit later. However, I thought of those lines again reading this familiar story.
Can something come from nothing? Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss assets that it can. “Most of the energy in the universe resides in some mysterious, now inexplicable form permeating all of empty space. It’s not an understatement to say that the discovery has changed the playing field of modern cosmology. For one thing, this discovery has produced remarkable new support for the idea that our universe arose from precisely nothing.”
Dr. Krauss’ theory leads to the inevitable question, “Where did the energy in the universe that now resides in some inexplicable form come from?” As much as some scientists try, it is difficult to argue something came from nothing. What that argument is unstainable is found in our text. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1). In this case, the songwriter trumps the scientist. Nothing can come from nothing. The something that exists comes from God.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 1:1-2--2:4a
John Wesley offers a thoughtful insight about this version of the creation account, one that can be connected to what we know of science’s perspective on the universe’s origins. He wrote:
The work of creation not only preceded gradually from one thing to another, but advanced gradually from that which was less excellent to that which was more so. (Commentary On the Bible, p.22)
In seeking to explain how the reference to plurality in God in the creation story (the Hebrew word for God Elohim is plural), Carl Henry has claimed that because human beings are always creatures in relationship, and we are made in the image of God, it follows that God must always be in relation to himself, and so must be Triune. The need for God to be Triune in order for creation to make sense was posited in the ancient church by Calus Marius Victorinus. For him, the Father is interior knowledge (possibility) and the Son is the activator of that creative potential of God. The Spirit brings the two (potential and actuality, being and act) together to make creation possible (The Fathers of the Church, Vol.69, pp.22,173,266-267,315). Or as we sing in an ancient hymn of this era:
Giver
Minister
Distributor
O Blessed Trinity. (Ibid., p.324)
Together they combine to make creation real.
Mark E.
* * *
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
This long passage of scripture recounts the creation of all that is. God’s hands and breath create all that is – the light, the day and the night, the stars in the heavens, everything that grows on and in the earth, all the animals which dwell on earth, swim in the sea and lakes, and fly in the sky. Then God creates human beings in God’s own likeness to shepherd and care for the earth, to be caretakers of all that is.
I wonder how God feels about the care we are offering to creation. With issues of the climate crisis, the annihilation of species of animals and birds, and the poor treatment we offer to our siblings on the planet, what kind of job are we doing as the caretakers of creation? Perhaps this Trinity Sunday, as we remember the actions of our loving Creator God, we might think about how and what we can do to care for the earth, all the creatures therein and our siblings created in God’s image. It’s not the new year, but we could make a new resolution to be the caretakers we believe God is calling us to be. What might change if we did that?
Bonnie B.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
In the movie The Lion King, Simba, just before returning to the Pride land, meets Rafiki who takes him to a place where he is visited by the spirit of his father Mufasa. In that meeting the spirit of Mufasa reminds him of who he is. He tells him, “Remember. Remember who you are.”
As I read the conclusion of Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Corinth, I was struck how he reminded them to remember who they were. Prior to this passage, he challenged them to examine themselves to see if they were living in the faith. Then, as he concludes this letter, he shares with them practical things they can do, remembering who they are in Jesus Christ.
“Remember who you are.” It is why people hang family portraits on the wall. It’s why they have family reunions in the summer. It’s what parents talk to children about prior to their first date. The Corinthian Christians were instructed what to do because of who and whose they were. The same applies to God’s people today. “Remember who you are.”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians is actually a packet containing pieces of several letters. In addition to something called the “difficult letter,” there are a couple of stewardship letters (chapters 8 & 9), along with the remains of a letter in chapters 10-13 which includes what I call “Blessed Assurance,” in which Paul assures the Corinthians that although we all endure pain we can all grow through the experience. Paul himself reveals that his thorn in the flesh has not been taken away, despite his earnest prayers. This leads to the closing benediction and blessing. Rejoice! says Paul, among other things. It is Paul’s joy in the midst of trials and his invitation to receive and share in that joy which undergirds and fuels his ministry and the invitation to abide in Christ.
There’s an interesting description of the Trinity named in the final verse. There’s the grace of the son Jesus Christ (grounded in his pain and sacrifice), the love of God the Creator (which has led God to take the risk of giving us free will, creating the opportunity for us to freely become disciples), and the fellowship that we share through the blessings of the Holy Spirit (which makes possible the extraordinary association we share as the church which leads us to include people of every imaginable background). Grace. Love. Fellowship. Son. Father. Holy Spirit. Just one more reminder it’s impossible to pin God down to a simple definition.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
“…but they doubted.” (Matthew 28:17) Really? The women passed along the message to meet the risen Lord in Galilee, the eleven followed through, there he was, and they worshipped him – I assume awestruck because it was really true. A three day walk from Jerusalem to Galilee would give plenty of time to doubt and wonder – is this a fool’s errand? Were the women mistaken, or just plain wrong? But here he is. Risen, just as he said.
So, what’s this about doubt? Did they doubt their own eyes? Doubt it was Jesus? Did they have doubts about what lay ahead? About their ability to cope with the new reality?
The Cambridge Greek Lexicon speculates that the word for doubt – distadzo – comes from the words duo, or two, and stand – histemy – in other words, when you doubt you are standing in two places. I just wonder, did their doubt mean they were trying to stand in the old creation, where if you’re dead, you’re dead, and in the new creation, where the powers are overthrown, death is conquered, and we now live?
Regardless of what doubts they had, it was all no never mind. Full speed ahead. Jesus had plans for them, to take the Good News out into the world, to baptize people, and change the world – along with the assurance, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
John Calvin nicely links baptism and evangelism to the Trinity. He notes that first we need God’s mercy (the Father), then we need one to reconcile us (the Son), and finally we need to be regenerated (the Spirit) (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.387). In the same way, we might say that there is no successful evangelism without the three components – the word of grace (the merciful Father), the evangelist (the little Christ on earth), and the response of the one evangelized (impossible without the work of the Spirit).
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth offers an insight on what happens in evangelism that is relevant to the Trinity. He speaks of all our differences being relativized as we reach out to others (not unlike how the oneness of the godhead relativizes all differences between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Barth writes:
As the community goes to the nations (v.19), calling them to discipleship, it certainly does not remove the frontiers and differences between them. On the other hand, it does not sanction them. Rather, it constitutes right across them a new people in which the member of all peoples do not merely meet but are united. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/3, p.899)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
This famous piece of scripture reminds us of our commission to act in the world on behalf God, to follow the request of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Sometimes this passage has been interpreted as a requirement for everyone to become a Jesus follower. Many choose not to. That is not our responsibility. We are to proclaim our faith, to act on our faith, to share our faith, and not to require others to believe as we do or punish them when they have not. Our responsibility is to share, to be the light of Christ and the presence of God’s love in the world. That involves the truth of our sharing our relationship with God, our journey of faith and our example of faithful people in the world. What might happen if all the Christians in the world acted on this commission? If all of us, the more than two billion of us lived this way? The world might be a very different place. I would love to see it.
Bonnie B.
Richard Rogers, in 1965, wrote the lyrics to the song “Something Good” for the musical The Sound of Music. The lyrics include the lines, “Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could.” In the context of the song, it refers to doing something good in childhood that will bear fruit later. However, I thought of those lines again reading this familiar story.
Can something come from nothing? Dr. Lawrence M. Krauss assets that it can. “Most of the energy in the universe resides in some mysterious, now inexplicable form permeating all of empty space. It’s not an understatement to say that the discovery has changed the playing field of modern cosmology. For one thing, this discovery has produced remarkable new support for the idea that our universe arose from precisely nothing.”
Dr. Krauss’ theory leads to the inevitable question, “Where did the energy in the universe that now resides in some inexplicable form come from?” As much as some scientists try, it is difficult to argue something came from nothing. What that argument is unstainable is found in our text. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (1:1). In this case, the songwriter trumps the scientist. Nothing can come from nothing. The something that exists comes from God.
Bill T.
* * *
Genesis 1:1-2--2:4a
John Wesley offers a thoughtful insight about this version of the creation account, one that can be connected to what we know of science’s perspective on the universe’s origins. He wrote:
The work of creation not only preceded gradually from one thing to another, but advanced gradually from that which was less excellent to that which was more so. (Commentary On the Bible, p.22)
In seeking to explain how the reference to plurality in God in the creation story (the Hebrew word for God Elohim is plural), Carl Henry has claimed that because human beings are always creatures in relationship, and we are made in the image of God, it follows that God must always be in relation to himself, and so must be Triune. The need for God to be Triune in order for creation to make sense was posited in the ancient church by Calus Marius Victorinus. For him, the Father is interior knowledge (possibility) and the Son is the activator of that creative potential of God. The Spirit brings the two (potential and actuality, being and act) together to make creation possible (The Fathers of the Church, Vol.69, pp.22,173,266-267,315). Or as we sing in an ancient hymn of this era:
Giver
Minister
Distributor
O Blessed Trinity. (Ibid., p.324)
Together they combine to make creation real.
Mark E.
* * *
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
This long passage of scripture recounts the creation of all that is. God’s hands and breath create all that is – the light, the day and the night, the stars in the heavens, everything that grows on and in the earth, all the animals which dwell on earth, swim in the sea and lakes, and fly in the sky. Then God creates human beings in God’s own likeness to shepherd and care for the earth, to be caretakers of all that is.
I wonder how God feels about the care we are offering to creation. With issues of the climate crisis, the annihilation of species of animals and birds, and the poor treatment we offer to our siblings on the planet, what kind of job are we doing as the caretakers of creation? Perhaps this Trinity Sunday, as we remember the actions of our loving Creator God, we might think about how and what we can do to care for the earth, all the creatures therein and our siblings created in God’s image. It’s not the new year, but we could make a new resolution to be the caretakers we believe God is calling us to be. What might change if we did that?
Bonnie B.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
In the movie The Lion King, Simba, just before returning to the Pride land, meets Rafiki who takes him to a place where he is visited by the spirit of his father Mufasa. In that meeting the spirit of Mufasa reminds him of who he is. He tells him, “Remember. Remember who you are.”
As I read the conclusion of Paul’s second letter to the Christians in Corinth, I was struck how he reminded them to remember who they were. Prior to this passage, he challenged them to examine themselves to see if they were living in the faith. Then, as he concludes this letter, he shares with them practical things they can do, remembering who they are in Jesus Christ.
“Remember who you are.” It is why people hang family portraits on the wall. It’s why they have family reunions in the summer. It’s what parents talk to children about prior to their first date. The Corinthian Christians were instructed what to do because of who and whose they were. The same applies to God’s people today. “Remember who you are.”
Bill T.
* * *
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians is actually a packet containing pieces of several letters. In addition to something called the “difficult letter,” there are a couple of stewardship letters (chapters 8 & 9), along with the remains of a letter in chapters 10-13 which includes what I call “Blessed Assurance,” in which Paul assures the Corinthians that although we all endure pain we can all grow through the experience. Paul himself reveals that his thorn in the flesh has not been taken away, despite his earnest prayers. This leads to the closing benediction and blessing. Rejoice! says Paul, among other things. It is Paul’s joy in the midst of trials and his invitation to receive and share in that joy which undergirds and fuels his ministry and the invitation to abide in Christ.
There’s an interesting description of the Trinity named in the final verse. There’s the grace of the son Jesus Christ (grounded in his pain and sacrifice), the love of God the Creator (which has led God to take the risk of giving us free will, creating the opportunity for us to freely become disciples), and the fellowship that we share through the blessings of the Holy Spirit (which makes possible the extraordinary association we share as the church which leads us to include people of every imaginable background). Grace. Love. Fellowship. Son. Father. Holy Spirit. Just one more reminder it’s impossible to pin God down to a simple definition.
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
“…but they doubted.” (Matthew 28:17) Really? The women passed along the message to meet the risen Lord in Galilee, the eleven followed through, there he was, and they worshipped him – I assume awestruck because it was really true. A three day walk from Jerusalem to Galilee would give plenty of time to doubt and wonder – is this a fool’s errand? Were the women mistaken, or just plain wrong? But here he is. Risen, just as he said.
So, what’s this about doubt? Did they doubt their own eyes? Doubt it was Jesus? Did they have doubts about what lay ahead? About their ability to cope with the new reality?
The Cambridge Greek Lexicon speculates that the word for doubt – distadzo – comes from the words duo, or two, and stand – histemy – in other words, when you doubt you are standing in two places. I just wonder, did their doubt mean they were trying to stand in the old creation, where if you’re dead, you’re dead, and in the new creation, where the powers are overthrown, death is conquered, and we now live?
Regardless of what doubts they had, it was all no never mind. Full speed ahead. Jesus had plans for them, to take the Good News out into the world, to baptize people, and change the world – along with the assurance, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Frank R.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
John Calvin nicely links baptism and evangelism to the Trinity. He notes that first we need God’s mercy (the Father), then we need one to reconcile us (the Son), and finally we need to be regenerated (the Spirit) (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/1, p.387). In the same way, we might say that there is no successful evangelism without the three components – the word of grace (the merciful Father), the evangelist (the little Christ on earth), and the response of the one evangelized (impossible without the work of the Spirit).
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth offers an insight on what happens in evangelism that is relevant to the Trinity. He speaks of all our differences being relativized as we reach out to others (not unlike how the oneness of the godhead relativizes all differences between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Barth writes:
As the community goes to the nations (v.19), calling them to discipleship, it certainly does not remove the frontiers and differences between them. On the other hand, it does not sanction them. Rather, it constitutes right across them a new people in which the member of all peoples do not merely meet but are united. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/3, p.899)
Mark E.
* * *
Matthew 28:16-20
This famous piece of scripture reminds us of our commission to act in the world on behalf God, to follow the request of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Sometimes this passage has been interpreted as a requirement for everyone to become a Jesus follower. Many choose not to. That is not our responsibility. We are to proclaim our faith, to act on our faith, to share our faith, and not to require others to believe as we do or punish them when they have not. Our responsibility is to share, to be the light of Christ and the presence of God’s love in the world. That involves the truth of our sharing our relationship with God, our journey of faith and our example of faithful people in the world. What might happen if all the Christians in the world acted on this commission? If all of us, the more than two billion of us lived this way? The world might be a very different place. I would love to see it.
Bonnie B.
