Spirit-Anointed Son Of God The Father
Sermon
God in Flesh Made Manifest
Cycle A Gospel Lesson Sermons For Advent, Christmas, And Epiphany
Object:
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit."
"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
"I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
"Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
In more ways than we might at first imagine, our liturgy and hymnody is saturated with references to the Trinity -- the fundamental, bedrock Christian teaching that the God believers worship and adore is one God in three Persons: the God whose name is "Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Our reading today from the Fourth Gospel is an excellent example of just how deeply this trinitarian theology is embedded in the witness and teaching of John the Evangelist. John the Baptist sees Jesus, calls him the "Lamb of God," says that this younger man existed before him, and testifies that God has revealed Jesus as the Son of God who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, a revelation attested by the descent of the Spirit upon the Son.
Few would cite this as a major trinitarian text. The Great Commission with its dominical command, "Make disciples ... baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" is more obvious, as are the overtly trinitarian greetings and salutations of Paul's epistles. The power of this passage, along with many others in John's Gospel, lies in the subtlety of its testimony. A homely example by way of comparison: In Veal Marsala, the Marsala wine permeates and flavors the meat. The wine is not itself the main ingredient; but without the wine, the dish is something other than Veal Marsala. Similarly, a trinitarian understanding of the Christian faith permeates John's Gospel. Without the Trinity, his writing is something other than the gospel.
Martin Luther looked upon John, among all the biblical writers, as the preeminent witness to the Trinity. In this, he was in perfect accord with the early church fathers. And in his Large Catechism, Luther emphasized the Trinity as that which "divides and distinguishes us Christians from all other people on earth."
How strange it is, given the sustained biblical and confessional witness to the Trinity, that voices in the church today -- sometimes loud and well-placed voices -- speak out against the trinitarian name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. More than a few are suggesting that that name be replaced by the threefold title "Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer" or used interchangeably with other triadic formulas, such as "Mother-Lover-Friend" or "Parent-Child-Spirit."
In part, the intent of these advocates is laudable. They seek to repudiate the unbiblical notion that the transcendent God is male. They denounce the physical, emotional, economic and spiritual degradation of women, especially when such degradation cloaks itself in a mantle of religious righteousness. They decry any attempt to use God as a prop to buttress the wall that holds women back from full and essential partnership in the world and in the church. In these endeavors, they deserve the full cooperation and prayerful support of all believers.
But when they implicate the Trinity and indict the name of the Triune God in these high crimes and misdemeanors, then Christian love and a passion for the Truth requires that we say, "You have gone too far."
For it is not only our liturgy and hymnody that is thoroughly trinitarian; it is not only John's Gospel and the writings of Luther and others; it is God's self-revelation to the church "of every time and every place!" The One Jesus called "Abba, Father" reveals the love of God for all people through the Son and their Spirit enables us to believe. We, in turn, pray to the Father through the Son in the living Spirit of their love.
The sheer and utter givenness of the Trinity -- not as a doctrine we fully comprehend but as a mystery before which we bow -- is an inescapable part of the web of Christian faith. It is not one doctrine among others, but part of the very fabric of faith, the identity of the God who rescued Israel from Egypt, raised Jesus from the dead and pours out the liberating, vivifying Spirit on the church.
This rubs late twentieth century Americans the wrong way. We like choices. What sort of choice do we have with regard to the triune identity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
None, whatsoever. And that is precisely our salvation!
Listen: The Trinity is a mystery that is prior to us, and eternally so: the mystery of the God who is before us, yet with us and ahead of us. The God who is Beginning and Finish and History.
We did not think up this God. This God thought us up!
We did not create this God in our image. This God created us in the image of God!
We did not choose this God. This God chose us!
We did not name this God. This God named the Divine Self and us, and now bids us preach, teach and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We did not die for this God. This God died for us: the second Person of the Holy Trinity laid down his life, as John predicted in calling him "Lamb of God," and this is nothing other than the suffering and death of the Spirit-anointed Son of God. The same Father in heaven, for Jesus' sake, anoints us with the same Spirit, and we are free.
We are free from our need to search for or imagine or invent or come up with a God who is congenial to our particular interests; who advances our pre-existing agenda.
The sheer and utter givenness of the Trinity simply is our salvation. For when, like John, we encounter Jesus, the Spirit-baptized Son of God and Lamb of God, we encounter then and there the God who created us precisely in order to die for us, the Spirit of whose suffering love kindles in us the flame of faith and hope and love.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen!
"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
"I declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
"Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."
In more ways than we might at first imagine, our liturgy and hymnody is saturated with references to the Trinity -- the fundamental, bedrock Christian teaching that the God believers worship and adore is one God in three Persons: the God whose name is "Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
Our reading today from the Fourth Gospel is an excellent example of just how deeply this trinitarian theology is embedded in the witness and teaching of John the Evangelist. John the Baptist sees Jesus, calls him the "Lamb of God," says that this younger man existed before him, and testifies that God has revealed Jesus as the Son of God who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, a revelation attested by the descent of the Spirit upon the Son.
Few would cite this as a major trinitarian text. The Great Commission with its dominical command, "Make disciples ... baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" is more obvious, as are the overtly trinitarian greetings and salutations of Paul's epistles. The power of this passage, along with many others in John's Gospel, lies in the subtlety of its testimony. A homely example by way of comparison: In Veal Marsala, the Marsala wine permeates and flavors the meat. The wine is not itself the main ingredient; but without the wine, the dish is something other than Veal Marsala. Similarly, a trinitarian understanding of the Christian faith permeates John's Gospel. Without the Trinity, his writing is something other than the gospel.
Martin Luther looked upon John, among all the biblical writers, as the preeminent witness to the Trinity. In this, he was in perfect accord with the early church fathers. And in his Large Catechism, Luther emphasized the Trinity as that which "divides and distinguishes us Christians from all other people on earth."
How strange it is, given the sustained biblical and confessional witness to the Trinity, that voices in the church today -- sometimes loud and well-placed voices -- speak out against the trinitarian name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. More than a few are suggesting that that name be replaced by the threefold title "Creator-Redeemer-Sustainer" or used interchangeably with other triadic formulas, such as "Mother-Lover-Friend" or "Parent-Child-Spirit."
In part, the intent of these advocates is laudable. They seek to repudiate the unbiblical notion that the transcendent God is male. They denounce the physical, emotional, economic and spiritual degradation of women, especially when such degradation cloaks itself in a mantle of religious righteousness. They decry any attempt to use God as a prop to buttress the wall that holds women back from full and essential partnership in the world and in the church. In these endeavors, they deserve the full cooperation and prayerful support of all believers.
But when they implicate the Trinity and indict the name of the Triune God in these high crimes and misdemeanors, then Christian love and a passion for the Truth requires that we say, "You have gone too far."
For it is not only our liturgy and hymnody that is thoroughly trinitarian; it is not only John's Gospel and the writings of Luther and others; it is God's self-revelation to the church "of every time and every place!" The One Jesus called "Abba, Father" reveals the love of God for all people through the Son and their Spirit enables us to believe. We, in turn, pray to the Father through the Son in the living Spirit of their love.
The sheer and utter givenness of the Trinity -- not as a doctrine we fully comprehend but as a mystery before which we bow -- is an inescapable part of the web of Christian faith. It is not one doctrine among others, but part of the very fabric of faith, the identity of the God who rescued Israel from Egypt, raised Jesus from the dead and pours out the liberating, vivifying Spirit on the church.
This rubs late twentieth century Americans the wrong way. We like choices. What sort of choice do we have with regard to the triune identity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
None, whatsoever. And that is precisely our salvation!
Listen: The Trinity is a mystery that is prior to us, and eternally so: the mystery of the God who is before us, yet with us and ahead of us. The God who is Beginning and Finish and History.
We did not think up this God. This God thought us up!
We did not create this God in our image. This God created us in the image of God!
We did not choose this God. This God chose us!
We did not name this God. This God named the Divine Self and us, and now bids us preach, teach and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We did not die for this God. This God died for us: the second Person of the Holy Trinity laid down his life, as John predicted in calling him "Lamb of God," and this is nothing other than the suffering and death of the Spirit-anointed Son of God. The same Father in heaven, for Jesus' sake, anoints us with the same Spirit, and we are free.
We are free from our need to search for or imagine or invent or come up with a God who is congenial to our particular interests; who advances our pre-existing agenda.
The sheer and utter givenness of the Trinity simply is our salvation. For when, like John, we encounter Jesus, the Spirit-baptized Son of God and Lamb of God, we encounter then and there the God who created us precisely in order to die for us, the Spirit of whose suffering love kindles in us the flame of faith and hope and love.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen!
