8:1-4, 22-31
Romans 5:1-5 (Series C Trinity Sunday) Ps. 8
John 16:12-15
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
A young man walked into the church yard and asked whether he could go into the sanctuary to pray. And as he made his way toward the church, he asked, "By the way, what kind of church is this?" "Lutheran", the pastor replied intending to say a little more, but before the pastor could, he smiled and said, "Not that it makes any difference. I go to all kinds of churches. They are all the same to me - Lutheran, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, you name it. They all lead to the same place. Any God will do!"
A member of a previous parish would come and worship in the Lutheran Church on Sunday and during the week would worship at her Buddha shrine set up in her home, making offerings of food and drink for her dead ancestors. The sad fact about this is that these are not isolated cases.
For many people - any God will do! Canadians generally believe there is a God, "Someone up there", "the good Lord", when they need him. They don't know much about him nor do they care to find out much. And in our multi-cultural country, god is presented in many different ways. People can take their pick.
What do we mean when we say, I believe in God? The term "god" is vague and very general to me personally. God can mean anyone or anything, in fact anyone or anything whom a person holds in high regard or as the highest priority in their lives is their god. To know God simply as "God" or as "Someone up There" doesn't cut it for me personally.
Today, Trinity Sunday is that Sunday of the Church Year when we celebrate our conviction that just any God will not do. We began our worship this morning, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Those words immediately remind us of the unique and special relationship that we have with God because of our baptism. When we were baptized those same words were spoken - in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Which, we witnessed a moment ago with Sanderine. We are here this morning to pray to and to sing our praises to the Triune God who has made us, saved us, and sanctified (set apart) us.
Not when it comes to the creation: We say in the creed. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. We are not a biological accident,(Augustine thought) God has blessed us and willed us to have a purpose on earth. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, we are not an accident of nature. We are a special creation. We are unlike any other person who has lived or ever live. We are created by God for God.
Even as science unravels more of the mysteries of the expansiveness of our universe and the uniqueness of our humanity, we grow in appreciation of the God behind it all.
Moses left no doubt about the role of the Creator when he raised the question about other gods. He said: So remember today and never forget: The Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god. [Deut 4.39.] No beating about the bush here! No substitute gods. "The Lord is God and there is no other!
From generation to generation God's people have helped one another to know the Creator and his commandments, his rules for a happy life on this earth. Jesus directed that baptism be complimented by "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
You and I know too well what has happened. I have found that many young people who come to be married in the Church, haven't a clue who Jesus is. They have received no religious training whatsoever. They want to be married in the church because it's a lovely building and would make a great setting for their wedding.
These folk have little or no knowledge about 10 Commandments apart from the fact that they have something to do with stealing, killing and sex let alone know what Jesus has done for them. Do you see what I'm getting at. The task in front of the church right here in our own country is immense. There is incredible ignorance concerning God. Every congregation is challenged to find ways of bridging this gap of ignorance this has been created among the people of our land.
Not when it comes to finding relief from the problems and anxieties that fill our lives. Let's face it, our existence is filled with a mixture of problems and pleasure, and as much as we would like happiness to be part of everyday, we can't manage it. The quality of our life fluctuates in many ways. One moment we are on top of things, the next we feel alone and hurt.
Everything can be going so well for us when next thing you know we are in the middle of something we wish we weren't. But in moments like these our heavenly Father sustains us with his grace and guiding love.
Not when it comes to our salvation: I believe in Jesus Christ... who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried and on the third day rose again from the dead.
This young man who came to pray in the church, came to pray to a god whom he felt he needed but he didn't really know who he was. I'm sure he hoped to discover some hidden knowledge of God through going to all those churches and places of worship.
But unfortunately no matter how devout his action, his act of devotion will not conjure up a relationship with the divine, nor will his tired and aching knees from long hours of praying cleanse his soul of evil.
But the marvel of our Christian faith is that God has not left us in the dark, either to worry about our relationship with him, or how we are to be saved. At times we wonder how God could possibly love us because of our failures. But he does.
He loves each of us to the extent of lying in a manger of hay as a tiny baby. He grew up and was loved by so many, yet hated by those who felt threatened by his presence in his world. He died the death of a criminal and took onto the cross with him all of our sin, our anxieties, our unhappiness about death, our failings. He died to heal our lives and our world by bringing forgiveness and peace to our broken lives. In Jesus, God saves and assures us that we are his.
Today concludes the festival half of the church year when we celebrated God's gift of a Son and Saviour. We began with Christmas, then to the cross, and finally to the triumph of Easter. We are reminded that it is only through Jesus Christ that we have any hope of reconciliation with God and the surety of eternal life in heaven.
That young man who came to the church that day was happy to pray to god, whoever he might be, but he missed the one important truth that could save him. Jesus has died for him and loved him. Jesus has opened the way for him and to all people. As Jesus himself said: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me.
Not when it comes to having the power to live as Christians: The Holy Spirit keeps on working on us so that here and now we become children of God and live out best potential as Christians. Last Sunday, Pentecost, the Church celebrated the sending of the Spirit and the equipping of people to be witnesses of God's love.
The Holy Spirit is still busy and active in our lives today. He is busy teaching us through God's Word what is God's will for our lives and what God wants us to do as his children; he is busy guiding us and helping us to love, and to care, to be patient and to serve one another, to be committed to the challenges that are placed before us in living the Christian life.
The Spirit is busy in our congregation, as we teach and learn, as we worship, as we have fellowship, as we work together as a congregation. Jesus said today in the Gospel reading: When the Spirit comes... he will lead you into all the truth.
Not when it comes to our worship: I have just briefly stated what we believe about God, but what about our response to the Creator, the Saviour, and the Spirit? The answer lays in the simplicity of faith. The Bible is simple, yet deep, and unchanging. But our understanding of its message and its application to our lives is a process of daily discovery of the character of God that goes beyond any exploration in history.
In my journey as a Bible student I have learned to have "wide-eye (an eagle eye so to say) in the midst of the wonders of God, his character." The truth that has stuck to me over the years is that: “When we make God shallow, we become shallow, when we make God cheap, we become cheap.”
God is infinite. His wisdom is limitless (God’s character), and we don't grow up in Christ in a day. His ways are deep and wonderful, and it takes years of prayerful experience to search them out. Every day we should be making more discoveries and discovering of his mercies. For God’s mercies are new every morning and great is his faithfulness. Loves that reaches up is 'Adoration 'Loves that reaches out is 'Affection' Ah, But Love that stoops is 'Grace.'
The young man who strolled into the church yard and asked to pray in the church was missing a vital aspect in his religious life. He worshipped a god but he didn't know who he was at the centre of his worship and life. No, not any God will do.
We have been blessed with the grace of knowing him as the God of Israel,
Creator, and Saviour. He is our God, and we the sheep of his pasture.
He made us, and we are his.
Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
June 3, 2007