"An Out of the Bag Sermon"

Romans 5:1-5

 

I have preached here on the nature of the Trinity, one God in three persons, for the last five years at this church on Trinity Sunday. With my average sermon time being about 17 minutes, that means I have preached to you about this concept for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes over the last ½ decade. And yet, I'm sure this concept of the Trinity is still a bit confusing for a number of you. The idea of God in three persons, a blessed Trinity, has been argued about and fought over for centuries in the Christian church. And I would guess that if I were to preach for another ten years to you on this subject once a year, you might not feel any clearer on the issue.

 

Now the word "Trinity" is never used in scripture. The term "Trinity" is believed to have been first used in the early second century by Tertullian, one of the early founders of the Christian church.

 

One of my favorite quotes on the Trinity comes from the 4^th-century bishop, St. Augustine, who said, "If asked to define the Trinity, we can only say that it is not this or that." Yet scripture does have some things to say about God in three persons. So let me encourage you on your own to some personal study time to develop your own concepts of the Trinity. I have the following passages for you to study, which have been handed out to you this morning.

 

The Old Testament states that there is but one God -"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one God" (Deut. 6:4). This makes sense, as they were fighting against multi-god imagery of the time- household gods were quite popular at the time.

 

However, The Old Testament refers to the Trinity by referring to God's word (Psalm 33:6), God's Spirit (Isaiah 61:1), and Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1), as well as being in narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham (Genesis 18-19).

 

You can find more developed descriptions of God and Jesus in an interdependent relationship in the following New Testament passages: John 5:19-29; 8:23-29, 50-58.

 

Then the passages which demonstrate the "threeness" of God, or Trinity - John 14:15-17; Acts 2: 32-33; Matthew 28:19, today's passage in Romans (5:1-5), 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Jude verses 20-21. If you would like to have coffee - which is still one cup of coffee but has beans, water and caffeine in it (3 in one) give me a call or email!

 

For this morning, I would like to focus on Paul's understanding of the Trinity - how God, Jesus, and the Spirit have an interdependent relationship, which results in gifts for the believer. Although Paul did not himself ever use the word "Trinity," he did have an understanding of God being expressed in three ways, as mentioned in today's passage.

 

So let's take a look at this passage from Paul in Romans. Paul begins the 5^th chapter with "Therefore." This refers back to his last chapter, in which he lays out that Jesus, through our faith in him, his death and resurrection, Jesus has justified us - that is, we have been brought back into a right relationship with God through Jesus. So therefore, Paul says we receive our first of three gifts. Today, I have representations of those three gifts, which of course, happen to be in one bag, thus sort of representing the Trinity.

 

Let's see what is in the first bag - Bag Number 1 - small

The first special gift we receive is the gift of peace through Jesus Christ. This statue of Jesus is one I received after completing my first paid job in the church as a youth director back in1985. I keep it at the top of my bookshelf as a reminder that Jesus is over all the events of my day. When I glimpse it, it does give me some peace of mind. Around the statue is an old peace sign from a Vacation Bible school I did many years ago. It usually hangs from a push pin over one of the windows to my office deck. It hangs in an intentional place, my desire that peace would be in the world outside of my office.

 

Together, these two items proclaim what Paul tells us - we are now at peace with God. We have been reconciled to God through Christ's sacrifice, which brings peace between our Creator and us. A peace treaty that justifies us before God has been signed and verified through Jesus Christ. This peace we receive is not just between ourselves and God but can also be extended into this world. Peace is very much a desired condition in our world. The epidemic of mass shootings in America, the horrible massacre in Nigeria in a church last Sunday, and the continuing war in Ukraine remind us how elusive peace can be. History proves—and modern-day life teaches us—that peace in the world is an unattainable dream. Humankind knows no peace in the world. However, peace is still possible. Jesus tells us: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give you what the world gives you." John 14:27. This peace comes from the knowledge that we have access to God through prayer, and this kind of access is a big deal.

 

For you see, in the Hebrew Scriptures, we learn that followers of God were kept from God's presence by the veil in the temple at Jerusalem, which only the high priest could go through. The people could not experience the entire presence of God. If you were a Gentile, there was a wall around the temple's inner court with writing that warned that any Gentile going beyond that wall would be killed. If you were female, you were allowed into the women's court, but not any further. Then there was the men's inner court, which was closer to God's presence but still did not give access to the holy of holies. Having access to God was next to impossible in the old days. There were exceptions - David knew of and wrote of God's presence, but he had a full-access-backstage -ass. He was the King - meant to be a divine representative of God or a "son" of God if you will. However, your average temple worshiper had a barrier between them and God.

But when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible teaches that the veil was torn and the wall was broken down. Now, through Jesus Christ and faith, we believers have access to God's presence anytime, anywhere. That access brings us peace, for we can pray to God for help and plead with God to be at work for change in the world. We can pray that swords be beaten into plowshares, guns into garden tools, that someday we will have sensible gun laws, that we will stop embracing violence, and wars like the one in Ukraine will stop. I find that, after I have prayed and prayed about every concern I have, there is peace, for I have drawn very near to the presence of God. 19^th century French Carmelite nun Elizabeth of the Trinity (Appropriately named for this morning!) Wrote, "O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in you, still and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity; let nothing disturb my peace nor separate me from You, O my unchanging God, but that each moment may take me further into the depths of Your mystery."

 

What is the second gift Paul mentions in today's passage? 2 - medium

The second gift is a foundation of hope. This image of hope was decorated by our daughter, Abigail. A butterfly is holding it. The butterfly is an image of hope in so many ways- It is symbolic of resurrection, as a butterfly's bodily vitals slow down to near death-like state while emerging from its pupae stage. There is hope in new life, resurrection to come in eternity. There is also hope in moments of new life and renewal in life's daily struggles, which this passage mentions. As the passage tells us, "Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint." (Romans 5:3-4) God gives us hope that does not abandon us in times of trial or suffering. God's hope provides strength and helps us see beyond this finite world. American Novelist Herman Melville said, "Hope is the struggle of the soul, breaking loose from what is perishable and attesting to eternity."

 

Bag number 3 - large

The third gift is connected a bit to the second one. It is God's love, which has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit and gives us this hope that does not disappoint. I have here a heart balloon, and on it, a rather poorly drawn example of a dove as the Spirit pouring hope into the heart. This love being poured into our hearts from the Spirit is unconditional, never-ending. It is a never-wavering love, and if we remember that no matter what happens to us in this life, we are loved, we will have an anchor to help us through life's trials. That kind of unconditional love also enables us to love others. I speak about this love when I counsel a couple before marriage. Those who have God's love poured into their hearts can use that same love in their marriage relationship. It is, in effect, a love triangle- the couple each in their corner of the triangle, connected to the third corner. It is God's love that makes our imperfect attempts at love full of grace and full of hope. Ecclesiastes chapter four tells us, "Two are better than one,... but a chord of three strands is not easily broken." (Ecc. 4:9-12) God's love poured into our hearts and woven into our actions makes our love strong and enables us to love others.

 

This passage then gives us an idea of how God in three persons works. The three in the oneness of God also provide us a fourth gift, which is the main point of this passage from Romans. When life gets hard, circumstances are challenging, and we are distressed and anxious about our plight in this world, we can press forward with hope. Why? In talking about this passage, Cascades Presbytery's website answers that question. "…because in the midst of all our pain and difficulty, we keep company with the one who is love. Love is with us. Love is for us, and love will never leave us. Press on, dear ones. We are not alone."