Psalm 8: 1–4, 22–31
Romans 5: 1–5
John 16:12–15
|
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be
acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer.
|
|
I want to begin this morning by saying something outrageous. I
want to begin by saying that I understand the trinitarian concept of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The reason that’s outrageous,
of course, is that no one easily understands how our one God can, in
fact, be three. Over the early centuries of the Church, scores of
theologians tried to make sense of that idea ’ and only managed to
come up with some long–winded explanations that leave few people
satisfied or enlightened. So, on this Trinity Sunday, when
I’m to preach on the doctrine of the Trinity, you might be getting
a very short sermon – because what I understand may be exceedingly
small.
|
|
But there is something I do know. I know that God is
Love. That’s His name because that is what He is all
about. How do I know this? I know it because I’ve
experienced His love, time and time again. I have felt it. I
have seen it in action. That, in fact, is what Love does; it
loves others. So it is hardly surprising that God would be part
of a community, a community with whom he shares this love — first
with Jesus the Son and then with the Holy Spirit. But the love
doesn᾿t stop there; it passes through the Holy Spirit to everyone
God the Father ever created – surrounding them, energizing them,
comforting them. That love is what holds us all in communion with
one another. And it never stops.
|
|
It’s this constantly attentive quality of God’s love that
the Psalmist this morning calls mindfulness. “What is
man that you should be mindful of him?” he asks God. Why
did the God who set the moon and stars in place choose us – weak
creatures, fallible creatures that we are – to love so
lavishly? Why did He set us in dominion over the rest of His
creation? And finally, why does he keep choosing to
love us, keep choosing to cherish and care for us, even when we
mess up? I don’t really know the answers to these
questions, except to say that God’s love always seems to be mixed
in with his mercy and compassion. And He seems to pay special
attention to the weakest ones among us. We see this best in Jesus
the Son, who always seemed to pay special attention to people whom
others ignored or had given up on as hopeless.
|
|
I think of the desperate woman in the crowd in Capernaum who simply
touched the hem of his garment. Do you remember that
story? No one else in that crowd even noticed her. She
was not only a woman — and an old one at that — but because
of her long–term illness, her issue of blood, she was thought to
have been judged by God as unclean. And yet, Jesus noticed
her. He stopped in his tracks and said, “Who touched
me?” His disciples thought this a ridiculous question.
|
|
“What do you mean, ‘Who touched you?’ they
said. “There are scores of people pressed in around you in
this crowd. Everybody is touching you.” But Jesus
wouldn’t move on until the woman finally came forward and admitted
that she had touched him – hoping that if she did, if she only
touched the hem of his garment, she might be healed. And healed
she was — by a combination of her faith and his love – a
love that just wouldn’t quit. For our Creator is eternally
mindful of us.
|
|
The amazing thing about all this is that God seems to love us even when
we’re not lovable at all. He has chosen us and is always
ready to believe the best about us. Maybe you recall the story of
the two thieves, crucified beside Jesus on Golgotha. One of them
reviles Jesus, saying, “If you are Messiah save
yourself – and us – and get us off these
crosses.” But the other thief knew he had done
wrong. He also knew that Jesus had done nothing to deserve this
agony. And realizing that they were all about to die, he
said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
Kingdom.” Jesus doesn’t hesitate, “Today,” he
replies, “you will be with me in Paradise.” That is
mindfulness. That is love so focused on a little scrap of good
in a single individual, it just won’t quit.
|
|
But my favorite story of God’s unfathomable love, passed on to
his creatures, is one the writer Calvin Trillin tells. One summer
Trillin’s wife Alice was volunteering at a camp for terminally
ill children. There she noticed a child
named “L” – who despite severe disabilities had an
unfailingly sunny and optimistic disposition. And one day, when
“L” ran off to join a game of “Duck, duck,
goose”, Alice spied a letter the child’s parents had written
to her, lying beside her on the bench. She couldn’t resist
reading the first few lines of that letter, which said:
L , if God had given us all the children in the world to choose
from, we would only have chosen you.” Alice passed the
letter to a fellow counselor, whispering breathlessly, “Quick.
Read this. It’s the secret of life.”
|
|
I think God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit cherish
each one of us in the same way. They notice us. They believe
in us. And when we least expect it, they surround us with their love.
|
|
Quick. Pass it on. It just might be the secret of life.
|
Amen
|
