18 May 2008 St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
The Feast of the Holy Trinity
“Worship and
Life”
Text: Genesis
1:1-2:4a; Acts 2:14a, 22-36; Matthew 28:16-20
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God
our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
We read and confessed together a moment
ago:
Whoever
desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith.
Whoever
does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.
And
the catholic faith is this,
that we worship
[the Holy Trinity]. (Beginning of the Athanasian
Creed)
That’s
what this day (commemorating the Holy Trinity) and this creed (celebrating the
Holy Trinity) are all about: worship.
For
that is what the church catholic – meaning the church of all times and all
places – has always been about: worship.
For Christianity is not first and
foremost about morality: following rules and living properly. It is not first and foremost about outreach:
doing missions and evangelism. And it is
not first and foremost about having the right head knowledge about God,
although from speaking this creed earlier it may seem so. All those things are important, but they are
not of first importance. For none of those things can come first. They must
all follow and flow from something else.
And that something else is worship. And not just any worship, but as the creed
said, that we worship the Holy Trinity. And that is worship that is not about what we
do, but what about what God does for us.
And what God does for us, in a word, is life. For apart from Him we
have no life, either physically or spiritually.
And so in other words, whoever desires
to be saved and not perish, must receive
life.
Life from God, the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
And so the readings from God’s Word that
we heard today were all about life. We
began at the beginning, and heard again how wonderfully and carefully and
exactly God made all things. Nothing by
chance or evolution; nothing left out. Everything
perfect, and perfectly good. And why is
that important? Because God did not just
create everything – He created you.
As wonderfully and carefully and exactly as God made all things in the
beginning, so He has made you. There may
be things about you that you don’t like, that you wish you could change. But in God’s eyes you are who are you for a
reason, and a purpose. God made no
mistake with you, but gave you life and rejoices in that life. And He sustains your life. You are not your own, or on your own. If you were, you would have perished long
ago! But your Father is caring for you,
providing for you, and giving you all that you need for this body and life. Because He loves you. And will not stop loving you.
And it is the second reading that shows
us just how deep His love is – a love that could not stop, even when it was not
returned. For when Adam and Eve decided
to love not God, but themselves; when they decided not to receive from God, but
grab what they could; when they decided God was not good and followed instead
the word of satan . . . God did not reject them. He did not kill them and start over. He did not withdraw and say “Fine! Do it
yourself!” In His love He promised a
Saviour. A Saviour to defeat the death they
had now ushered into the world, and give them life again. Life in a physical resurrection on the last
day, and life in a spiritual resurrection now by faith. And so Peter, on that Day of Pentecost, stood
up and told the people: What God had
promised, God has done. He sent His Son. His Son to be the death of death, and give us
life again. The physical life we threw
away, the spiritual life we threw away, all is restored in Him.
And again, why is that important? Because God did not just save the world – He saved you.
Your death He defeated; your sin He paid for. Each and every one. Every sin of your thoughts, words, deeds, and
desires. He knows them all . . . which
we think is not such a good thing! But
if He knows them all, then you can be
sure He died for them all, and so now
gives you life from the dead in the forgiveness of all your sins. And that is not just a better life, but the life that your
Father always intended for you to have.
Eternal life, with Him. In joy
and perfection. For the forgiveness of
God is not a partial thing, or an overlooking of sin, but a full remission of
sin, and so a full restoration of your life with God. Done completely.
Done in love. A love that gives, and will not stop giving.
Which brings us to the Holy Gospel that
was read today, and how God is continuing to give His life today. He sends His apostles out to give that life,
through teaching and baptizing. Teaching
and baptizing into His Name: the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. For where His name is, there
He is. And where He is, there is life. Life through the Spirit of God. For the Father sent the Son, and the Son
sends the Spirit, that the Spirit might lead us to the Son, and the Son take us
to the Father. So that the relationship
we had with God in the beginning be restored.
Through the love and forgiveness of God.
And that receiving that love and forgiveness, by grace through faith, we
then confess the same. Which is worship. To receive from God, and to confess Him as
the Lord and Giver of life.
Part of that
confession we spoke today – all those things we read in the creed – that God is
triune, that He is infinite, incomprehensible, eternal, uncreated, almighty. But not just those things. For then we could not know Him, for those
things are beyond our understanding. But
God wants us to know Him, and to return His love.
And so He has revealed Himself to us in
His Son. And so in Jesus of
the invisible
one was made visible;
the
incomprehensible one made Himself comprehensible;
the infinite one
enters our finite universe;
the eternal one
comes to die;
the almighty
becomes a man.
In
Jesus, God joins Himself to us, that we might know Him.
In
Jesus, God joins Himself to us, that all that is ours become His, and all that
is His become ours.
In
Jesus, God joins Himself to us, that His life be our life.
The life that we will receive again
today, as His forgiveness and life are proclaimed, and as His very life-giving
body and blood are placed into our mouths to eat and to drink. That live in Him and He in us. Which
is worship. The place where heaven
and earth come together in Jesus Christ.
And then from this worship and life, yes, flows all other things –
the good works we will do, the outreach, the care and love for others, the
increasing knowledge of His Word. From
this worship and life flows the strength to resist the wiles and temptations of
the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh.
From this worship and life flows the faith to face the trials and
tribulations of this life with confidence and hope. From this worship and life flows our life.
And so today, the Feast of the Holy
Trinity, is not just about some dry, abstract doctrines, a long creed, and
difficult words – it is about life. The life of God, given to us. The life of God, which is not something that
we do in order to be saved – but which is itself salvation. For the life that God gives is true life,
which not even death can end. So let us receive that life, live that life, and confess
that life. Which is worship. Worship
that begins here with God and from here flows into all the world.
For
this is the catholic faith – the faith that the church of all times and all
places has believed:
that God gives
and we receive;
that God speaks
and we confess what He has told us;
that God gives
life and we live His life.
And that is true ortho-doxy – right worship, in, with, and
under the name that is above all names: the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our
Lord. Amen.