The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today is Trinity Sunday, the day we celebrate the One God living as Three Persons, which of course is the meaning of the word Trinity. So it is proper that we begin, as most sermons do, with calling on the Persons who make up the One God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Together they are one God, but we see them acting in different ways, and so we think of them as different persons.
Of course all of us can understand that. I am a daughter to my parents, a sister to my siblings, a wife to my husband, a mother to my children, and a grandmother to their children. I am also a deaf person, a biochemist, a surgical technician, a computer programmer and a priest. Each of us fulfills many different roles in life, but the bottom line is that each of us is still only one individual. And that, I think, is because we are made in the image of God, and have his ability to function in different ways in different situations and at different times.
Today's Bible readings give us some pictures of how God functions. These do not add up to a complete picture, but they give us some understanding of the power of God in the world and in our own daily lives.
God is holy. He is the measure by which we can judge goodness and righteousness. The more like God a person is, the holier that person is. The more different from God a person is, the less holy (or the more evil) that person is.
God is all-powerful. God deserves to receive all our praise, all the glory we can give him, all the obedience we can give him. This is why he is shown as a king on a throne. People count themselves as blessed when they are able to worship and praise God.
God is entitled to our obedience in carrying out his plans for the world and its people. He is always asking, Who shall I send? We should always be ready to answer, Send me! And we should be honored to be given a part in his work, and sent, like the angels, the messengers of God, to do his will.
All power in heaven and earth belongs to God: lightning, thunder, the service of angels and spirits, the service of human beings, the service of other creatures of all kinds. All that is beautiful also belongs to God: jewels, gold, crystals and other minerals, light, rainbows and other lovely parts of nature, and, of course, the universe that he has made. All good things and all good creatures give God the glory and honor and praise that he deserves .
God can and does live in each of us who permits him to enter our hearts. We do this by believing in him. We are never alone and we never need to be afraid because God is always with us.
God loves us so much that he came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and died on the cross to wash away our sin, and make us sin-free and able to enter his presence without fear of punishment. He paid the price and took the punishment for our sin so that we can always live with him and receive him into our hearts and lives.
God lives in each of us and guides us, if we are willing to listen to him and obey him. We never have to worry about what to do or what to say if we depend on God's guidance.
God gives us the wonderful hope and expectation of living in immeasurable happiness with him forever.
I am sure you can tell which of the persons of the Trinity does these things. But we do not need to worry too much about the details of how it's done, how God acts. All we need to remember, really, is that God loves us far more than we can possibly understand, and that if we trust him and follow his leading, we will always have the help we need and we will never need to fear anything. What it comes down to is what St. Paul taught: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.... and Christ, of course, is God the Son. All we need to do is trust God and depend on him and obey him, as Jesus himself did.
In the name of God: Creator, Redeemer and Comforter; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
