Holy Scriptures

Gospel for June 12, 2022 Trinity Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 16:12-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus continues to explore the unique relationship within the Trinity, focusing more closely on the work of the Spirit of truth.

In the verses prior to our passage for this week, Jesus has explained why his departure is a good thing for the disciples. If he departs, he will send the Holy Spirit, the Counselor:

When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged (John 16:8-11).

Jesus has revealed many truths to the disciples, but he is aware that they aren’t ready for all the truth that is to be revealed. They can’t bear them now. But the Holy Spirit will also reveal truths that come directly from the Father and the Son.

Note that the Spirit will not speak on his own initiative. None of his teachings will contradict what Jesus has revealed.

What the Father has also belongs to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit speaks for both the Father and the Son, and glorifies the Son. So there is a kind of interweaving network of relationship within the Trinity.

APPLY:

When we try to speak or write about the Trinity, it is a little like trying to photograph a starry sky. You can only focus on one small section of the sky at one time. And so it is with the Trinity.

Here, all that we focus on is the role of the Holy Spirit as the ongoing communicator for God. The Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father and the Son because he is one with them — Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God. And yet because the Holy Spirit is a distinct Person, the Holy Spirit has a different role.

And yes, when we start to speak about the Trinity, we do begin to find ourselves unable to articulate it all clearly. As when we stare at the vast skies at night, with no light pollution, we are reduced to silence by it all.

We can know what the Holy Spirit reveals to us; but we may also find ourselves frequently in awed silence at what remains a mystery.

RESPOND:

Nothing humbles me more when I speak of theology than trying to understand and explain the Triune nature of God. So many modern Christians fall unwittingly into ways of talking about the Trinity that were declared heretical long ago in the church. I call that “accidental heresy.”

I do believe that there are some truths that the Holy Spirit has definitely revealed to us, as Jesus says:

when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

I feel pretty certain that the entire New Testament can be explained as the truth that the Holy Spirit would come to reveal, particularly when we remember that nothing was written down by the apostles until at least twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost.

I certainly believe that the Holy Spirit was at work inspiring the writers of the New Testament from 50 A.D. to 100 A.D. And I would like to believe that the Holy Spirit continued to work in the life of the church through the councils and the synods later, and in the church even today — provided we understand that the Holy Spirit doesn’t contradict previously revealed truth in the Scriptures.

But I still have to admit that I feel like a child when it comes to understanding the Trinity. Perhaps Psalm 131 says it best for me:

Yahweh, my heart isn’t haughty, nor my eyes lofty;
nor do I concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2, World English Bible).

Our Lord, I don’t need to know everything; I know that I can’t know everything; what I need to know is what you need me to know about you and how you save and sanctify me, and how your love and light penetrate this present darkness. Guide me into your truth. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"When the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father. Even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the father he shall testify of m" by allyhook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for June 16, 2019

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 16:12-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus continues to explore the unique relationship within the Trinity, focusing more closely on the work of the Spirit of truth.

In the verses prior to our passage for this week, Jesus has explained why his departure is a good thing for the disciples. If he departs, he will send the Holy Spirit, the Counselor:

When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged (John 16:8-11).

Note that the Spirit will not speak on his own initiative. None of his teachings will contradict what Jesus has revealed.

APPLY:

When we try to speak or write about the Trinity, it is a little like trying to photograph a starry sky. You can only focus on one small section of the sky at one time. And so it is with the Trinity.

We can know what the Holy Spirit reveals to us; but we may also find ourselves frequently in awed silence at what remains a mystery.

RESPOND:

I do believe that there are some truths that the Holy Spirit has definitely revealed to us, as Jesus says:

when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

But I still have to admit that I feel like a child when it comes to understanding the Trinity. Perhaps Psalm 131 says it best for me:

Yahweh, my heart isn’t haughty, nor my eyes lofty;
nor do I concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2, World English Bible).

PHOTOS:
"When the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father. Even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the father he shall testify of m" by allyhook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for June 5, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Luke 7:11-17

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

There are two starkly different large processions of people in this passage that converge upon one another outside of the city of Nain. One is a procession of life, following Jesus the Lord of Life. The other is a procession of death, the funeral procession taking a young man’s body on a bier to the cemetery where a rock tomb awaited him.

These two processions collide and the Lord of Life is the victor.

Although Nain was in the region of Galilee, it is roughly twenty miles south of Capernaum, where Jesus had only recently healed the servant of the Roman centurion.

We must put this situation in perspective — this woman of Nain is a widow who has now lost her only son. Without a man in the household to make a living, a woman’s financial security in the ancient world was tenuous.

When Jesus encounters this grieving crowd coming out of the city, he exercises the same authority that healed the Roman’s servant. His command to the widow, though, was given gently:

When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

However, as we will see with the young daughter of Jairus in Luke 8:54, and in the resurrection of Lazarus after four days in the tomb (John 11:43), Jesus confronts death with absolute authority:

Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

This is the first of three documented resurrections that Jesus performs in his ministry.

Note the response:

Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

First, there is fear — not so much the fear that comes from danger, but the fear that one experiences with a sense of awe, and being in the presence of something far greater than oneself. They demonstrate this by glorifying God.

Second, note that all of them are filled with fear — not merely the funeral crowd, but the festive crowd that had already gathered around Jesus, including his own disciples. This miracle has definitely gotten their attention!

Third, the response is faith — and witness. The people have come to believe that Jesus is a great prophet and that God is near, and the word begins to spread.

APPLY:

Unlike preachers and priests throughout the centuries, Jesus never preached a funeral sermon. Wherever he went he brought healing and resurrection.

Of course, because of the resurrection power of Jesus, those who preach at funerals and those grieving family members who trust in Christ may also smile through their tears.

Jesus tells Martha as he approaches the tomb of her brother Lazarus:

“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

In a sense, we may be able to identify more closely with the faith of Martha than with the widow of Nain and the crowd that gathered around the young man’s bier in Luke 7. Martha was asked to believe before she saw her brother raised — the widow and the crowd believed in response to the resurrection of the young man.

We know that Christ has been raised because we believe the Scriptures, we believe the witness of the church for two thousand years, and because of personal faith. But believing that we will see our dead loved ones in the resurrection is an act of faith in the future.

RESPOND:

As I drove away from a graveside service for a dead church member, I was meditative. We would not see him again on this side of the resurrection.

However, as I drove it occurred to me — on Easter Sunday morning, we would be out at that same cemetery for a Sunrise Service, celebrating the Risen Christ!

My heart soared, and I could say “because Jesus lives, we will live also.”

Our Lord, wherever you go, whenever you encounter death and sin, you bring life and hope. May you so fill me with faith that wherever I go I bear witness to your life and hope as well. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"The Resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain" by Wilhelm Kotarbinski is in the Public Domain.

Gospel for May 29, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

Luke 7:1-10

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is an extraordinary encounter between Jesus and a Gentile early in his ministry. It’s important to remember that Jews didn’t mix with Gentiles. The Pharisees would have considered an encounter with a Gentile to be defiling.

So, Jesus’ attitude toward the Roman centurion is surprising. More than likely, given the centurion’s generosity toward the synagogue and sympathy for the Jews, he was what was known in that day as a “God-fearer.” These were Gentiles who had come under the influence of Judaism, and believed in the God of Israel, but had not fully converted to Judaism, i.e., undergone the rite of circumcision.

But the Roman has become aware of Jesus’ unique gift of healing, and he sends messengers to seek him out. When Jesus comes near the centurion’s house, the centurion shows extraordinary sensitivity to Jewish sensibilities. He seems to recognize that by coming in to his home, Jesus will be judged by the Pharisees to be defiled, a “gentile lover.” And this causes him to declare that he understands how authority works — simply a word from Jesus is sufficient to bring healing to his beloved servant.

Jesus sees the faith of this Gentile, which is greater than he has seen even among Israelites. This is a foreshadowing of the epiphany that Peter and Paul will have later, that one need not be a part of the “chosen people” to be acceptable to God. Faith alone is the criterion for acceptance by God.

APPLY:

There are three key issues raised in this passage that are always relevant in our lives.

The first issue is that God is “color blind” when it comes to those whom he welcomes into his fellowship. Differences of race, ethnicity, background all melt away when a person comes into the presence of God.

Perhaps Peter remembers this incident during his own ministry, after Jesus has returned to heaven. He has a vision from God, and then accepts the invitation to go to the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius. This experience may remind Peter of Jesus’ encounter with this Roman centurion in our passage. Peter has learned:

I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him (Acts 10:34-35).

The second issue that applies to our lives is the understanding of authority. The Roman centurion understands that there is a chain of command. He is under authority that he must obey, and he is in authority over others whom he commands. And he recognizes authority when he sees it — and Jesus has it!

How well developed his “Christology” is may be is a matter of question. He may not know that Jesus is the divine Son of God — but he knows that Jesus does have divine authority. And his request of Jesus is grounded in certainty.

Which brings us to the third issue — faith. Jesus is more than willing to go to the house of the centurion when he is summoned, despite the risk of criticism from the scribes and Pharisees. But when the centurion spares Jesus’ reputation, and declares that he recognizes Jesus’ authority even from a distance, that demonstrates the centurion’s faith.

Faith doesn’t require sight. As Hebrews points out:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

The healing of the centurion’s servant is not evidence, it is a fruit of faith. The centurion had already demonstrated his faith.

RESPOND:

In our modern era there are more than a few challenges to faith. Some of these challenges are intellectual, some are cultural.

I admire the way the Roman centurion cuts through the intellectual and cultural obstacles. He intuitively recognizes the authority of Jesus, and trusts even when he doesn’t know everything about this Jesus.

He doesn’t know that Jesus is born of a virgin, or that he is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, and he certainly doesn’t know that Jesus will be crucified and raised from the dead. But he trusts in Jesus’ power to do something that he himself can’t do.

I believe all of those truths about Jesus — that he is born of a virgin, is the divine Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, was crucified and raised from the dead — but until I put my trust in his authority and power, my faith is merely an opinion.

Our Lord, thank you that you have accepted me in your family, not because of my family background or my pedigree, but because of my faith in you. Help me to have the faith that the centurion had, to trust in your very word for us. Amen.

PHOTOS:
"Jesus healing the servant of a Centurion" by Paolo Veronese is in the Public Domain.

Gospel for May 22, 2016

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

John 16:12-15

CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus continues to explore the unique relationship within the Trinity, focusing more closely on the work of the Spirit of truth.

In the verses prior to our passage for this week, Jesus has explained why his departure is a good thing for the disciples. If he departs, he will send the Holy Spirit, the Counselor:

When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to my Father, and you won’t see me any more; about judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged (John 16:8-11).

Note that the Spirit will not speak on his own initiative. None of his teachings will contradict what Jesus has revealed.

APPLY:

When we try to speak or write about the Trinity, it is a little like trying to photograph a starry sky. You can only focus on one small section of the sky at one time. And so it is with the Trinity.

We can know what the Holy Spirit reveals to us; but we may also find ourselves frequently in awed silence at what remains a mystery.

RESPOND:

I do believe that there are some truths that the Holy Spirit has definitely revealed to us, as Jesus says:

when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

But I still have to admit that I feel like a child when it comes to understanding the Trinity. Perhaps Psalm 131 says it best for me:

Yahweh, my heart isn’t haughty, nor my eyes lofty;
nor do I concern myself with great matters,
or things too wonderful for me.
Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with his mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me (Psalm 131:1-2, World English Bible).

PHOTOS:
"When the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father. Even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the father he shall testify of m" by allyhook is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.