Trinity Sunday
It has been said that it is far easier to preach to hundreds crowded into the church on Christmas or Easter than it is to discuss the doctrine of the Holy Trinity for a handful on a sleepy holiday weekend in late May.
Preachers must use caution and craft careful language to avoid the minefields of heresy, only to utilize the same adjective that St. Athanasius used to describe the Trinity – “incomprehensible” – all while hoping and praying that “incomprehensible” is not the word the faithful few at coffee hour will utilize to describe this morning’s sermon! So here goes.
In the Gospel according to John, we witness a profound encounter between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. This encounter takes place under the cover of night, as Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council, seeks Jesus out to inquire about his teachings. What unfolds in this conversation is not merely a dialogue between two individuals but a revelation of profound truths about the nature of God’s kingdom and the necessity of spiritual rebirth. Of course, Nicodemus is asking about how it’s possible for humans to be born from above or again, but his entire conversation with Jesus keeps alluding to all three persons of the Trinity—though Nicodemus seems to have no idea the depth of the magnificent knowledge Jesus is sharing with him. As part of taking the Jewish teacher to school, Jesus reminds Nicodemus that there is more to us humans than our physical existence. Yes, we must be born from our mother’s womb, flesh of flesh and bone of bone, but we are also made part of God’s family by being born of God the Spirit, as seen in verse 6 of our Gospel Reading.
The Spirit’s movement and transformation is much more mysterious than the way babies are made: it is like the wind that we cannot see but by its effect, invisible yet impactful, free and totally outside of our control. Jesus also tells Nicodemus that part of his problem is that he has a hard enough time accepting God’s truth about the physical things; of course, the spiritual realities will be harder for him to grasp and build his life upon. This isn’t just true for Nicodemus—it’s true for so many of us, as though it’s part of human nature. Here Jesus tries to help Nicodemus, albeit being a little cryptically, by describing himself as the connection between heaven above and the physical earth all around them. Jesus Christ is the only one to ascend and descend from heaven. And here on earth, Jesus will be lifted up physically so that a spiritual reality can be realized by God’s people.
Both the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ are being talked about here. The second person of the Trinity descended to earth into Mary’s womb and took on bodily flesh through the work of the Holy Spirit, and that same Jesus Christ who was crucified in the flesh, is now bodily (physically) present in heaven, having ascended as the resurrected, firstborn of the dead.
Jesus knows what he is talking about when he says born of the flesh and of the Spirit. His purpose comes from above, as does all who follow after him. And what is that purpose? It’s the beautiful truth of God’s love. When Nicodemus heard Jesus speak of God, he would have understood this as a reference to Yahweh, the one true God, and the one Jesus taught us to pray to as “Father.”
The Spirit blows and converts us to belief for the purpose of love, not condemnation. The Son came to be lifted up on the cross not for our condemnation but out of great love for us - if we only believe. God sends and gives for the purpose of eternal life through the Son, knowing that such life starts here and now through rebirth in the Spirit. So yes, with Nicodemus, we say, “How can this be?” as we seek to believe. It requires us to come to terms with the limits of our own ability to understand fully with airtight proofs that could convince even the greatest sceptic.
That’s what makes the wind such an apt image of the Spirit—both unseen and yet somehow undeniable. Like being born, our experience of God starts outside of ourselves.
But what we are born into is the greatest life possible: an eternal life physically begun now through belief, nurtured in the eternal love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
