Pastor’s Corner – Trinity Sunday
Like Christmas or Easter, Trinity Sunday is a holiday in the life of the Church. For various reasons it is less memorable than the “Big” holidays but it is equally important. On Trinity Sunday we celebrate the nature of God and the relationship of the Trinity.
This year, I pray that Trinity Sunday has a little extra joy with it. Ever since Easter we have been exploring the nature of God in the Creeds. The Creeds are all written in a format that highlight the three persons of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, while at the same time celebrate their unity as one God.
God’s nature, three-in-one or triune, can be a bit challenging to wrap our minds around. Sometimes this challenge is a bad thing because we stop trying to understand and leave “that technical stuff” to the pastors, leaders, etc. But sometimes it is a good thing. When we finally open our minds to embrace the nature of God, we realize that there are no words to describe Him. He is a being that is unique and complex in comparison to us. When life gets complicated, it is comforting to know we have a Big God who can handle our big challenges.
When we take the time to learn more about God’s nature, we start to learn more about ourselves. This makes sense because He is the one that designed and created us. The fact that we are each unique with our own purpose in this world is a testament to our individual person’s. The reality that we are completely lost without companionship or said another way, we are designed to be in community, is a testament to His unity.
“It is not good for man to be alone.” These are the words of God shortly after He breathed life into Adam. It isn’t good to be alone, it is against the nature of our creator to be alone. The nature of God is communal, one God but three persons. He created us to have a relationship with Him and with each other and at the same time to have purpose and value as an individual.
It is difficult to balance life in community with life as an individual, we need both. Trinity Sunday reminds us that we were designed for both. The struggle is that because of the curse of sin on the world we tend to desire one over the other. Like so many things in this world we are blessed to experience, the idea is easier than the implementation. But praise be to God that we have His word and presence to guide us.
The nature of God can get complicated, especially if we try to overthink it. Let’s keep it simple, but not simplistic. God “calls, gathers and enlightens” us by the power of His Holy Spirit. Our job is to listen, follow and mature as the children of God. Anything more than that is simply details. How we listen, where we follow when we mature, who we serve.
This Trinity Sunday we will continue to explore what we believe about God and what that means in our lives. We have a big God who continues to do big things in small ways. Individuals, working together, each doing our own small part united together in by our big God to make a difference for His Kingdom in this world.
Just like the Trinity, it can seem overwhelming at first. Then, just like the Trinity, we realize it is truly about individuals and relationships working together. These relationships, when entrusted to God’s will, show the presence of God to each other and the world. Another mystery, that God would choose to use us to make Himself know to the world. It is truly big, amazing and indescribable and, it is truly simple, beautiful and real.
In Christ,
Pastor Erik Gauss
Scripture Readings for Sunday, June 3, 2023
Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Acts 2:14a, 22-36