Three Threes for Trinity Sunday

Three Threes for Trinity Sunday (John 16:12-15) (also Rom 5:1-5)

Truth is mentioned in John’s gospel more than in any other book of the Bible. It is one of the key ideas

Three words describing the attitude we need in order to understand the truth God reveals:

·         Humility – As modelled within the Trinity. Everything the Father has is given to the Son. The Spirit does not do his own thing, he communicates what he has heard from Jesus and glorifies Jesus. The disciples do not know it all yet (16:12) and need to be guided into the truth (16:13).

·         Hunger – Jesus is encouraging disciples to hunger for understanding; the understanding they need in order to continue God’s mission of salvation.

·         Honesty – With ourselves, each other and God. If truth is the goal, we need a truthful approach. Be honest about the fact that we need to be saved from our selves and our sins, and that Jesus is our Saviour and Lord, not just a good example.

Attitudes are not much use unless they are translated consistently into actions which live out those attitudes …

Three actions we need to keep on doing if we want to grow as christian disciples:

·         Listen – The Spirit will speak, but that won’t help us unless we listen. How good are we at listening? How can we create times and places with the silence and concentration to really listen to the Spirit?

·         Love – All the “yous” in the passage are plural. Learning God’s ways is done in community, modelled on the first community which is the Trinity. Love of God and neighbour (including enemy). Love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5) but without being put into action, love dies. No good if it is just an ideal or an empty sentiment.

·         Learn – Learn from what God teaches you (Billie’s catchphrase Learn from this!) That means growing up, not staying infantile or keeping on repeating mistakes or habitual sins.

Three qualities we need:

·         Prayer – You need a structured and disciplined prayer life, of a kind which suits your personality type but also stretches you. Give it time.

·         Practice – Put what the HS is teaching you into practice, with reflection, supported by other christian friends who are on the same journey.

·         Perseverance – (Rom 5:3) Don’t expect it to be easy.

Conclusion

·         The Trinity is Truth and can be defined by three simple truths:

·         1.There is only one God.
2. The Father is fully God, the Son (Jesus) is fully God and the Holy Spirit is fully God.
3. The Father is not the Son, and neither the Father nor the Son are the Holy Spirit.

·         I think the value of this doctrine for the Church is that it affirms along with other monotheistic faiths that there is only one God, all powerful and all loving. But unlike the others Christianity insists that God is not distant and separate from the worls but is also fully and actively involved in it, in Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

·         So the atoning death of Christ is God’s atoning death. And the Spirit living within and inspiring us is the Spirit of God.

·         It actually is not at all difficult to define. But our task as christians is not to define or even to value the Trinity – it is to live and breathe it!

·         The definition is not the point. Truth is not an academic goal. The point is to do all of the above  (HHH, LLL, PPP) in order to be drawn into the Trinity’s workings and participate in the redemption drama, bringing glory to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

·         Where do you start? That depends on who you are and where you are in your spiritual journey. Which attitude, action and quality would I pick out as those which most need to be worked on? Honesty … Listening … Prayerfulness.

·         Come to our Church Family Retreat (14-15 June) and let’s work on them together.