
The festival of the Holy Trinity (this coming Sunday, June 12th) reminds us of just how little we can understand or comprehend our Triune God. We can’t, we won’t ever, but we believe in him. The central paradox of the Christian faith is this: God is both three and one at the same time. Three persons in one God. One God in three persons. Strange? Yep. Irrational? Uh-huh. Illogical? Makes no sense whatsoever. But it’s the truth. In the service that day, we’ll journey through the Athanasian Creed, which summarizes 400 years of struggling to say all this in just the right way. And when we’re done, we still won’t understand it all, but by grace we’ll believe it.
Many centuries ago, the great church father Augustine was puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity while walking on a beach. On the beach he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. He asked the boy what he was doing and the boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." Then Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite, incomprehensible God into his finite mind.
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look on you with favor and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Let God be God. Let him rule over all things and work through all things and reveal himself to us as the one true God, the Triune God. Don’t try to put him in a box or on a shelf or attempt to fit him inside your head. It won’t work. Instead, may we respond with unending praise and worship: Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, Glory be to the Holy Spirit. Glory to the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of the Holy Trinity,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand
Many centuries ago, the great church father Augustine was puzzling over the doctrine of the Trinity while walking on a beach. On the beach he observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. He asked the boy what he was doing and the boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." Then Augustine realized that he had been trying to put an infinite, incomprehensible God into his finite mind.
The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look on you with favor and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)
Let God be God. Let him rule over all things and work through all things and reveal himself to us as the one true God, the Triune God. Don’t try to put him in a box or on a shelf or attempt to fit him inside your head. It won’t work. Instead, may we respond with unending praise and worship: Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, Glory be to the Holy Spirit. Glory to the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of the Holy Trinity,
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand