St. John 8:48-59
June 3, 2007
The Holy Trinity C
[Jesus said to the Jews:] “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
I’ll admit it if you will. I’m a dummy. There’s even a book in my library to prove it. Several years ago when my wife and I were faced with buying our first home, we were overwhelmed. So I bought a book—a book entitled, “Home-Buying . . . for Dummies.” It was a book that took the very complex concepts of real estate and home mortgages, and then made them understandable and simple—so simple, in fact, that even I, a Lutheran pastor, could understand them.
So, I admit it. I’m a dummy. But I suspect you are too. Today it’s hard to find even one topic that hasn’t been addressed in a “For Dummies” book: Houseplants for dummies, wine, weddings, massage, Boston Terriers, tattoos, you name it. Unfortunately there are two important topics not addressed in this “for dummies” series. You will not find a book entitled “Pipe Organs for Dummies.” (I checked.) Nor will you find a volume entitled, “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.”
We do have the Athanasian Creed, which we confessed together a few moments ago—together with Christians around the world on this Holy Trinity Sunday. But let’s be honest, the Athanasian Creed isn’t for dummies. It’s not easygoing, that Athanasian Creed. It’s tough sledding for even the sharpest knives in the drawer. And the catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. Toss in a few “uncreateds” and “coeternals” and things start to get a little burry. But remember this: When it comes to confessing the fine doctrinal details of God the Holy Trinity, you can hardly expect to get your tiny brain wrapped around all of that. We’re simply not smart enough. If we could grasp all there was to the Holy Trinity—and understand Him completely and fully—well, then, the Holy Trinity wouldn’t be much of a God.
Let’s review: Three divine persons, one divine being called God. In all honesty, if we decided to invent our own religion and our own god, we wouldn’t do it this way—according to the Trinitarian model. We’d keep things simple and straight forward. Religion is hard enough in this secular, post-modern world. Why make things more difficult than they have to be? The trouble is, you and I don’t “make up” and “invent” our ideas about God. God the Holy Trinity tells us who He is. You and I simply believe it and tell it to the whole world.
Talking truthfully about the Trinity isn’t easy today; but then again, it’s never been easy. Just look at the kind of abuse Jesus endured from the religious folks of His day. There’s a lot of nasty stuff dished out at the Savior in today’s Holy Gospel. Jesus, I think, gives us a model for how to confess the truth of the Trinity in the face of all kinds of opposition. Jesus endures the abuse, but defends the doctrine.
First, the abuse. The Jews called Him a “Samaritan,” which was the supreme insult. It implied that Jesus wasn’t a true son of Abraham—that He was just a half-breed religious wanna-be. When Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that whoever keeps His word will never see death, the Jews said, “Now we know that you have a demon.” Not only wasn’t He the Messiah in their estimation, they said He was demonized. And when Jesus defended the doctrinal truth that He was the eternal Son of the Father—that before Abraham ever even existed, Jesus existed—that, in fact, there never was a time when He did not exist—well, at that point the Jews started looking for throwable stones to hurl at Him. Notice how Jesus defends the teaching—doesn’t back down from the doctrine—even while enduring insults and abuse. That’s how it is for anyone who dares to defend the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
Martin Luther put it this way in one of his sermons: “What does Christ do here? He suffers His life to be covered with shame and He endures it in silence; but He defends the teaching, for the teaching is not ours but God’s. . . . There patience ceases and I must venture all that I have and suffer all that they inflict upon me, in order that . . . God and His Word shall not suffer. For that I perish matters little, but if I let God’s Word perish and remain silent, I do harm to God and all the world” (Day by Day, p.383).
Why bother with all the doctrinal details about the Trinity? Why stand firm on all of those doctrinal details, even though it means abuse and ridicule or worse? Because the doctrine isn’t ours. The teaching isn’t ours. It’s God’s. And He has entrusted it to you—to believe it and learn it and share it with others.
Doctrine isn’t a popular topic these days, even (and especially) among Christians. It’s regarded as nothing more than a lot of theological hair-splitting. Can’t we just all believe in Jesus and let it go at that? Doctrine is too divisive. Even among Bible believing Christians this attitude is rampant. Even among us. When was the last time you yourself attended a Bible Study? When was the last time you read your Bible? Had a home devotion? Confessed the Catechism or a creed? All this is a sure sign that the church of Jesus Christ has grown lazy and distracted and, yes, downright dumb. And I’m here to tell you that in the long history of the church, doctrinal dumbness has never strengthened the church, but weakened it. When you no longer believe anything faithfully and firmly, the fine points of doctrine are no longer worth fighting for.
The truth is that we’re all doctrinal dummies. In fact, we’re as dumb as grasshoppers. The prophet Isaiah described earth’s inhabitants as little grasshoppers compared to God (40:22). Imagine if you were holding a grasshopper in your hand. How much about you do you think the grasshopper would understand? The grasshopper might know that you have the power to destroy him, but that’s probably about it. How could that dumb grasshopper ever come to know anything about you and your nature? The only way that could happen would be for you to become a grasshopper. Then the grasshopper could come to know you on his terms.
So it is for us doctrinal dummies and our great God. He became one of us grasshoppers—became a fellow human being named Jesus, from a little town called Nazareth. Or, in the words of the Athanasian Creed, “It is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Jesus God expressed Himself fully for us men and for our salvation. They said He was a blasphemer. They called Him a Samaritan. Said He had a demon. But in truth Jesus was the Word made flesh, God become man, dwelling among dying sinners like us.
In Jesus, God was seen. In Jesus, God was heard. In Jesus, God was touched. Here’s the bottom line on this Trinity Sunday: To know Jesus is to know God. For every doctrinal dummy out there—for every careless Christian who “cares-less” about God’s Word than almost everything else in life—Jesus Himself comes to teach us His eternal truth. That truth is that God became a man, went to the cross, endured the agony of sin’s torturous punishment. He died for all sinners: old and young, rich and poor, dumb . . . and dumber.
There’s just no greater love imaginable. And that’s what God the Holy Trinity is like. In the words and deeds of Jesus you have your own personal edition of “The Holy Trinity for Dummies.” To know Jesus is to know our loving God. There’s nothing lovable in you and me as sinners. Yet God loved us so much that He died so our sin might be set aside and forgiven—so that you and I will never see death. Yes, we will die, but not even death can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And if you believe that, well, you’re no dummy.
In Jesus, God has made Himself accessible to you. In Jesus, God isn’t out of reach or unknowable. He makes Himself available to you through ordinary things which we readily understand. In His Word, in the water of Holy Baptism, in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood. Even the simplest among us understand words from a book, washing with water, and eating and drinking. In these simple ways, God the Holy Trinity makes Himself known to you—makes doctrinal dummies wise unto salvation.
Jesus tells us, “Before Abraham was, I am.” That means that Jesus is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. He is all-knowing and all-powerful. He is just and holy. He is all of that and more. But most importantly, He loves you. All of that infinite, eternal power is being used today, for your good, for your salvation, for your resurrection, for your eternal life, all for Jesus’ sake. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—God in three persons, the blessed Trinity. Amen.
