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Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday allow us to come to the text in a topic specific way-we’re mining the lessons for information or connections to the doctrine of the Trinity. As these Scriptures indicate, such a search is not far from the topic. In Proverbs 8 the Sophia works with the Creator to make a beautiful world; in Psalm 8 and Romans 5, we are introduced to God’s glory in creation and humanity; and in the gospel lesson in John 16, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all move rhythmically around people redeemed by Christ. So on this day we can speak of three-ness, oneness, and the invitation to partner with God in God’s continuing work in the world.

 

PROVERBS 8:1-4; 22-31-WISDOM’S FEAST

This is a particularly useful passage given baccalaureate services and the concomitant high school and college commencements at this time of the year. Lots of graduates of all ages are facing new possibilities, transitions, and some foreboding over choices in careers. Such is Proverbs at its best-it offers lots of advice about life and living. Our literary form before us is poetic-wisdom and the rhetorical function is two-fold: to steer the reader/listen clear of bad behaviors that lead to death; and positively, to steer us down the path that leads into life. The final part of the chapter personifies wisdom who works with the divine to create and make the world and its inhabitants. In the beginning was wisdom, wisdom gives life, therefore choose life.

PSALM 8-HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME IN ALL THE EARTH!

What an interesting mix of elegy about God’s majesty and humanity’s dignity. In the first part of the poem, the psalm writer sings the glories of God as Creator-the heavenly realm’s existence is the mere finger puppets of God’s creativity. The shift in the second section moves from the macro to the micro-by comparison to the heaven’s, humans are but puny earthlings. Yet, because of God’s glory, we discover that we’re not so puny after all, but crowned with dignity and honor and elevated as God’s chief stewards of creation. Thus, from the macro to the micro, how majestic is God’s name in all the earth!

ROMANS 5:1-5-SHARING GOD’S GLORY

This passage fits beautifully with Psalm 8. While in Psalm 8, we see God’s glory resplendent in the heavens and in the dignity granted human beings, Paul suggests that Christians actually "look forward to sharing God’s glory" in the future (v. 2, NLT). In fact, that hope balances life out when we hit tough patches of road on life’s highways. Whatever we’re going through we can be assured that God is developing character and endurance for the glory that shall be revealed.

JOHN 16:12-15-A TRINITARIAN PASSAGE

In this part of the Johannine discourse, earliest Christians saw an intermingling of the Trinitarian God whom they worshiped: the Spirit came to guide the Church into the way of truth; the Son will receive honor in the Spirit’s work as conveyor of Jesus’ instructions; and the Father is over all the earth and shares that equally with the Son, and revealed to us by the Spirit.