WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.439 Thank you, Krista. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:08.000 So today in the life of the church calendar, it is Trinity Sunday. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:15.759 So it's the day that we pause and revisit the puzzling reality of God as Trinity. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:25.120 And so before I read our gospel reading for today, I want to offer a couple of disclaimers before we talk about Trinity. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.280 So the first is that we must remember that human language is limited. 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:34.719 Anytime we talk about God in any serious manner, we always run into language barriers. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.920 Our human languages are not big enough to encompass the reality of God. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:52.079 So I'm going to do my best to help us understand the Trinity today, but please remember that everything I can I say can only describe God up to a point, because language only gets us so far. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:01:04.959 Which leads us to the second disclaimer, and that's this God will never be fully defined or understood by any human at any time, in any place. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:17.439 That's because our ability to understand all of God and all of God's fullness is kind of like a gnat's ability to understand the fullness of being human, right? 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.159 Our brains just cannot do this. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:29.040 And so today I will share what the smartest theologians have helped us understand about Trinity over the last two millennia. 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:40.560 But if anybody ever tells you that their knowledge of God is perfect and without error, my advice to you is to run. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:52.000 Because if anybody thinks they've figured God out in all perfection, that means in their arrogance they have made a God in their own image. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:58.079 God is always, will always be, fully beyond our grasp. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:01:59.840 And that is true for myself. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:04.319 So as we approach this topic of Trinity with great fear and trembling, let me read to you. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:09.360 Our gospel reading comes from Matthew chapter 28, verses 16 to 20. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:12.240 Here we find the very end of Matthew's gospel. 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:17.439 Jesus has resurrected from the dead, and he's now appearing before his disciples. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:23.280 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:28.000 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:34.080 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:48.080 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:53.199 And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:56.400 This is the word of God for us, the people of God. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:02:59.360 Let us pray. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:12.319 O Lord, open our hearts and minds as we read and ponder your scriptures today, that your Holy Spirit might speak to us, that we might know you more fully and worship you more completely. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:13.439 In Christ's name. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:14.319 Amen. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:25.520 So the resurrected Jesus in all of his glory stood before the disciples on the mountaintop, and the impossible had been made possible. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:29.039 Their Lord, who had died, was now alive. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:33.120 They could touch him, they could see him, they could hear his voice. 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:34.719 How could this be? 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:41.680 So they fell on their knees and worshiped the Matthew tells us some doubted. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:50.319 What an odd and puzzling detail for Matthew to include here as he recorded Jesus' triumphal moment. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:56.960 Why would Matthew record this weakness of the disciples in the midst of Jesus' glory? 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:58.719 And how could they doubt, anyways? 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:02.240 Jesus was standing right there in front of them. 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:10.080 Perhaps one way to puzzle through this conundrum is to examine the meaning of the word doubt. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:18.079 Our modern dictionaries define doubt as lacking confidence or belief in something. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.759 But that's not what doubt always meant. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:24.800 It's not what it means in Matthew's gospel. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:29.920 Now, if you've ever wondered how nerdy I am, you're about to find out. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:38.319 Because I have a new favorite book, and my family makes fun of me for this, but I love my new dictionary of etymology. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:40.399 It's the best bedtime reading. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:47.040 It's a book that tells you the root of every English word, where it comes from, why we have it. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:49.120 That sounds so fun, right, people? 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:50.000 Okay. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:05:02.480 Well, um, the English word for doubt comes from the Latin dubitare, which means to hesitate, to waver in opinion. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:09.120 That's very different from lacking confidence or belief in something, to hesitate, to waver in opinion. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:16.319 Perhaps as the disciples stood gobsmacked before the risen Lord, they hesitated. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:21.439 Perhaps they wavered in their opinions of what is real and what isn't. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:22.959 And can we blame them? 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.600 After all, Jesus had died and now he was alive. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:29.600 Reality was upended. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:32.800 That's not how life and death generally work. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:44.160 And so they doubted, meaning they hesitated and fully accepting this new reality of resurrection because it was unthinkably good. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:46.879 Too good to be real. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:52.639 It reminds me of Kevin on November 2nd, 2016. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.519 Now, what you need to know is that Kevin grew up in Chicago. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.639 He had been a Cubs fan his whole life. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:08.240 Growing up, every year, he hoped that his team might win the World Series, but every year his little boy's heart was just crushed. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:11.680 So he began to expect disappointment. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:17.839 He grew to believe that the Cubs would lose every year as predictably as death and taxes. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:33.680 So we sat on the couch on November 2nd, 2016, watching the seventh game of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, and a lot was on the line for Kevin. 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:38.399 It had been 108 years since the Cubs had won the World Series. 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.519 That's a long time to cheer for a team that never wins. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.839 So the game went really well. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:52.560 It tied in the ninth inning, so it had to go into extra innings, but then it started to downpour. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:58.000 So they had to pause the game for 17 long, eternal minutes. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:01.759 Poor Kevin had to wait to see what was gonna happen. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.160 Would the Cubs blow it in the 10th inning? 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:07.120 But then, miraculously, the game went on. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:10.639 The Cubs got the go-ahead run in the first half of the 10th. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:16.879 And then as Cleveland got up to bat in the second half, we watched as the Cubs got out after out. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:22.639 And then the third baseman made this clean, easy throw to get the third out and win the game. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:26.399 And I kid you not, our house was dead silent. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:28.879 Like you could hear a pin drop. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:35.279 And I looked at Kevin and he was staring at the TV in pure disbelief. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:36.959 Like his mouth was open. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:40.160 I mean, gobsmacked is the best way you could describe this. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:42.959 Like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:55.439 So I jumped up, I started cheering, and he finally caught up with me, and then he couldn't sleep because he was just, you know, so amazed that the team that had lost all the time had finally won. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.839 To doubt meant to hesitate or waver in opinion. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:04.399 And that's exactly what Kevin did when the Cubs finally won the World Series. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:14.319 His brain had to rewire and reorient itself according to this new, unexpected reality that the Cubs could actually win. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:21.759 This is the kind of doubt I think the disciples felt as they saw the risen Jesus. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:27.680 Their brains could not comprehend what they were seeing, how the resurrection was possible. 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.000 Was this all a dream? 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:44.480 And then Jesus said something to them that would become the root of a lot more doubt among his followers when he commanded them to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:54.960 Now we're familiar with this name of the Trinity, and it has been a part of Christian worship ever since Jesus issued this command. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:09:08.080 But it took centuries of debate and scriptural interpretation to understand what exactly Jesus meant when he used this very particular unique phrase. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:19.360 Just as Jesus was giving this to his disciples, he was giving them kind of the keys to understand the fullness of God more readily. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:31.840 But the process of getting to that understanding took a lot of doubt, took a lot of hesitation, a lot of wavering and opinion before the doctrine of the Trinity was finally settled upon. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:38.080 Now it's clear that the earliest Christians had a notion of Trinitarian theology. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:49.519 They did baptize in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but it took a couple centuries of intense debate to work out exactly how God can be three and one. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:57.039 And the issue is that we are a monotheistic faith, meaning we believe there is only one true God. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:01.840 And Jesus preached this as did his Jewish ancestors. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:13.360 And so the earliest Christians had to wrestle with what does it mean to be monotheistic, one true God, but also having this language of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:19.120 Answering that question is what led to the doctrine of the Trinity. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:26.159 And for us to truly dig into this doctrine, it's helpful to read through the Nicene Creed. 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:31.440 So what I'd like for you to do is open up your hymnals to page 880. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:36.159 It's helpful to have this in front of you as we ponder these great mysteries. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.320 And while you turn to page 880, let me tell you about the Nicene Creed. 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:45.039 It was composed in the year 325. 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:55.759 300 bishops and church leaders gathered together, they were called together and tasked with putting together the basic elements of Christianity onto paper. 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:58.159 Hence the Nicene Creed. 00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.440 And if you notice, it's written in Trinitarian format. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:06.960 Each section proclaims our belief in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:11:07.039 --> 00:11:10.399 And it begins with that saying, we believe in one God. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:15.919 That's the beginning place of our understanding of Trinity, God's oneness. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:22.159 The theologian who helped us best understand God's oneness was a man named Athanasius. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:24.639 I love Athanasius for several reasons. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.919 One of them is that he was a shorty like me. 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:37.519 He was stubborn, he was wickedly smart, he was an ancient Greek theologian who attended the Council of Nicaea that put together the document in front of you. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:41.440 And what he said was that God is homoousia. 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:43.600 That's the Greek word he used. 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:53.200 And it does not have a direct English translation, but the best we can come up with is God is one essence or one substance. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:12:01.600 The idea is that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all made up of the essence that is divinity. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.759 Everything else in the world is created by God. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:14.000 Humans, nature, atoms, molecules, the vast expanse of the universe, all of it is created. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:20.240 But God, on the other hand, is the only uncreated being. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:28.799 And Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all made up of this unique, uncreated, divine essence. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:34.000 And so, as Trinitarian people, we believe in one God, one essence. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:39.360 And this one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:44.159 So this is where the Trinitarian theology gets a bit mystifying. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.679 What exactly are these three members of the Trinity? 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.559 How do they relate with one another? 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:55.519 Well, three other ancient theologians helped us make sense of this puzzle. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:09.440 Their names were Gregory, Gregory, and Basil, usually called the Cappadocian fathers, and they came to the conclusion that God is one Usia, one essence, but God is three persons. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:14.960 But when we use the word persons, it's not the same word that they used. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:23.440 When we think of persons, and you put three persons in a room, each of those persons has different thoughts, different will, different desires. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.200 Not so with the three persons of the Trinity. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:35.840 They are distinct entities within the divine essence, but they share the same mind and the same will. 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:44.080 So let me pause and say that if you're experiencing doubt right now in the form of hesitation or wavering opinion, you're not alone. 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:53.360 These are deep and mind-boggling mysteries that remind us of how finite and small we are compared to the infinite complexity that is God. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:58.559 This is why the Nicene Creed helps us make sense of this mystery. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:10.320 It begins with that phrase: we believe in one God, the Father the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth of all that is seen and unseen. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.679 The Father is the starting point. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:20.000 The first person named in the Trinity is called Father because that's what Jesus called God. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:29.519 So following Jesus' example, we call the Maker, the Creator of all that is, both seen and unseen, the Father. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:38.399 Likewise, we call the second person of the Trinity the Son of God because that's what Scripture calls Jesus. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.200 But this raises some theological questions, right? 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:45.440 How can Jesus be both God and the Son of God? 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.480 Athanasius again helps us. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:15:00.559 He was famous for arguing with a man named Arius who insisted that because Jesus is named as God's son, that means that he must have been created by God at some point in time. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.159 But Athanasius said, no, no, no. 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:12.240 The Son cannot be created because then he would not share God's divine, uncreated essence. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:20.159 Instead, Athanasius insisted that the Son has eternally existed alongside the Father. 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:33.360 And Athanasius used the term begotten to describe how the Son was not created by God, but rather still came from God and shares God's divine essence. 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:38.480 And so if you look at the second stanza of the Nicene Creed, it begins like this. 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:40.480 It'll sound familiar to you. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:49.120 We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:55.600 God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made. 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:59.919 This makes Jesus' birth all that more mind-boggling. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:19.759 Because when Jesus took on human flesh and came to us as a person, what that means is the eternal son of God who had existed forever, chose to leave behind his eternal heavenly residence, to reside here for a while, a place without indoor plumbing. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:30.399 He was still the Son of God, still the second person of the Trinity, but he chose to become a human, to suffer, to die all for our sake. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:35.120 The depth of this love is one of the great mysteries of our faith. 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:39.759 So, what about the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity? 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.159 How does the Spirit fit into this picture? 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:47.679 Well, this is where those Cappadocian fathers, Gregory Gregory and Basil, help us yet again. 00:16:47.840 --> 00:16:52.720 They insisted that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:58.399 Think about a ray of light proceeding from the Son and warming the earth. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:04.960 So if you look at the third stanza of the Nicene Creed, it'll sound familiar. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:17.039 We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified. 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:26.799 The Holy Spirit is just as divine as the Father and the Son, just as eternal, because the Spirit shares that usia, that essence. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:38.000 And the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son forever, throughout eternity, to be God's activity in the world, present in the lives of believers everywhere. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:47.680 And so it is that the doctrine of Trinity helps us understand the work of God because this relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one that is pure love. 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:51.680 You read in scriptures that God is love, and that's what it means. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.279 This Trinity is love. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:59.839 And so this love of God begins in the Father, proceeds through the Son, is completed in the Holy Spirit. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:07.599 It's like a dance of three people holding hands and moving together in a circle, moving as one. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:17.039 Now, of course, none of this deep Trinitarian theology was on the disciples' minds as they gathered around Jesus on the mountaintop. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:20.799 They were still reeling from the reality of resurrection. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:26.079 They worshiped with awe and joy, and they doubted. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:30.240 We return to that word, yet again, doubt. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:37.759 Why did Matthew include this unflattering detail dampening this moment of glory? 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:44.160 Another nerdy thing I like to do is look up Bible Greek dictionaries. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.839 They're really fun, people. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:53.119 They tell us every biblical Greek word, its root, its meaning, all of its uses throughout Scripture. 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:54.480 I promise you it's fun. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:55.359 Look it up. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:04.480 Did you know that the word for doubt that Matthew uses here in chapter 28 is distaso, and it means the same thing as the Latin word for doubt. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:09.759 It means to waver, to hesitate, to be of two minds, to be uncertain. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:16.319 So when the disciples doubted before it resurrected Jesus, it wasn't that they had a lack of faith. 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:18.960 That's how we often define doubt, right? 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:24.319 It's not believing in God, but that's not what doubt means in the Bible. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:36.720 Doubt is used to describe the natural process we humans go through when we encounter the disorienting mysteries of faith. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:43.519 Hesitancy, doubt, being gobsmacked like Kevin at the Cubs victory. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:53.200 This is all a part of discipleship when we encounter the mysteries of God because they confound us, they mess with our sense of reality. 00:19:53.359 --> 00:19:59.839 The mysteries of God challenge us to reconsider what we thought we knew. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:09.920 And what I've noticed in my pastoral ministry is that more and more people in our world are longing for certainty. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:19.680 They want clear black and white answers, telling them exactly who God is and exactly how God works, with no room for gray. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:33.920 And so when they experience doubt in the biblical sense, when the mysterious ways of God challenge their interpretations of scripture or their understanding of themselves or others, it's scary to them. 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:37.359 It's uncomfortable to be gobsmacked. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:49.200 Often people respond to this discomfort by just retreating back into their certainty because the black and the white that they've always known feels safer. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:21:01.039 But on this Trinity Sunday, let me remind you that Matthew included the disciples' doubt in this story of glory for a reason. 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:07.920 It's because doubt is not a sin, it's not a sign of weak faith. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:17.119 Rather, doubt is a sign that you are encountering God's mysteries and your brain is trying to catch up. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:31.599 So when you feel that doubt, that hesitation, that wavering of what's real and what's not real, don't retreat into the safety of certainty because you're uncomfortable with the questions. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.680 When we do that, that's how our faith becomes stagnant. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:44.400 When we refuse to doubt, to wrestle with our questions, we get stuck in a rut and our relationship with God stalls. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:53.440 Matthew wanted us to know that the disciples doubted in the biblical sense of the word because we will too. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:22:07.039 Whenever we encounter the mysteries of the faith, like the Trinity, we will inevitably waver at some point, hesitate to accept a reality that is so far beyond our own. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.319 But we must wrestle with these deep mysteries. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:17.599 We must lean into the questions because that is how we grow. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:25.440 That is how we understand more of God's hearts and God's ways because God meets us in the questions. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:34.799 And God doesn't always give us the answers, but God teaches us to be more comfortable in our questions. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:50.640 One of the things I've noticed throughout my years of ministry is that whenever somebody poses an impossibly complex question about God, it's often the most mature Christian in the room who's comfortable saying, you know, I just don't know. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:53.599 That's a mystery of faith. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:12.000 Because God is bigger than we understand, and we're all better Christians when we can stand gobsmacked before God's immense glory and be comfortable with the questions because it means that we are standing in awe. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:30.000 So on this Trinity Sunday, I invite you to decide to be the kind of Christian who can embrace your doubts before a loving and understanding God and know that God will always be bigger and better than we can imagine. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:33.119 In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:34.079 Amen.