FOR HOLY TRINITY Sunday, we have two possibilities of
gospel text. First, from one denominational aspect comes the reading of John 8:48-59,
which is used primarily by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). That text
was covered here in our study three years ago and is repeated in this blog.
That selection was made by me since we were newly of the North American
Lutheran Church (NALC). To obtain that witness, click here obtain the previous
commentary.
Today, however,
we concentrate on the text received from John 16:12-15, used by many
congregations within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This
text covers the instance in John’s gospel when Jesus explained the coming of
the Holy Spirit upon the life of the disciples. The text reads…
“I
have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the
Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all the Truth; for he will not
speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will
declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will
take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine;
therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (John 16:12-15)
Literary
Flashback!
As we read this, let us be reminded that we have just
celebrated Pentecost. By doing so, we have heard of the work of the Holy
Spirit, in that during the “Feast of Fifty Days”, the disciples received empowerment
for witnessing. The Spirit enabled them to speak out using many languages amid a crowd gathered
for the festivities. From that time and place... the church grew within a century
into Galilee, Syria, Asia Minor, Egypt, Rome and beyond.
In considering
this rather explosive growth during what historians sometimes term as the Roman
peace… the Pax Romana… we can see where the infant church was dynamic in
geographic reach. By doing so, it quickly encountered the need to explain to
both the learned and the uneducated, the holy relationships that had eternally
existed between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were hard pressed to
explain the work of our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. The difficult task, begun
here greatly by this discourse in John… was picked up in other authoritative writings
that we now find gathered together in the New Testament.
The problem
they wrestled with, was answered by what we Christian now know as “apologetics”. Though do not be
confused, for it is not that we are apologizing for our Lord in any way, but
instead attempting to explain the Holy Trinity to the world around us. This
became an important task for the early church as it was assailed by various
heresies that tried to make Jesus Christ a lesser being than the Father…
and promote other such untenable waverings. Be assured as well, that it is yet
the task of the modern church as we counter a universalistic thrust trying to blend our
faith with other forms of worship from around the globe.
To guide us in
a more stable way, we find that the early church struggled in the Spirit to offer
the “Apostles Creed”, which appeared out of the need to communicate the faith
to new proselytes. We notice that this creedal formula established a methodical precedence
in argumentation... because it dealt logically with each person of the Trinity,
one at a time, as it was recited by persons undergoing catechetical instruction.
However, afterward to outsiders, the church elaborated theologically in creed by
offering up a more thorough apologetic… and the Nicene Creed came into being. The
Nicene statement was more detailed in citing not only the Trinitarian view, but
offered a bit more concerning each divine person’s attributes in working for our salvation.
Finally, in
approximately 325 A.D., in the midst of yet more internal and heretical turmoil
within the church... concerning the character of the Trinity… the Athanasius Creed
was developed. This creed goes farther in enlightening our theological
understanding, in that instead of simply saying what God is… that creed now
also firmly tells us what God is not.
Why
So Many Creeds?
As time passed, it seems that the Athanasius Creed
recognized fully the tough job of describing that which is indescribable… the awesome
person of God… revealed as the divine Father revealed through Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We find that despite our finitude and sin, the church endured while working in a
rather difficult position in trying to explain the unexplainable love of God.
This happened by the power of the Holy Spirit as we tried to wrap words around the Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresence that is
beyond all understanding… and find that in the end we
always fall short. Thus we often find ourselves dragging a wounded theological
limb when we boldly speak to the atheists or agnostics in our society. We are however
encouraged by this gospel text, in that it tells us that God poured out the Spirit of
the Father and the Son upon us at Pentecost… and does so also upon those with
whom we witness. We know that God has declared to us the salvific secrets of the
kingdom made available in Baptism, Holy Eucharist and proclaimed Word. All we need do is
walk peaceably in the footsteps of our apostolic predecessors, simply telling the
faith of the church using the historical creeds. The entire historical work, as we do
this, goes far toward the salvation of those with whom we interact. All we need to
do for Christian evangelism is to do as our Lord’s instructed… go… baptize… preach…
teach… in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity
Sunday thus reminds us… Proclaim the gospel!
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