being. To the contrary, the doctrine of the Trinity teaches Christians that Jesus was not only a human. Yes, he was fully human—he could under- stand the need to eat, to sleep, to drink, to be loved, to face evil. But he was not only human.
But what about the Spirit? Basil the Great (329-379), bishop of Cae- sarea, has given some of the most insightful answers to this question. If the Spirit descends from the Father and the Son, if the Spirit was present at the baptism of Jesus himself, why ought we not worship the Spirit as we do Father and Son?
No doubt, many of our Pentecos-
tal brothers and sisters, and other streams of the Christian faith, seem to “have the Spirit” in more obvious and dramatic ways than we Lutherans do, with our rather serene worship services. Rare is the Lutheran who talks in tongues or falls on the floor in ecstatic praise for the Lord. Nonetheless, the doctrine of the
Trinity tells us that God’s Spirit works among us today. God the Spirit is at work when we see neighbors helping neighbors and congregations doing God’s work among the poor, vulnerable or faithless. God the Spirit is at work when we receive the help of doctors, accountants, bus drivers, financial advisers, customer service employees, mothers, fathers and so many others.
“THE TRINITY WITH ST. PETER AND ST. BERNARD” BY VENTURA SALIMBENI (1568-1613) © RÈUNION DES MUSÈES NATIONAUX / ART RESOURCE
the right language to understand God, the One in Three and the Three in One.
The doctrine of the Trinity starts with the humble birth of Jesus Christ, born in a manger. It teaches that even though Jesus Christ was a Palestinian man who made friends with fisher- men, tax collectors and other “aver- age” people, he was, is and remains God. He is the One who was present
at creation, “in the beginning” (John 1). Jesus Christ is God. Without the doctrine of the Trinity, we would have a hard time confessing this. Just as ancient church leaders did, our pastors and parishioners today grapple with the tremendous pressure put on the Christian faith to admit that Jesus Christ was “just a regular guy.” Maybe he was a great teacher, a prophet maybe, but only a human
It is this same Spirit who descended upon the disciples in the upper room at Pentecost (Acts 2). It is this same Spirit who rustled like the breeze in the Garden of Eden as God searched for Adam and Eve (Gen- esis 3:8). The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that God has not left us for some other place above the clouds. Whenever we encounter the Spirit in our worship, in our prayers, in our lives, we can know that God is with us today, with you, with me. M
October 2011 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52