PerspectivesGod in three persons: service plans for a four-week series on the Trinity
My children still can’t believe that I am unable to discern the three-dimensional image in a magic-eye picture. “Dad, go like this,” they advise, looking at the picture cross-eyed, or touching their nose to the surface and backing up slowly. But no matter what I try, still no image. Only a vague sense of failure and frustration. “Don’t worry, Dad,” they say with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, “you’ll get it one day.” Seeing the Trinity can be a similar challenge. Search the Bible cover to cover and you’ll not find the word Trinity anywhere, not even once. Even more difficult is discerning the Trinity at work in our daily living. Yet the Trinity has its fingerprints all over the Bible and is active in our personal lives. In New Testament times, awareness of the Trinity was not a neatly articulated doctrine, as found today in the Athanasian Creed. Instead it was a living reality that God’s people encountered. Historian Eugene Oosterhaven comments that belief in the trinitarian form of God “did not emerge merely from the study of some church father, or because of a pronouncement from a church council; it arose in the experience of the people when God had made himself manifest in a new way.” The intent of this four-week series of service ideas is to help your congregation see the Trinity in Scripture and experience the Trinity in their lives. Jesus prayed that all believers “become one in heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us” (John 17:21, The Message, Eugene Peterson). This relational analogy, with its invitation to draw the congregation personally into trinitarian life, serves as a theme in this series. The Trinity is much closer than we think. To help us see its intimate proximity we will study an etching by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). In his book A Critique of Christian Art, Calvin Seerveld cites Rembrandt as one artist whose philosophy and artistic expression are an example of thoughtful Christian art. At first view we do not detect the Trinity in this picture, just as we do not discern it overtly in our daily circumstances. But it is there! All we need to do is take the time and thought to see it. Although a variety of Bible passages are suggested, most of the following thoughts are based on John 16-17. Our goal is to help our fellow believers get the trinitarian picture. Sunday Before Ascension sunday God the Father Scripture Confession of Faith —from section 9 of the Contemporary Testimony “Our World Belongs to God,” Psalter Hymnal pp. 1019-1038 Sermon-Building Ideas Creation is an endless source of inspiration. Psalm 104 reveals an awe-struck worshiper proclaiming God’s handiwork and praising God’s provision for all of creation. Nature exclaims a God of wildly creative imagination and incredible power—the Creator of everything from minuscule to mighty, mundane to mysterious. Consider time and eternity, the Milky Way, the boom of a thunderclap, the way of a man with a woman, the human hand, the complex kidney, the color blue, the scent of an Easter lily, the taste of ripe raspberries, the humor in a Jan Steen painting, the hearty wail of a child, the breath of life . . . it’s endless. If your sanctuary is equipped with slide projector and screen, you may want to collect nature slides and create a slide presentation accompanied with instrumental music or a soloist singing a song in celebration of the Creator. Unlike artists such as Michelangelo and William Blake, who, gifted as they were, helped give us the false impression that God is like a majestic grand-father with a flowing white beard and piercing eyes, Rembrandt never attempted to depict a visible image of God the Father. For the artist, the Bible revealed the Father as invisible Spirit, and the Father would remain so, as far as Rembrandt was concerned. Where is the Father portrayed in this etching? The artist’s work is more subdued than a theophanic shaking of thresholds and terrifying flutter of seraphs’ wings. The subtle stream of light above the head of Jesus tells us that an unseen force is at work in this scene. Jesus’ presence inextricably includes the invisible Father, as John’s gospel emphasizes. The large, significant hands of Jesus are prominently stretched over the gathered group, drawing the viewer to contemplate the providential hand of God. Perhaps the artist had, in his mind’s eye, the image of pastors with arms stretched before a congregation, pronouncing the blessing of the triune God. Each Sunday in church we receive the word of blessing through the voice of a pastor. In what ways have you witnessed the Father’s care in the past week? Jesus prays that those who come to believe in him will know the intimate heart of the Father, whom we may call “Abba.” (John 17:26) The heart of the first person of the Trinity can be declared in one profound word: love. God is love (1 John 4:16). In The Return of the Prodigal Son, Henri Nouwen wrote about the Father image of God: “Here is the God I want to believe in: a Father who, from the beginning of creation, has stretched out his arms in merciful blessing, never forcing himself on anyone, but always waiting; never letting his arms drop in despair, but always hoping that his children will return so that he can speak words of love to them and let his tired arms rest on their shoulders.” The Father patiently trusts that his magnetic love will pull his children home. Psalm 139 illustrates this inseparable bond our Maker has established. God formed us in secret and has knit us together. We cannot hide from him. We’re designed to live in our Father’s embrace. Nineteenth-century poet George Herbert expressed this article of faith in a poem, “The Pulley”:
So strength first made a way; For if I should (said he) Yet let him keep the rest, Prayer —St.Benedict, 480-547 Songs Response to the Assurance of Pardon Ascension sunday Scripture Sung Prayer of Illumination Sermon-Building Ideas The God who designed us uses this primary way of perceiving to bring us to a knowledge of him. Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). The incarnation is the essence of God made visible. This facet of Christian faith captivated Rembrandt as an artist. His genius was an ability to communicate spiritual truth enfleshed, which implies more than understanding the man from Nazareth as only a visual representation of God. Beyond giving us a visual picture of God, Jesus brings salvation by engaging in our humanity. This too is expressed by the etching. Many of the people around Jesus are not even looking directly at him. They are hearing his words of life. Jesus is engaging them with voice as well as appearance, hands, and his physical presence. Salvation involves much more than head knowledge (the Gnostic and New-Age heresy). It encompasses our whole being: emotions, bodies, hearts, minds, and relationships. The Bible is packed with metaphorical language to describe God: God is a rock, an eagle, a nursing mother, a leader of an army, a father. In Jesus, metaphor turns to reality. God actually became flesh and shared in our humanity—he lived as one of us in our world. Jesus appears totally at ease among us—whether out on the street, on a subway car, or in a crowded shopping mall. He wants to be here—he loves people, and they matter to him. In turn, those around him seem at home in his presence. John Calvin noted that even knowing God truly as Creator, as Almighty, is impossible apart from revelation in Jesus Christ. “For even if God wills to manifest His father favor to us in many ways, yet we cannot by contemplating the universe infer that He is Father” (Institutes, II.vi.1). It seems that the disciples of Jesus realized this truth. Why else would they have been so upset at the news that Jesus was going to leave them? They had become intimately acquainted with the heart of the Father only because of Jesus. Today we celebrate the ascension of a flesh-and-blood Jesus. The crown of glory he receives comes by way of suffering service. One painting Rembrandt made of the ascension pictures Christ being taken up with outspread hands vividly marked with red scars. Why are we comforted by the fact that it is Jesus who now rules and will judge on the last day? “In all my distress and persecution I turn my eyes to the heavens and confidently await as judge the very One who has already stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me” (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 52). The scarred hands of the Judge, acquired when he hung suffering on a tree, are my assurance that I share in his reign. Today we already share the victory. People in the pew who struggle with fear and failure need to hear this good news. There may be a dad who is feeling inadequate as a father. A mother may be wrestling to accept her daughter just as she is. Some may live in fear of dying. A son may be feeling bad about slandering his parents before friends. A wife could be questioning her husband’s commitment to their marriage. A businessman may be paralyzed by financial burdens. A single mom may be finding it difficult to overcome her anger over a divorce. A student may be frustrated with a class that remains difficult, in spite of best efforts. Still others may have been hurt by another church member just once too often and wonder if the Christian message is real. Against all of this and more, we need to know about the victory Jesus has won through sharing in our plight. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The last word is victory over fear and failure. Jesus, who sits on the throne, has the scars to prove it. Jesus means joy. The Lord explained that after a time of grief, “I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). During medieval times in Europe there was a holiday known as the Feast of Fools. On this occasion the general population, along with clergy and even serious community leaders, donned masks, dressed in costumes, and sang a lot under the mock rule of a Lord of Misrule. In a satirical way this event sought to remember the outrageous joy of the gospel that was becoming increasingly scarce. For a few days the people imagined and enacted a world where the last were first, the lowly were lifted up, peacemakers were blessed, the poor seated in the place of honor, kings were generous, and rulers just. Such Kingdom revelry can fire sanctified imaginations with the joyful truth that our workaholic ways and gross national product can never bring us salvation. Jesus’ ascension serves as a catalyst for such mirth—he prays that his joy may be complete in us. Intoxicating joy comes with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Prayer —Adapted from Thomas Kelly’s hymn, “The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns.” Songs Settings of Psalms 47 and 110 Pentecost sunday Scripture Sermon-Building Ideas Actually, the work of the Spirit generally does not cause a commotion. The Spirit is the most clandestine of the divine trio, working powerfully yet quietly behind the scenes. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is christocentric. Jesus explained that the Holy Spirit “will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears. . . . He will bring glory to me” (John 16:13-14) He serves to uncover the life and work of Christ. In a sense he acts like a spotlight. Hidden behind a rock or bush, a spotlight shines forth and illuminates a building. It does not draw attention to itself, but rather helps the eye see something other than itself. Not that the role of the Spirit is inferior. Who would Jesus be to us if it were not for the Spirit? He would either be a really good guy we should listen to for some helpful advice or, considering his claims, he would be a person with serious mental deficiencies. Only the Holy Spirit can enlighten and convict us that Jesus is not only much more, but much different—he is God incarnate, whose life and sacrificial death means reconciliation with God the Father for all who believe. Sensitive to the hidden fashion of the Spirit’s operations, Rembrandt has pictured the Holy Spirit accordingly. Where is the third person in this etching? The visual manifestation Rembrandt has chosen to depict the Holy Spirit is the people gathered to hear Jesus. They have come because the Spirit has brought them together. If the church is a fitting analogy for the Trinity, as Jesus has expressed in his prayer, the Holy Spirit is surely represented by those who gather to hear and respond to the Word. The Holy Spirit is the glue that binds the richly diverse members of the church to be the one body of Christ. Consider the variety of people sitting around you in the pew every Sunday. Consider the eclectic group gathered around Jesus. Notice how the two groups are quite similar: an elderly man standing to receive the blessing; a teen with a slightly cynical expression; a toddler paying little or no attention; a mom cradling an infant; a stalwart religious leader keeping his distance; and an intellectual scratching his chin in thought. How is it possible that a group of such wide backgrounds and experiences can work together, serve together, with such unity and cooperation? The only possible answer is the Holy Spirit. Signs of the Paraclete surround us, leaving evidence as the invisible wind conveys its presence through the motion of trees. Moving messages, changed hearts, transformed minds, healed bodies, reconciled relationships, met needs, jubilant song, and poignant prayer are all evidence of the Spirit’s active presence as well as our intimate relationship to the Trinity. The new community formed by those baptized on Pentecost in Jerusalem shared in the abundant provision of the Father, heard the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, and responded by the power of the Spirit. Prayer —Philipp Melanchthon, 1497-1560 Songs Trinity Sunday Scripture Sermon-Building Ideas Naturally we try to grasp the concept of the Trinity mentally so we can understand God’s nature. Yet in the Bible this God, who wants to be known by us, never really seeks to explain that triune nature. God is simply there. The greater priority is that we know God experientially and love him with mind, heart, and body. This biblical truth was not lost on Rembrandt. Although we are unable to see the Father with the physical eye, God is actively among us through the visible Christ by the insightful work of the invisible Holy Spirit. The triune God is revealed throughout the Bible, and his presence and work is interwoven through the daily living of our faith. Jesus’ prayer conveys the intricacy involved in the relationship of the three persons of the Trinity and the believers’ close attachment. John frequently uses the term abide in to express this proximity. The prayer indicates that serious indwelling is going on. The Father is in the Son, the Son is in the Father, believers are in the Father and the Son, and the Son and Father are in the believer(s). All this happens because of the subversive yet essential work of the Holy Spirit, (cf. John 14:26). The bonds are so complex as to be inseparable, yet all parties retain their own distinctive identity. Simultaneously, identity is defined through relationship to each other. Attempting to analyze these complex interrelationships leads us into mystery. Exhort God’s people to worship and celebrate the triune God as they witness the signs of his presence. Like a panoramic view and surround sound, the Trinity is all around, revealed in the Word and in our worship:
Invite the community to participate in trinitarian life—more proclaiming, less explaining. We engage in the triune nature of God in the unity and diversity of the faith community: in Spirit-inspired praise to the Father for the love shown in Jesus ; in a handshake or a hug of a beloved sister or brother in Christ; in the fellowship of a potluck lunch in the church basement. Or how about on the basketball court or in a game of pick-up hockey? Where else does the trinitarian nature of God reveal itself? All around, in the mundane yet supernatural ministry and life of God’s people. Do we have the faith-eyes to see the triune God among us? Some of us still may have a tough time trying to see that three-dimensional image in the magic-eye picture. Good thing our lives don’t depend on it. Our lives do depend on eyes to picture ourselves seated with the crowd in Rembrandt’s etching, compelled by the Holy Spirit to receive the Word of the Father’s love through the voice and hands of Jesus.
—Te Deum, 4th cent.; vers. Ignaz Franz; c.1774; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1853, alt. Prayer Songs “Holy God, We Praise Your Name” PsH 504, PH 460, RL 619, TH 103, TWC 3 Author
Tony Maan Tony Maan is pastor of Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Edmonton, Alberta. See other articles on: |
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