Trinity Sunday 09 John 3:16-18, Ps. 29, Is. 6:1-8

The God of the Trinity is the God of past, present, and future.Saralyn is off to the island of Paros, north of Crete. Part of her studies will be digging for ancient artifacts. Some time ago, a trove of material was found north of Israel. They contained some prayers. One of those prayers sounds a lot like Ps. 29. I want to reflect on tha a bit. When Israel encountered beautiful prayer, they worked it into their own liturgy. Yes they changed some things. The God of Israel looks at the fearsome sea and sea monsters, the very symbols of all that threatens us, and sees them as mere playthings. God speaks through creation. Here, it is a little different. Instead of emphasizing the beauty of creation, say the romance of sunset, here God speaks through the fearsome storm.

 

About 700 years before the birth of Jesus a priest named Isaiah had a vision in the temple, similar to the vision of john in Revelation. The temple became a portal to heaven. Here the priest trembles at the sight of heaven, for human beings are overwhelmed at the presence fo the divine. It is a bold vision,;one that cannot be imposed by singing our God is an awesome God a million times into drudgery. Yet, we hold that a human being, Jesus of Nazareth, reveals the divine nature to us. The very vision of God could be glimpsed in one of us.

 

Sixty years after Jesus died, John wrote a different sort of gospel. In a confusing question and answer session with Nicodemus, the story breaks off into commentary. We learn that the one called Son was the one sent. Why? He was sent to give eternal life, not to condemn the world, but to save it through the one sent, the Son. That new life, that born again/born from above gift comes through the Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. Here, we see aspects of God’s action in the world expressed in three personal ways, three accessible ways for us. All of that awe-inspiring power of Psalm 29 and the pure holiness of Isaiah’s encounter was able to be seen in a way for us to see without shrinking in Jesus of Nazareth.

 

A lot of people know this prayer before meals. “God is great. God is good…”Here’s a way to imagine God. God is so big, so great that God takes in the cosmos. That’s an angle of speaking of the oneness of the great God.  The creative side of God is one of power, harmony, wildness, and beauty. I stayed on the coast my last night and early morning in Oregon. I was making my way toward the last dune that blocked my view of the Pacific. I noticed a sign: Tsunami Warning area: Beach Emergency Exit. The world is not made for our sole enjoyment and ease.

 

Still, the God of this complicated universe reaches out to us constantly. Even though God is above any attempt to corral that splendor, God moves toward us. The human virtue that God elicits is humility. The conference was pretty good, but people there sure seemed to know a lot about what God wanted for them. The world is not made for us alone. God deserves adoration and praise, as we are not the measure of all things. Any attempt twe have to tie down all the loose ends about our view of God can end up in idolatry, the creation of a god, a lesser god by our frail attempts to speak of the unutterable. Out of that splendor, we do not have to become little gods ourselves. To be loved by God is a miracle. To be able to love that great God astounds me. Every single day of our lives, that God reaches out to live out a good life, to live in circles of love.