sermon-Trinity Sunday -May 18

The Cloud of Unknowing,
"O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."
Today is Trinity Sunday. It’s always the Sunday after Pentecost. It comes after Christmas and Easter and Pentecost. It’s the day when we say that for us, God is a Trinity. But it’s also the day when we need to ask the question, does it matter how we talk about God?
Today (at the 10 O’clock service) we’re going to have the final three youth in the Rite 13 program come forward as we say that their childhood is over. There are going to be lots of days when they act like children. And lots of days when we’re going to still treat them as kids, but what we say today is that they are turning 13, have been going through this program for two years, and it’s time to leave childhood behind. It’s not an easy thing to do and we and they will both have lapses. But this is what we say. We think that what we say about what we believe about these three youth will also show how we intend to act towards these three youth. Do you think it matters how we talk about these three very special young people?

I was at a prayer breakfast this week, and they had an interesting speaker. His name is Michael Card and he’s written a lot of well known Christian songs. Anyway, he was talking a lot about God and I know if I listen carefully each week God will speak to me and tell me what to preach, so I thought, “here comes my sermon.” And sure enough. Card talked about his oldest daughter who is now grown. He said that when she was a little girl that he would tell her that if she cleaned her room she would get an m & m. If she didn’t clean her room-she would get something very different. He said, a funny thing happened. She grew up. She moved away. He doesn’t care if she cleans her room. He said, he doesn’t use promises or threats to get his daughter to do what he wants. Now, he said, he just loves her and accepts her and waits for her to come home. Does it matter how he thinks about his daughter?
I was thinking a lot about this because today is Trinity Sunday. That may not mean much to you, but for centuries people have fought and died because of that word. Trinity is a statement of what we believe -that we have one God, but three expressions of that God. Sometimes we call God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or maybe Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. Look at our new windows. The hand reaching down is a symbol for God-the Father, the creator. The fish with the Ichthus is a symbol for Jesus, the savior (Ichthys (Greek: ἰχθύς, capitalized ΙΧΘΥΣ; also transliterated and Latinized as ichthys, icthus, ichthus or ikhthus; ichthus), is the Ancient and Classical Greek word for "fish." In English it refers to a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish, said to have been used by early Christians as a secret symbol[1] and now known colloquially as the "Jesus fish."[2]Greek ἰχθύς is an acronym (or backronym) of Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour." From Wikipedia).
The Dove descending, is a symbol for the Holy Spirit, like at the baptism of Jesus. The way God strengthens and sustains us. We have lots of names for these “expressions” or “faces” of God. But they are just our way of describing the way we experience God. Do you think it matters how we talk about God?
Today is Trinity Sunday. We use the symbol there in the window, the three interlocking circles to represent what we believe about the Trinity-One God, three faces or expressions or as theologians like to say, three “persons” of one God.
Right after this sermon we’re going to stand and say the Nicene Creed. We do it every Sunday. No matter how heretical the sermon, the Trinity always has the last word. We say it every Sunday for the same reason that Jews recite the Shema (
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
Barukh sheim k'vod malkhuto l'olam va'ed.Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.
V'ahav'ta eit Adonai Elohekha b'khol l'vav'kha uv'khol naf'sh'kha uv'khol m'odekha.And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
V'hayu had'varim ha'eileh asher anokhi m'tzav'kha hayom al l'vavekha.And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart.
V'shinan'tam l'vanekha v'dibar'ta bamAnd you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them
As what they believe. The Muslims have the The Shahada and they say
"I bear witness that there is no god but (Allah), and Muhammad is his prophet."' 5 times a day

Does it matter how we talk about God?
Sometime today, maybe tomorrow, as soon as you can, look in the face of someone you love (don’t even say it) but ask yourself-Does it matter what I say about this person? Does it matter how I describe this person? Does it matter how I talk to this person? Does it matter how I tell others about this person?
Does it matter how we talk about God. Look in the face of your beloved and you decide, does it matter what I say?