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excerpt from the Nicene Creed:
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of the Father before all worlds;
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God;
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the Lord and Giver of Life;
who proceeds from the Father;
who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified;
and who spoke by the prophets.
Amen.
Sermons from Commons Church. Intellectually honest. Spiritually passionate. Jesus at the centre. Since 2014.
Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. This week, the banners on the wall have changed again and they now read Trinity Sunday. And this is because after we spend Eastertide celebrating resurrection, and after we celebrate the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we signal our shift into ordinary time which is this period from today now through to Advent when we begin the cycle again. But the church calendar begins this ordinary time by reminding ourselves of Trinity. And trinity is the language that we use to speak of the mystery of God's communal oneness.
Speaker 1:The God is somehow father and son and spirit in perfect relational dance of gift and reception. The god is also one. There's an old saying in the wisdom of the church tradition that says, we must speak of god as trinity. But if we speak of trinity for more than a few moments, we will inevitably slip into heresy. And this is because God is mysterious.
Speaker 1:God is somehow within God's self a perfect model of relationship. And yet God is also singular and simple. And when I say simple, that is actually technical theological language to say that God doesn't have parts. God is not a conglomeration of little pieces. God is thoroughly consistent because God is love.
Speaker 1:And so Trinity reminds us that in the Christian imagination, the fundamental source of everything that exists in the universe is a mysterious, benevolent relationship without beginning or end. So this is what we believe, even when our language fails to make sense of it for us. Now, later today, at our services this afternoon, we are going to baptize people into this relational unity. And I will ask the baptismal candidate some questions, and then I will say, I baptize you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. And if you have been baptized before, either as an infant or as an adult, we invite you to come later during this service, perhaps during the coffee break or even after we finish to dip your hand in the water and remember your unity with this triune God.
Speaker 1:But before we pray, in anticipation of those who will be baptized later today, I'd like us to read together a portion of the Nicene Creed that speaks of this mystery of trinity. Let's read together. Invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, begotten of the father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. Being of one substance with the father, by whom all things were made.
Speaker 1:And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, and to with the Father and the Son, is worshiped together and glorified, and who spoke by the prophets. Amen.