Feast of the Holy
Trinity
3 June 2012
St. John's, Chicago,
IL
In the Name of the
Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
You have lost all
sense of holiness, if you are like most 21st century Americans; and
you are. Over the years, the honor,
respect, and awe regarding things and places set aside for the Lord’s
purposes, have diminished.
The seraphim --
these angels placed by the Lord God to guard the heavenly throne -- even these
sinless, perfect beings keep their faces bowed, and dare not gaze into the face
of God. While you don't often think
twice about carrying in your coffee, or not silencing your cell phone, of
worrying more about the fellowship that will follow the service in the Lord's
house. You begin feeling pretty casual
and comfortable in your sin. Yet it
takes the formal, deliberate action of your Savior to deliver you.
Isaiah recognized
this. As God gave him the vision to see
into heaven's throne room, Isaiah almost falls to pieces. He recognizes that he is a sinner. He understands that the Lord is holy and
perfect. He knows that being present
there should destroy his mortal flesh, and he grieves.
My friends, you too
are men and women of unclean lips, who live in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. Nothing in you is worth
saving. Nothing, that is, until the Lord
has come to you and made you worth saving.
The imagery
surrounds you. Books, films, and art
immerse you in Baptism, even whether the artist realizes it, or not. In the novel and musical, Les Misérables,
as Eponine lays, dying in the arms of the young hero Marius, it begins to
rain. They speak of it as cleansing and
washing –
and with this reassuring water, she falls asleep in Jesus. The water is the reminder of Baptism, giving
one hope for this tragic character.
At the conclusion of
Disney’s
The Lion King, the parched,
devastated land is dismal and seems to promise only death. Yet at the conclusion, after a great battle
of good and evil, heavy rains ensue. The
water washes away all traces of death and destruction –
even to the point of dry bones being swept away in the currents. Although the film is not teaching
Christianity by any means, there are definite baptismal undertones here.
Disney’s
Beauty and the Beast did the same
thing. The dead Beast lies on the
pavement surrounding the castle. While
the movie would say it was the magic of love, rain is falling as Beast is
suddenly raised up from death, and made a new creature. This certainly can make
one mindful of when God raised you from death and made you a new creature in
water, with His Word.
These moments of
entertainment call to mind the greater reality of what God has done. The Holy Trinity has delivered you with a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm, plunging you into the waters of the font,
forgiving, rescuing, and giving salvation, as He raises your new creature out
of those waters. He took those baptismal
currents, and swept you out of death, into life.
First, you are born
of the flesh. Born of a flesh that does
not want to attend the Divine Service every single Sunday, and receive the Lord’s
Body and Blood. Born of a flesh that
does not care to gather with the Church for Bible Study week after week. Born of a flesh that does not really care
about being a wise and faithful steward.
Born of a flesh that would rather gossip, and tear down reputations,
rather than defend and speak well of others, explaining everything in the
kindest way. When it comes down to it,
you are a mess, sitting in this fleshly filth.
But your Holy, Holy,
Holy Lord God of hosts does not leave you to your own devices, left in the
death and destruction of your first birth.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit grant you new birth –
you are born from above, into new life in Him!
And that is an amazing miracle!
At His holy font,
miracles are always taking place! Christ
sends the Holy Spirit to make you children of the Heavenly Father. He calls you by name and places His holy Name
upon you: “In
the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When He does this, He joins the Word of God
to that water, and literally bathes you in salvation. He cleanses your flesh, rescues, and washes
you in forgiveness. He begins
transforming your life, giving you the new birth – born
again of water and the Spirit!
What a joyous
gift! You are not stuck simply having
been born of the flesh. Dear friends in
Christ, you have been born again of water and the spirit! So rejoice!
You have the same joy as the apostles, as all the faithful bishops of
the Council in Nicea, and of St. Athanasius: our Blessed and Holy Lord, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, has called you out of darkness and caused you to be born
again of water and the spirit! And
in this baptism, the Holy Spirit has given you the faith of the church
catholic, that you may be saved.
Having been given that faith by the Holy Spirit, He renews in
you a sense of the holy. So even when in
the forest preserve in shorts and t-shirts, you are aware that the Lord God of
the universe is more than your softball buddy, or master of bar-b-queuing on
the grill. You are filled with wonder
and awe that He would come to you and give you new birth and life in Him!
