“From Beginning to End”
Genesis 1:1, Matthew 28:16-20
INI
Today the Church across the world observes “Holy Trinity Sunday,” which traditionally is celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost on the church calendar. The doctrine of the Trinity, while it may seem insignificant to us here and now in this culture, has actually been something the Church throughout history has fought hard to protect. When you and I say we believe in the “Trinity,” we’re talking about the biggest mystery of the Christian faith—the hardest thing to wrap our brains around. One God—Three persons. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. But you and I don’t worship three gods—no, these three persons are one God. As the Church developed the appointed readings for this each Sunday, they chose for this day the Old Testament reading from creation—the very beginning— Genesis, chapter one. For our sermon this morning we’ll be hearing how God speaks to us through that very first verse of Scripture.
You and I can learn a lot just from the first three words of this verse: “In the beginning…” Well, beginnings are special—the beginning of a friendship, the beginning of a marriage, the beginning of a life when a child is born. Often you and I look back at the special times in our lives and the moment when they began is magical. How about with raising kids? The “firsts” in our children’s lives are moments we cherish forever. First steps…first words… first day of school…maybe as they get older, those firsts cause a little more anxiety—first detention…first date…first time they call home to borrow money. Yet as we view the “firsts” in life, you and I can see babies grow into children, children grow into teens, and teens grow into adults. Each one of those events marks a new beginning—a new start in the journey we all walk form the cradle to the grave.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Aside from John 3:16, this might be the best known passage in the entire Bible. After all, this is the one that starts the whole show! It’s a special “first” we celebrate when our God decided to speak his creative word, bringing this entire existence about—things that are seen, heard, touched, smelled—everything our senses are able to perceive, spoken into being by God himself. Now this begs the question: what does creation have to do with the Holy Trinity…why would the Church give us this reading for Trinity Sunday? There’s two ways that you and I can look at the answer.
The first is important—but is more theological in nature. In the beginning, at the creation of the world, we find the Trinity at work. If we read verses 1 and 2 together, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” In the beginning, we have a reference to God creating and the Spirit hovering. As we read on, we see that God creates by speaking: “God said, ‘Let there be light.’”… “God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters.”… “God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens.’” The New Testament tells us that the Word that God spoke to bring about Creation was Christ. So although we teach our confirmation kids that God the Father is the “maker of heaven and earth,” the Son and the Spirit too are all working in the creation of this existence.
All of that is important—but what does it mean for you and me? Some people would argue that the Trinity is not important—that it’s all an attempt to try to explain the unexplainable. But the fact is, the Trinity is not just important, but essential to how you and I live in the world as Christians. When we talk about the Trinity, we’re talking about how God acted in the beginning, how he has acted through history until now, and how he will act from this point forward. You see, what God created as beautiful, perfect, and pleasing “in the beginning,” is no longer that way—not because God didn’t care to take care of it, but because the human race fell into sin and self-serving behavior. The world that God had created and placed under the care of mankind fell victim to the evil of men and women, just like you and me. As you and I look around every day and wonder why there is so much wrong with the world we live in—poverty, disease, war—we have no one to blame but ourselves. We’re just as much responsible as anyone else. The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 3 that all are under the power of sin. In other words, all are guilty.
And yet, God the Father continues to love…continues to provide for…continues to protect his most precious creation—the very people who fell into sin—you and me. When you and I were little children we learned the song “He’s God the Whole World in His Hands,” and indeed he does hold this entire sinful world in the palm of his hand, providing for our every need. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd in his Sermon on the Mount, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” If you and I seek the righteousness of God, we know that he will provide for us day in and day out.
But when Paul wrote in Romans 3 that we’re all under the power of sin, he also quoted the psalmist who said, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” So if you and I are not righteous, how can we be confident that God will provide for us? Certainly God is righteous and just! You and I know how he can allow havoc to be wreaked! When tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes, and disasters rain upon this earth, we should be swept away into eternal damnation…into eternal suffering…into eternal fire.
Now enter the Second Person of the Trinity: God the Son, Jesus Christ! Paul answers his own problem in Romans 4: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who ahs faith in Jesus.” You see, God did pour out his judgment—but instead of pouring it out on us, he poured it out on his only Son Jesus—who was God in the flesh. And because of his death and resurrection, you and I have received the righteousness of God!
And you and I are given that righteousness by the Third Person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. In Romans 6, Paul tells us that when you and I receive the Holy Spirit in our baptisms, we are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—what does that mean? It means that Jesus’ death is our death. It means that Jesus’ resurrection is our resurrection. It means that all the bad things you and I have done to destroy our relationship with the Father have been replaced by all the good things Jesus did. It means that from the very beginning of our lives as Christians at Baptism, until the very end when we died, we are being washed and purified by the Holy Spirit.
Our Holy Gospel for today finds the disciples standing with Jesus as he’s about to send into heaven, probably wondering what in the world is going on. It was there that Jesus gave them the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Those words are pretty familiar to us. But often we forget the promise that Jesus attached to the Baptism and teaching that the disciples were about to embark upon. “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” When you and I are baptized into the Triune name of God—Father, Son, and Spirit—we are sealed with the promise that Father is forever providing, the Son is forever Redeeming, and the Spirit is forever sanctifying our lives wherever we go.
I’d like to share with you the story of Alicia, who is 42 years old, married, mother of two, and vice-president of marketing at a large mortgage corporation. Alicia’s day starts at five in the morning when she has to get up to make sure her family has clean laundry for the day, then she has to get herself and the two kids ready for the day. After dropping the kids off at school, she has to be to the office by 8:00 a.m. for an appointment…she’s sometimes home by 6:30, missing her kids’ after-school sports, and on most nights she has to bring her work home with her. Her kids resent her for never giving them the attention they need. Her marriage is falling apart because of a lack of intimacy. When the marriage counselor asked her why she thought there was trouble in her marriage she said, “I’m only one person, I can’t be a wife, mother, and boss to fifteen people at the same time. I usually feel like I need to be three people at the same time just to be fair to everyone.”
You and I cannot compare the Trinity to anything we can comprehend…but while you and I often find it hard to do everything that life demands of us, we need never worry about God’s ability to be everything we need. Our one God does do the work of three—he is eternally the Father to reach down and provide for us. He is eternally the Son who paid for our sins and is preparing a place in glory for us to live. He is eternally the Spirit who works faith in our hearts and sanctifies us. Our God is never too preoccupied to stop giving us our every need. From the very beginning at creation, to the end of time when Jesus Christ returns, God is always at work. He loves his children throughout all the firsts…and lasts of our lives…throughout the ups and downs…throughout the good and the bad—God is there and God is faithful—from the beginning to the end. Amen.
