Word for Today

Trinity Sunday - God as three-in-one, one-in-three

From Psalm 8:

O  LORD our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

From "Come, Join the Dance of Trinity" text by Richard Leach

"Come, speak aloud of Trinity, as wind and tongues of flame

set people free at Pentecost to tell the Savior's name.

We know the yoke of sin and death, our necks have worn it smooth;

go tell the world of weight and woe that we are free to move!"

What a multidimensional festival this is! Holy Trinity. In the Lutheran Book of Concord, this is described as "the greatest mystery in heaven and on earth."

We have a creating God (still creating), a saving God (still saving) and a sustaining God (still..)!

So much theology is written by thinkers who openly wonder, ask deep questions and then set out answering them. To read them feels like going on a merry-go-round! We want to KNOW, and in our knowing we get hung up on doubt, exceptions (seemingly), and minutia. Perhaps the best way to begin understanding Trinity, the Dance, is to consider something visual.

This image below shows three distinct points, reminding us of the three persons of the Trinity, but there's a ring in the middle, showing the oneness of God, and this entire image is carved from one piece of wood. If you trace the image with your finger you will notice its continuity.

Image from signsofspirit2010 found on artfire.com

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

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Word for Today

From John 14:

 ¹³I (Jesus) will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  ¹⁴If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Here are a few verses that have some difficulty in their application. "Whatever" and "anything" are pretty clear and concise words, aren't they? Finally this is the key to health, happiness and good fortune! Do you need a job? Remember this verse and pray in Jesus' name! Need the blood tests to show you're healthy as a horse? Need help with will power? Need to let go of something that's eating you? John 14:13-14. Maybe you can even skip the prayer itself since the Holy Spirit knows what's on your mind, and just repeat that biblical citation like a mantra or a desperate plea: "John fourteen thirteen fourteen! John fourteen thirteen fourteen! John fourteen thirteen fourteen!!!" When your prayers aren't going your way, the stage is set for you to have a terrible crisis of faith.

Stop. I'm convinced there is something deeper, much deeper, happening in this teaching. Jesus makes a big deal of his name, of his purpose, and especially of his very close "abiding" relationship with the heavenly father. Jesus name is not a login and password. It's not a lucky horseshoe. His name is not a secret code that elevates your chances above your neighbors.

Jesus (through the writer John) is talking about his name as if it's an expansive thing, as if it's a space where you and I can be at home. Jesus' name, rather than being a universal tool you dig out of your toolbox, is a framework, a mode, a way of thinking. Jesus' name is a new life-giving frame of reference.

I don't have a clear vision of what asking in Jesus' name is all about. But I think it has something to do with making Jesus' purpose, vision, mission, glory more complete. See the hint above that Jesus himself gives about glory.

Ours is a "cruciform" life. It's cross-shaped. Jesus takes us into ill health, sadness, ill fortune, job rejections, and bad news from the doctor, ours and our neighbors', as light into darkness. Being in Jesus' name is being remade in the image of the resurrected Christ. You and I are part of the completion of his glory.

Photo: pastorross1.wordpress.com

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church
541.889.9349

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Word for Today

Our Penultimate Now

From Revelation 22:

 ¹⁷The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."

And let everyone who hears say, "Come."

And let everyone who is thirsty come.

Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift."

  ²⁰The one who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!  ²¹The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

First off, something I would like you to notice as a student of the Bible.. The book of Revelation doesn't have an "s" in the title. It is Revelation and not Revelations. The book, as a whole, speaks of one revelation to (and through) the author. End of public service announcement.

Come Lord Jesus. This is one of the simplest prayers ever. The welcome from both parties is so profound here, so full of love and satisfaction. Isn't it fitting that our Bibles end with these verses? This is the way the Bible ends. Once you're done reading these verses, all you have left is an index and maybe some maps.

I love the word "penultimate." It refers to something that's next-to-last. You can picture the penultimate turn before arriving finally back home. You would rather eat the penultimate piece of cake.

Our faith needs to be penultimate. It needs a longing, a desire that expects something. Our faith needs to pray over and over and over, "Come Lord Jesus." The lovely thing about our "penultimate now" is that we are open to surprise, to friendship, to challenge, justice, sacrifice and love. This is made possible because of a promise: "Surely I am coming soon."

Photo from commons.wikimedia.org

Definition of PENULTIMATE

1

: next to the last <the penultimate chapter of a book>

2

: of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word <apenultimate accent>

Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church

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