Trinity Sunday - The 3 in 1 God

Readings: Psalm 8, Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Romans 5:1-5, Mark 1:14-20
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, 26th May 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

One of the great mysteries of Christian faith is that Christians say that believe in One God, yet seem to talk about three gods; a god called Jesus, a god who is a Father and a god who is somehow involved in life called the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. The claim is made that God is a "Three in One" God, a claim known as the "Doctrine of the Trinity".  Today is Trinity Sunday and it is that "Trinity Doctrine" that I want us to think about.  To do so we'll look at how it came to be experienced by one of the earliest disciples.

Our gospel reading spoke of Jesus calling four fishermen,one of them being Simon - later to be known as Peter.  At that stage in Simon Peters spiritual journey we don't know much about him, but we can read back from later events to give us a picture of his character.  Rugged, matter of fact, religious but not in a sanctimonious way.  An ordinary working Jewish man of his day.

The gospels record that, because of the storms that blew up from nowhere, the sea of Galilee could be a rough and terrifying place to work. As one who battled against the elements Simon would probably be familiar with the words of the Psalmist, "You are my Defender and Protector. You are my God and in You I trust". 

He would have had an awareness of his roots in Judaistic teaching.  At the time Jesus first called him to follow, he would already be aware of God as one who had Father-like concern for His people.  That was one of the great pictures of Hebrew religion, again from Psalm 91 (Verse 13)  "When they call to me, I will answer them, when they are in trouble, I will be with them."

Simon and his brother Andrew started to be influenced by Jesus.  They realized their was something different about Him. So much so that when He called them saying, "Come with me, I will teach you to catch people" they at once left their nets and went with Him!

Time went by and Peter (as Simon was now named) heard Jesus revealing more and more about God the Father and Creator of all things. He saw the miracles and wonders that were taking place. He in himself had to wrestle and come to terms with what was going on around him and within him. He came to realize that this Jesus was not your everyday religious teacher.  He was incomparable.  He was unique.  Although others had said similar things, even done similar things, Jesus had about Him an authority that set Him apart.

A turning point came at Ceaserea-Phillipi in Northern Galilee, when Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say I am?".  One said "John the Baptist, another Elijah, another suggested Jeremiah or some other prophet.”  Jesus turned the question around. "But what about you, who do you say I am?".

Simon-Peter answered, maybe fearfully, maybe hesitantly, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God". And Jesus congratulates him, "Well done.. that's a truth that didn't come to you from any human being, it was given you directly by my Father in heaven!"

Through his openness and willingness to seek the truth, God had been able to work upon the heart and mind of Simon-Peter to reveal the truth about Jesus.  He was the Messiah, the One sent by God; God Himself coming into history in a unique way.

Of course such a revelation was not easily accepted. Time and time again Jesus was rejected (and eventually crucified) because He claimed to be the Messiah.  He used such expressions as, "Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father", "If you knew me, you would know my Father also" (John 8:19).

 He referred to Himself in the special way only God referred to Himself, by saying in John 8:24, "I am who I am".  He claimed, "The Father and I are One" (John 10:30).  In the great prayer He made for His disciples, He prayed "May they be in us, just as You are in me, and I am in You". (John 17:21).

Peter became aware of Jesus as the Son of the Living God. But then came the crucifixion, and the disciples lost their focus.  In fear and bewilderment they were scattered. If He was the Christ, how could such a thing happen?

The answer came in the resurrection.  Through Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself. He died for our sins.  He was raised to life that we may know His risen power amongst us. Jesus was not a dead friend to be mourned, but the Living Lord with whom they continued to have a redeeming and creative relationship.

This came home, powerfully, to Peter and the other disciples, when seven weeks after Easter, on the day of the feast of Pentecost, they had an intense experience of God as the Holy Spirit, whilst they gathered together in prayer at a house in Jerusalem. Those who witnessed the scene started to ask questions. And it was Peter who, in Acts 2, stands up and started to explain.

God had poured out His Spirit on them.  Jesus had been raised and reigned for ever more with God the Father.  He had promised that those who believed in Him would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as His personal presence in their lives.

As the book of Acts unfolds it gives us a picture of God the Father, at work through Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit; God the three in One God.  Not three gods... but One Almighty God at work in three, united, complimentary ways. Peter had become aware of the reality of God in three ways, and in his evolving experience we see the pattern that became the special Christian awareness of God as  Father, Son and  Holy Spirit.

The doctrine of the Trinity had nothing to do with scholars or theologians sitting around with nothing better to do than make God to complicated for people to believe in.  It came out of the experience of the early Christians, including those who were the first called by Jesus to follow Him. It was never intended to be a representation of all that God was or an explanation of how God could be.  Rather it is a picture of how we should be aware of God and how we should relate to God. 

Jesus, in Matthew's gospel 28 commissions the disciples to go out into the world making others His disciples and baptizing them 'in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit'.  So the church has proclaimed to the world that God was three, yet God was One, that just as a triangle has three sides, so God has revealed Himself to the world in three distinct yet united ways.

Think again of Peters experience.  He was aware of God as the Heavenly Father and the great Creator.  As he walked with Jesus he became aware of God, focusing Himself uniquely in Jesus Christ.  He was aware of God, in the person of the Holy Spirit creatively invading the hearts and minds of those who believed in Jesus.

The key to understanding the Trinity appears to be personal experience.  Try and get our minds around it or explain it and we can tie ourselves in knots. It's one of those things that once you see it, you realize that's the way it has be. The authentic Christian experience is Trinitarian.

• We need to know that God is the great Creator who has a parental like care for His Creation.  That ultimately life finds it's beginning and end in God.  That there is a purpose to life's mystery and a mystery to life's purpose and that is all tied up with the will and design of the Almighty One.
• We need to know that God is ultra-personal.  In Christ we see the imprint of God fully expressed through humanity.  We read of the life of Christ in the gospels and find ourselves saying, "Yes, if God were to come in the flesh that's exactly how you'd expect things to turn out!"  There's something wrong with the world but something so very right about Jesus Christ.
• We need to know that God's love is not distant... and that the power of the resurrected Christ is not far off but can be known in our lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  God is not God of the dead, but of the living and through Christ's love in our hearts we can really live!

The doctrine of the Trinity. Think about it. But not too much!  Instead just get out there and live your life in the knowledge of God's presence.  And somehow, as you seek to live in a way that brings glory to Jesus, as you seek for the help of God's Holy Spirit in your daily struggles and joys, as you seek to be that unique, beautiful, human person that God intends for you to be, then, somehow, it doesn't matter if you can't explain the doctrine of the Trinity.  You become to busy enjoying it!

It's good to have a Sunday set aside to consider the awesome mystery of a God who has revealed Himself to us as the three in one God.  It is good to reflect on the nature and being of Trinity.  But don't get bogged down in theological reflection. Instead, listen to the call of the Jesus.

"Go" Jesus says, "Into all the world, and make others my disciples. Mark them by baptism in the threefold name; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. And, listen, I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end times."

May God help us to be faithful servants and in so doing discover His love.
 And to God's name be the glory.

AMEN.

Rev. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Dreamers, Starters and Finishers

Pentecost/Confirmation Service
Readings: Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21,Hebrews 12:1-6, Luke 14:28-33
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, Sunday, May 19th 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

Luke 14 verses 29 and 30
“This man began to build and cannot finish the job”
“And all who see what happened will laugh at him”

It has been said that in life there are three groups of people. Dreamers, Starters and Finishers.

First off there are DREAMERS.

Dreams can be good. Martin Luther King Jr. preached one of the most famous sermons ever preached with the words 'I have a dream...” The musical 'South Pacific' has a song with the refrain; 'You gotta have a dream, Cos if you don't have a dream, How you ever gonna make your dreams come true'

Scripture is full of dreamers. In the Old Testament Joseph (known for his technicolor dreamcoat) has a whole life defined by dreams.

We all have dreams. We all have aspirations. We all have things we want to be or see.  There's nothing wrong in being a dreamer. Some years ago somebody dreamed that there could be a Presbyterian Church here in Baldwin.  Now here are some of you desiring to be members of it... buying into the dream.

God has a lot of time for dreamers. So dream on!

But, as I learnt from watching Sister Act 2 'If you wanna go somewhere, and you want to be someone, you gotta wake up and pay attention'. There's more to life than just being a dreamer.

We also need to be STARTERS.

I'll let you in on a secret. When I was young I didn't dream of being a preacher. I didn't even dream about being confirmed or joining the church. I had a far more compelling dream. I wanted to be a racing driver. Just like Dana Patrick! Well... no not really like her, I'm not talking Nascar, I'm talking Formula One, Grand Prix racing, the fastest, most exotic racers in the world. Monaco,  Red Bull and Ferrari!

I cherished this dream. In school I learned all about how to be a driver you had to know the insides as well as the outsides of a car, so you should train as a mechanic. Despite my lack of mechanical skills, even this did not curb my enthusiasm!

My dream faded when I became old enough to drive on the local Go-Kart track. I'd watched the movies, I'd sat on my bed and practiced,  VROOM - VROOM, I was excellent on my slot car racing track, making those little cars go round and around. But first time I got behind the wheel of a Go-Kart... well... call me Mr Tortoise! It didn't take me long to realize that I did not have the natural skills of a racing driver. To be honest I discovered speed, far from being exhilarating, was a little scary. Particularly the stopping bit... but that's another story!

I had purchased a book about Motor Racing. In it, it said 'Some people are 'thinkers' and some people are 'Doers'. The reason why 'thinkers' don't become 'doers' is that they just don't know what is involved”

Remember our Bible story.  A story about a man who didn't consider what was involved. Luke 14 verses 29 and 30 “This man began to build and cannot finish the job” “And all who see what happened will laugh at him”

I'm glad that those of you who are being confirmed have moved from being dreamers to starters. I hope you'll also make the move from being 'thinkers' to 'doers'.  You see there is a cost involved. There always is. We only get out of life, what we put into life.

In Luke13:44 Jesus tells His disciples 'None of you can be my disciple unless he gives up everything he has.”  To put that in a different way, He is telling us that we can't go around saying He is Lord of our lives when we are really living only for ourselves. That the most important thing we can do with our lives is figure out how they can be lived for the glory of God.

God wants to have that conversation with us because otherwise, our words are just a bad joke. Otherwise our confirmation and church membership are about as useful as the house the man began to build but couldn't finish. Just a laughing matter. 

Confirmation does not mean you have arrived. It means that some time in your life somebody had a dream that you would become a disciple of Jesus Christ. They sprinkled you with the waters of baptism. Confirmation is about you claiming that dream for yourself. It's about starting.

And you know that starting isn't enough! The man who started to build became a joke because he never reached the most important thing.  Finishing. There are dreamers, there are starters and there are;

FINISHERS

When the Olympic games were held in Mexico City the Gold medal for the 26 mile marathon was won by Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia. Also running in the race was John Stephen Akhwari from Tanzania. Akhwari cramped up due to the high altitude of the city. He had not trained at such an altitude back in his home country. Half way through the race, there was jockeying for position between some runners and he was hit. He fell badly, dislocating his knee and hurting his shoulder on the pavement. He however continued running.

By the time he reached the stadium people were leaving. The medal ceremony for the winners had already taken place. The sun had set. When word was received that there was one more runner about to finish, people started to file back into the stadium. Even the TV cameras returned to watch John Akhwari hobble over the line. It is said that the crowd greeted him with more enthusiasm, urging him onward, then they had done for any of the medal winners.

After the race, they asked him, why, when he was so far behind, he didn't give up? He replied, "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race."

The Christian calling in not just to be dreamers and starters, but to be finishers. Hebrews 12: verses 1 and 2 instruct us;  “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” 

Friends of all ages, do not allow your faith to be a laughing matter. 'This man' said Jesus, 'Started to build but could not finish, and all who see it will laugh at him”.

Carry on dreaming. 'You gotta have a dream'.

You have made a great start in your faith journey. You were baptized.
Now you come to claim the baptismal promises for yourself. You are a starter.
But now it's up to you to be a finisher. To 'Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith'.

And if you openly and honest come before God, seeking His leading and guiding, laying your life before God and pledging to be a Kingdom person, you will not be disappointed.  God loves us more than we can ever fully realize. God's promises are true. As we place our trust in God, amazing things can happen in our lives.

May God help us all to run with perseverance the race of faith that is laid before us. AMEN!

REV. ADRIAN J. PRATT B.D.

The Sun Still Rises

This past Sunday was Music Sunday and Mother's Day. We had some amazing presentations by our Choir, Bell-Choir, Youth and Adult Soloists. Thanks must go to our wonderful choir director, Ksenia Lowenfels. 

My own contribution was a song that included reflections on personal loss, Hurricane Sandy and how every day brings healing as the sun rises to offer us a new day. There are a couple of download links at the bottom of the page if you want to listen to a recorded version.

The sun still rises

Copyright - Adrian J Pratt - May 2013

When the waves have all crashed through,

When there's nothing you can do,

When your nightmares all come true,

The sun still rises.

When there's nothing left to save,

When you've gone past being brave,

When there's fears you cannot name,

The sun still rises.

Oh, precious sun,

Greet the new day begun,

Oh, precious light,

Break the darkness of this night

When the worst has come to pass,

When every hope is dashed,

When all your dreams are trashed,

The sun still rises.

When all you know has changed,

When all you feel is rage,

When you can't shake off the day,

The sun still rises.

Oh, precious sun,

Greet the new day begun,

Oh, precious light,

Break the darkness of this night

When all we have disappears beneath the waves

And all we have is memories of better days

When we weep for those we've lost,

When we cannot count the cost,.

When our hearts are cold as frost,

The sun still rises.

When all you have is scarred,

When the way ahead is hard,

When the road stretches too far,

The sun still rises.

Oh, precious sun,

Greet the new day begun,

Oh, precious light

Break the darkness of this night

Download  

Song  at "Soundclick" (mp3)

Song  at "Soundcloud" (wave)

Story behind the song 

In August 2012 mum passed away. In November 2012 our community on Long Island was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Sometime after February 2013, after I'd been back to the U.K. to commit mums ashes to their final resting place, I was walking along the front near Freeports Nautical Mile. Though much was still a huge mess, recovery had begun. It was a cold, winter dawn... and the sun came up. I couldn't help but reflect that no matter what life throws at us... the sun still rises.

Signposts to the Table

Readings: Psalm 67, Acts 16:9-15, John 5:1-9, I Corinthians 11:23-29
Preached at Baldwin Presbyterian Church, NY, May 5th 2013

A printable PDF file can be found here

This morning I want to take you on a journey – a journey towards the Communion Table. Along the way I want to share with you some signposts from the Scriptures. These signs are designed to direct us to the table.

SIGNPOST 1: Our first sign comes from 1 Corinthians 11:26;

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”

Our celebration is often called a Memorial or a Remembrance of Christ. At the table we look back to the life of our Savior. We see how He was born as a helpless baby in the manger, how He grew to be obedient to the will of God, how He told us about His Father and brought peace and healing to many lives. We see how He gave himself for the sake of all people, accepting death upon a cross for our sakes. He claimed to bear our sins. We see how God raised Him from the dead and He is declared Lord of all.

We proclaim His death, that His death was not the ultimate calamity but the ultimate victory of a life filled with God’s love, a life in which we are called to share.

SIGNPOST 2: Our second signpost is from 1 Corinthians 10:16:

“Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?
Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?”

Around this table many have testified that they have sensed God presence in a special way. The bread and wine, representing for us Christ’s body and blood, call us to share in the life of the Savior who died for us and was raised for us.

Symbols, such as bread and wine, have been described as “interpretations to the heart” through which we experience a fellowship with Christ that is unable to be put into words. As we commune with Him, we know we're not alone. We need never give in to fear or despair, for He stands with us and shares in our lives.

SIGNPOST 3: Whilst we come to this table as individuals, our next signpost, 1 Corinthians 11: 20-21 reminds us we are also a community of faith. The Corinthian church was in danger of forgetting this, so Paul tells them,

“Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper,
for in your eating each one takes his own supper first;
and one is hungry and another is drunk.”

Fellowship with God, and with each other, is an important element of our celebration. A church manual belonging to the year 150 A. D, one of the earliest church documents outside of the Scriptures called the ‘Didache’, contains the following prayer to be said over the bread.

“As this broken bread, once disbursed over the hills was brought together and became one loaf, so may the church be brought together from the ends of the earth into thy kingdom."

“May the church be brought together." Let us remember each other around this table. We are not alone in our hurts or our needs. We are to come together in fellowship, to worship God. We remember Christ’s life, we sense His presence, not in isolation but as a community. And as a community there are things that should color our celebration.

SIGNPOST 4: Our next signpost points us to one of the things that should be part of our celebration - thanksgiving. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 says;

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you,
that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said,
"This is My body, which is for you;
do this in remembrance of Me."

Some traditions of the church refer to the Lord’s Supper as the ‘Eucharist’, a Greek word meaning ‘Thanksgiving’. Jesus gave thanks. For what? For the fact that He was about to be betrayed and tried by a corrupt court? For the fact He was about to endure untold suffering and face an untimely death? If anyone had cause to complain about His lot, it would be Him! Instead, He gave thanks.

As we review our life, no doubt we can find things to complain about. If we take a deeper look, we will find a great deal to be thankful about. Not only has God given us our "daily bread", but here at this table, we see God’s promise to nourish our spiritual lives, that God is able to meet the deepest needs of our hearts and minds. Now is a time for counting our blessings.

SIGNPOST 5: We should count our blessings in hope; our next signpost, 1 Corinthians 11:26 declares;

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”

"Until He comes." Those three little words remind us that the best is yet to be. They look forward to the time when people, all people, will give Jesus Christ His rightful place in their lives. That day may be today, or it may be a thousand years away, but until Christ’s reign is established upon earth, we are told to praise Him by gathering together at His table with the expectant hope of a living faith.

SIGNPOST 6: Our final signpost, bids us not to speed towards the table! Just as roads have speed limits for our safety, so we are told in 1 Corinthians 11:28;

“But let a man examine himself first,
and then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

The word “Sacrament” was one used in Greek to describe a pledge, an oath of allegiance or a vow of loyalty. Only a fool would rush into a deep commitment without giving it serious thought. As we come to this Sacrament of Holy Communion, Paul simply says, "Examine yourself first.” Use this as a time for putting your life right with God. See how much God has given for you, and respond by placing your life in God’s hands.

Such are some of the signposts we see in the Scriptures as we travel towards the table. We haven't exhausted them all by any means. Those we've seen remind us:

• This is a time of remembrance.
• This is a time to focus on Christ.
• It's a time the sharing in His love.
• It's something we share in together as a community of faith.
• It's a time of thanksgiving
• It’s a time to pledge our loyalty to God.

These are some of the signposts that point us to towards the table. These are the signposts that people all over the world will be looking towards that they may deepen their fellowship with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we approach the table this morning, may we rejoice in the knowledge we are part of a community, called to remember Jesus Christ in this special way; taking bread and wine in simple faith. For when we remember Jesus in this way, His promise is that the Holy Spirit will renew our lives.

AMEN

ADRIAN J PRATT