Jonah 4,1-11. 3. Trinity

Jonah 4,1-11 3323

3. Trinitatis 49 

Sosipater, Romans 16,21

Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia Procula, Ethiopian Church. cf. 27. October

Prosper of Aquitaine, 463

Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, 1530 

25. Juni 2023

1. ℣ As a father shows compassion to his children,

℟ so so Yahweh shows compassion to those who fear Him (Psalm 103,13). 

O Yahweh, who bears our burdens; sustain us when we call upon You, so that we are comforted by Your redemption of our lives and the safety You provide for us.  Amen. (Psalm 55,22a.16.18a Gradual)

2. »But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to Yahweh and said: „O Yahweh, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that You are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in merciful steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Yahweh, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.“ And Yahweh said: „Do you do well to be angry?“ Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now Yahweh God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said: „It is better for me to die than to live.“ But God said to Jonah: „Do you do well to be angry for the plant?“ And he said: „Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.“ And Yahweh said: „You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?“« 

 3. We often tend to compartmentalize the Prophets, thinking that each prophet had a solitary ministry all to himself. Several Prophets had overlapping ministries which shows that Yahweh was simultaneously sending several prophets to Judah, Israel and even the surrounding Gentile nations. Jonah’s prophetic contemporaries were Isaiah, Hosea, Joel and Amos. They were 4 of the 12 minor Prophets whose ministry spanned roughly 133 years, from 848-715 bc. 

4. Hosea prophesied God’s love and faithfulness to Israel despite their unfaithfulness and idolatry. Joel warned of God’s coming judgment and called for repentance and hope in God’s mercy. Amos denounced the social injustice and religious hypocrisy of Israel and Judah and announced God’s righteous wrath. Jonah was a reluctant prophet sent to preach to Nineveh where he learned about God’s compassion and forgiveness.

5. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and was a threat to Israel, Judah and the surrounding nations. Jonah describes the Assyrians as evil, which says they worship idols and such worship has effected the morals of the empire so that love for their neighbor is lacking. This is the same judgment the Prophets levied against the Israelites. Jonah lived during the reign of Israel’s king, Jeroboam II (793-53 bc). Jonah’s prophetic contemporaries were Hosea, Amos and Joel who were likewise calling Israel and Judah to repent of their own idolatry. 

6. Jonah expected Nineveh to reject His call to repent and thus be destroyed by Yahweh. Much to Jonah’s surprise and consternation: the people of Nineveh believed God (Jonah 3,5)! They repent, put on sackcloth, ashes and fast from food and water. The king, probably Adad-nirari III (reigned: 811-783 bc), declared: »Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.« (Jonah 3,9). The king was not referring to his Assyrian god, Ashur, but referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – Yahweh.

7. Jonah is a prime example of an imprecatory prophet. Imprecate: to invoke judgment, calamity or curses upon one’s enemies or those perceived as the enemies of God. There are 21 psalms that have imprecatory verses. Moses’ 3. Sermon in Deuteronomy is imprecatory. Jesus’ woes upon the Pharisees are imprecatory. 

8. But Jonah’s sin was his initial refusal to call Nineveh to repentance. Yahweh sent him to do that very task, but Jonah fled because he did not want Nineveh to repent but rather to be struck by Yahweh’s terrifying wrath and judgment. 

9. We likewise are tempted to live rebellious lives, fleeing from God, caring not if others suffer or blindly live day after day unaware of God’s impending wrath. Yahweh punished unrepentant wickedness in the Flood, Sodom and Jerusalem. Yahweh’s message to Jonah is His message to us in the 21. century: your evils have ascended before Me; repent and live.

10. God the Father calls us to repentance in His Scriptures when we read them or hear them preached. In the Scriptures we see that Yahweh spared repentant Rahab and her family at Jericho, King Hezekiah’s Judah and Nineveh. Jonah’s prophetic contemporary, Joel, proclaimed: »It shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the Name of Yahweh shall be saved« (Joel 2,32). Thus in the Lutheran Augsburg Confession: „Isaiah 53,11: By His knowledge shall He justify many. But what is the knowledge of Christ unless to know the benefits of Christ, the promises which by the gospel He has scattered broadcast in the world? And to know these benefits is properly and truly to believe in Christ, to believe that that which God has promised for Christ’s sake He will certainly fulfill“ (ac 4,101). 

11. Jesus has redeemed us from all sins and delivers that gospel of forgiveness through the Word and Sacraments. We hear and receive this gospel, by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts; we believe this salvation obtained for us and given to us by Christ. 

12. My conscience does not torment me,

Though accused by the law;

Christ frees me and acquits me,

Has the debt paid it all,

That nothing can condemn me:

Jesus sinners does receive. (Jesus nimmt die Sünder an selk 569,7 2021 Erdmann Neumeister 1718) 

This is most certainly true. 

13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

14. Let us pray. Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, unto Thy servants who do commemorate in the Holy Sacrament the precious death of Thy dear Son and receive the blessed Communion of His body and blood, that they may approach Thy holy table with true repentance, faith, thankfulness and charity and, being filled with Thy grace and heavenly benediction, may obtain remission of their sins and all other benefits of His Passion. Amen. (3. Trinity, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.  

Luke 14,15-24. 2. Trinity

Luke 14,15-24  3223

2. Trinitatis 48 

Marcus and Marcellianus, Martyrs at Rome, 286 (Diocletian, 284-311/12)

18. Juni 2023 

1. ℣ Yahweh delivered me: 

℟ For He delighted in me (Psalm 18,19). 

O Yahweh, our Great Redeemer; answer us when we call upon You, so that You deliver us from lies, betrayal, slander and a tarnished reputation.  Amen. (Psalm 118,5  Gradual). 

2. »When one of those who reclined at table with Jesus heard these things, he said to Him: „Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the reign of God!“ But He said to him: „A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited: ‘Enter, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him: ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot go.’ So the servant arrived and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant: ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said: ‘Lord, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant: ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to enter in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’“«  

3. Jesus told a number of parables about the reign/kingdom of God. Today’s Gospel pericope is one of them. Underlying this parable is the Jewish concept of עוֹלָם הַבָּא (olam ha-ba world to come). It is a perfect vision of the world that will exist at the end of day once the Messiah has arrived and God has judged the living and the dead, both individuals and nations. Justice will prevail over any injustice that was  not addressed in this present world (עוֹלָם הַזֱה olam ha-ze). It is an idyllic place where the righteous dwell following their resurrection in the Messianic Age. This is what the man who said Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the reign of God is referring to. 

4. Who wouldn’t want to experience this Messianic Age? Jesus responds that many will unfortunately reject the joy of that age. Jesus arrived to usher in this Messianic Age. Well-respected Jews, scribes, Pharisees and priest were invited to rejoice in Messiah’s arrival. Many of them rejected Jesus and the Messianic Age. First, they rejected John the Baptizer who prepared the people for Messiah’s arrival. Who is this John who looks like a wild-man living out in the wilderness? No, we will not accept him or his message of repentance. Second, they rejected Jesus who brought the Messianic Age into their midst with signs and wonders: the blind see, the deaf hear and the dead are raised. Yet they couldn’t see past the company Jesus kept. Who is this Jesus who cavorts with sinners and tax collectors? No, we will not accept him or his signs. 

5. Jesus spoke directly to their rejection. »To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another: „We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.“ For John the Baptizer has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say: „He has a demon.“ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say: „Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!“ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.« (Luke 7,31-35). They rejected John’s cry to repent and also Jesus’ proclamation of forgiveness. 

6. The scribes and Pharisees weren’t the only ones who rejected Yahweh’s invitation to eternal life. After Jesus’ teaching that He is the Bread of everlasting life, many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him (John 6,66). Even today people are offended at some of the things Jesus said or didn’t say. He doesn’t fit their preconceived ideas of who He should be. He said challenging things that they cannot accept. They won’t accept His Divine claims. They reject His death as the vicarious sacrifice for sin. And a host of other excuses they give for rejecting Jesus’ invitation. Some Christians take Jesus for-granted and simply remove themselves from His presence in the Word and Sacraments. 

7. The Psalmist exhorts us: »For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture. Today, if you hear His Voice, then do not harden your hearts« (Psalm 95,7a.8a). Do not test Yahweh and try Him, for to do so incurs His wrath (Psalm 95,9.11). The generation that Moses lead out of Egypt tested and tried Yahweh, and He declared: they shall not enter My rest (Psalm 95,11). Those who despise Jesus’ invitation to eternal life through Him risk everlasting condemnation unless they repent. 

8. Jesus is gracious and merciful. He welcomes the despised, the outcast and even the worst of sinners to His banquet. He even seeks them out. His banquet hall will be full, for every rejection will be filled by one who rejoiced in the invitation. Jesus is patient and long suffering. The Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches how merciful and forgiving God the Father is to those lost in sin. The parable concludes with this statement: »It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found« (Luke 15,32). 

9. The banquet feast in the reign of God will be full of sinners who were given the invitation to eternal life and they received this invitation with faith and great joy. We sho have believed enter that rest of the reign of God (Hebrews 4,3). Jesus gives us a foretaste of this heavenly banquet in the Lord’s Supper. When He institutes this Sacrament in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus declares that we will partake it with Him in the reign of God (Matthew 26,29; Mark 14,25; Luke 22,15-18). Paul tells us that whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim Jesus’ death until He returns (1. Corinthians 11,26). 

10. Irenaeus writes: „But our opinion is in accordance with the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn establishes our opinion. For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity“ (Against Heresies IV, 18, 5). 

11. Jesus has brought the Messianic Age and the Messianic banquet into our midst, proclaiming: »I am the Bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the Bread of life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.« (John 6,35.37.40.47-48.51.55-56). 

12. Come here, souls afflicted,

By misery and grief oppressed,

To God your hearts unite,

Who blesses you with delight.

Come, lay aside your fears

And sin’s doubt and tears; 

Receive the mystery sublime,

Sent by God from heaven in time (Kommt her, ihr seid geladen elkg 243,3 2021 Ernst Moritz Arndt 1819). 

This is most certainly true. 

12. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O almighty and Eternal God, who fillest all space, whom nevertheless no space can contain, from Thee as the Source of all things we have our being; to Thee as the end of all things we draw near; we acknowledge that every good and perfect gift is from above; may Thy blessing therefore descend upon us, Thy servants, who apply ourselves to our work or studies; inspire us in our enterprise, help in our endeavors, promote our designs, purify our minds that yearn to know themselves and Thee; be present with us, and direct such works as we undertake in dependence on Thee and devote to Thy honor; O Father of lights, give us discernment to know the truth; O Father of spirits, give us courage to uphold what we know to be true; O Prince of Peace, grant us wisdom to labor for peace, to uproot evil, to worship Thee with one heart and one mouth and to pay Thee due reverence, to the glory of Thy Name, the good of Thy Church, the increase of piety and the salvation of our own souls.  Amen. (2. Trinitatis, Vespers Collect. The Daily Office.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.

1. John 4,16-21. 1. Trinity

 1. John 4,16-21 3123

1. Trinitatis 47 

Barnabas, Apostle, Martyr in Salamis, Cyprus 61

11. Juni 2023

1. ℣ I have trusted in Thy mercy:

℟ My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation (Psalm 13,5). 

O Yahweh, Thou art gracious; help us to remember those in physical or spiritual need, so that by our charity they are encourage that You are the True God who delivers.  Amen. (Psalm 41,4.1 Gradual)

2. »So we have been enlightened and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. If anyone says: “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.« 

 3. The the apostle John declares that God is love. Ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν. His love is unconditional. John summarize is it perfectly in his Gospel: »For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life« (John 3,16). He also highlights it a few verses earlier in his epistle: »In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins« (4, 9-10). 

4. Yahweh expects His people to love Him and their neighbors. The specific laws given at Sinai lay forth how that love manifests itself in daily life. Centuries later, the Prophets reminded the people: when love for God is lacking, then love for the neighbor is soon abandoned. By our fallen human nature, we are more prone to hate rather than to love, we are more apt to fear rather than to believe. The apostolic exhortation to love God and all people causes our hearts to become terror stricken, for we acknowledge we do not love as we ought, nor can we, because we are fallen people. Likewise, fearing God comes more naturally to us than believing God. Who can satisfactorily fulfill, God’s law and please Him? 

5. Jesus taught: »What is impossible with men and women is possible with God« (Luke 18,27). »Yahweh redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge and Him will be condemned« (Psalm 34,22). God responds to our hatred and unbelief with the gospel. Jesus loves us with all His heart, soul and mind. He shed His blood and sacrificed Himself for us on the cross out of unconditional love for us. He then took up His life again from the grave to redeem and restore us once more to His Heavenly Father. The Scriptures proclaim that the judgment of sinners has been born by Jesus: His judgment results in our justification. What is impossible with us is possible with Jesus. He is the Perfect Love of His Father, and by grace the Holy Spirit perfects the same love in us. Jesus taught and preached this gospel.

6. On the eve of leading the host of Israel into Canaan, Yahweh promised Joshua: »Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go« (Joshua 1,9). How did Israel know Yahweh was present with them? His glory was in their midst, as a pillar of cloud or fire; where the ark was, there was a Yahweh‘s glory; when the tabernacle was pitched, Yahweh filled the holy of holies. Jesus repeated this promise to His Church: »I am with you always to the end of the age« (Matthew 28,20). How do we know Jesus is present with us? He tells us:  »For where two or three are gathered in My Name, there am I among them« (Matthew 18,20). He is really present with us in His Supper, for He gives us His Body and blood to eat and drink. Thus Paul teaches: »The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?« (1. Corinthians 10,16). 

7. »Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him, and He in God« (1. John 4,15). By this abiding the Holy Spirit strengthens faith and love in God and thus also love for our neighbors. The Triune God’s abiding presence with us is great comfort and strength in a world that delights in godlessness and inhuman actions. To this world we extend clemency and charity to bring compassion  and peace in their lives. For only the merciful steadfast love of God can bring tranquility and forgiveness to those burdened by guilt and sin. May the Holy Spirit proclaim the gospel through us and create faith in Christ Jesus. 

8. This is the Father’s will,

Who has created us. 

His Son has the fullness of good 

And acquired grace for us.

Also God the Comforter 

To us faith has given, 

Leads us to the kingdom of heaven. 

To Him be glory, praise and honor! (Von Gott will ich nicht lassen selk 630,9 2021 Ludwig Helmbold 1563, Nuernberg 1569) 

This is most certainly true. 

9. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

10. Let us pray. Grant, O Lord, to Thy servants and followers who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, that their conversation may be as becometh the Gospel of Christ, that they may stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel; that in nothing terrified by their adversaries, they may be bold in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake. Amen. (1. Trinity, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.) 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.

Isaiah 6,1-8. Holy Trinity

 Isaiah 6,1-8   3023

Tag der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit  (Trinitatis) 46 

Quirinus, Bishop of Syscia in Pannonia (Croatia), Martyr 304 (Diocletian, 284-311/12; persecution 302-11)

4. Juni 2023 

1. ℣ O Yahweh, our Adonai: 

℟ How excellent is Thy Name in all the earth! (Psalm 8,1). 

O Blessed Yahweh, who dwells between the cherubim; guide us by the Holy Spirit, so that we may learn to praise and adore Jesus Christ now and forever.  Amen. (Liturgical text  Gradual). 

2. »In the year that King Uzziah died [740/39 bc] I saw Adonai seated upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: „Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Sabaoth; the whole earth is full of His Glory!“ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: „Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh Sabaoth!“ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: „Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.“ And I hear the Voice of Adonai saying: „Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?“ Then I replied: „Here am I! Send me.“«  

3. Isaiah 6 tells of the prophet’s call by Yahweh to be His messenger to rebellious and unrepentant Judah. The nation is described as sinful, the people laden with iniquity, who have forsaken and despised Yahweh (Isaiah 1,4). This had been Judah’s nature for generations, but now it was reaching its breaking point. Yahweh through Isaiah tells Judah: repent and return to Yahweh or refuse and rebel (Isaiah 1,19-20). Repentance would bring redemption, but refusal would bring rejection. Judah chose refusal and remained a rebellious nation that worshipped idols. In response Yahweh removed them from the land and they lived in Babylonian exile for 70 years. 

4. 800 years later the apostles called upon the Jews to repent and receive Jesus as their Messiah. At Pentecost 3000 Jewish men repented and were baptized (Acts 2,36.38). Through Isaiah Yahweh says: »Let us reason together: though your sins are like crimson (purple), they will be made white as snow; though they are scarlet, they will be made white like wool« (Isaiah 1,18 lxx). Jesus is the Lamb who redeems from sin and whose blood forgave iniquity. 

5. One cannot stand before the presence of Yahweh with unclean lips. Our God is holy and He makes us holy by taking away our guilt and atones for our sin. John summarizes it in his Gospel: »For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life« (John 3,16). In Jesus we see God’s holiness and glory manifested for the redemption of the world. 

6. We live in a broken, fallen world. Sin and wickedness abound around us. Fallen men and women are even proud of their sin. 21st century mankind is no better than the generation of Noah or the generation of Isaiah. The human heart, our heart, delights in wickedness. In His written Word, God the Holy Spirit calls us to repent, reminding us that He is a merciful steadfast loving God. 

7. The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this throughout his book. »Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other« (Isaiah 45,22). »„Draw near to Me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.“ And now the Adonai Yahweh has sent me, and his Spirit. Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: „I am the Yahweh your God“« (Isaiah 48,16-17). »For He said: „Surely they are My people, children who will not deal falsely.“ And He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. … Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest. So You led Your people, to make for Yourself a Glorious Name.”« (Isaiah 63,8-10.11.14). 

8. While the actual word Trinity or Triune does not appear in the Holy Scriptures, the concept is there throughout the pages of the Old and New Testaments. The Prophet Isaiah mentions three distinct Persons who all have the Divine nature: Yahweh, the Angel of Yahweh and the Spirit of Yahweh; these would be the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as we confess them in the Creeds. Isaiah writes that each person of the Trinity is involved in mankind’s salvation. Thus in the Athanasian Creed we confess: And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped (§ 24-25).

9. The Triune God created men and women in His Image and Likeness. He created us to be in fellowship with Him. Adam’s fall into sin ended that fellowship between God and man, but God would not see that fellowship sundered or lost; He promised to restore it. In Christ, God entered our time and space as both God and man: 2 natures in 1 person. By his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus reestablished fellowship with men and women and freed us from sin and the curse. If you would see God, behold His Glory and know His will, then look to Jesus who is the Word and Wisdom of the Triune God. Christ brings us God’s mercy, forgiveness and eternal life. It is the will of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit to redeem fallen men and women, for in Christ Jesus the Triune God has indeed redeemed us and the entire world. 

10. The seraphim’s cry of holy, holy, holy is a trinitarian litany of praise to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The significance of this praise reveals the holiness of God, which is His absolute purity, perfection and separateness from sin and evil. The threefold holy emphasizes the intensity and completeness of God’s holiness. God tells His people: »You shall be holy, for I Yahweh your God am holy« (Leviticus 19,2). God declares it and has made it so through Christ Jesus: Jesus’ sacrifice has made us holy. 

11. God Father, Son and Holy Ghost,

O fountain of blessings, ever-flowest:

Through our heart, mind and conduct flow,

That with Your praise and blessing we fully glow! (Brunn alles Heils, dich ehren wir elkg  494,5 2021 Gerhard Tersteegen 1745). 

This is most certainly true. 

12. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

13. Let us pray. O merciful God, fill our hearts, we pray Thee, with the graces of Thy Holy Spirit, with love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; teach us to love those who hate us, to pray for those who despitefully use us, that we may be the children of Thee, our Father, who makest Thy sun to shine on the evil and on the good and sendest rain on the just and the unjust; in adversity grant us grace to be patient, in prosperity keep us humble; may we guard the door of our lips; may we lightly esteem the pleasures of this world and thirst after heavenly things.  Amen. (Trinitatis, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover. 

The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House. 

litany to the holy spirit

God the Father in heaven: 

Have mercy upon us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world:

Have mercy upon us.

God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of men’s souls:

Have mercy upon us.

God, the Father, Creator and Preserver: 

Sustain our life in Thee. 

God the Son, born in the flesh, who didst come down from heaven for us men and our salvation: 

Cleanse us by Thy blood. 

God of the Holy Ghost, promised Paraclete: 

Dwell in our lives with Thy holy fruits. 

Lord God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: 

We praise Thee for Thy revelation to us of love and mercy. 

Three Persons, equal in power, majesty and glory: 

One God, which wert and art and evermore shall be. 

Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity: 

Let us give glory to Him because He hath shown us His mercy. 

Thou who art perfect in love, power and unity: 

Keep us in fellowship with Thee eternally. 

Holy, Holy, Holy, of whom and through whom and to whom are all things: 

Bless us with thankful hearts; 

Fill us with joyful hearts;

Save us with faithful hearts.