Catching the Spirit!
May 30, 2021
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
Trinity Sunday – Year B
John 3:1-17
Illuminating the Triune God
May 31, 2015
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17
(Gospel text is provided at the bottom of this post)
So, here we are – it’s Trinity Sunday. The day we celebrate and attempt to get some kind of understanding of the Three-in-oneness of God. This understanding of God is what differentiates us as Christians. It’s a unique understanding, and was a difficult and controversial concept for early Christians.
You see, central to the Hebrew tradition was a belief in one God. At the time of Jesus, this was unique to the Jews. They were in the midst of the Gentiles, who worshiped many gods. The Greeks and Romans had different gods, each having dominion over different parts of the world: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades; and numerous other gods and goddesses that people believed in and worshiped.
So, what set the Hebrew people apart was their devotion to One God who created and was God of ALL things. The first commandment makes it clear: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage. You shall have no other gods but me.”
But something happened when Jesus came into the world. Our understanding of God changed. Jesus was an incarnation of the divine. And with this incarnation, the understanding of the oneness of God had to shift.
Rebirth of Understanding
March 16, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Second Sunday in Lent – Year A RCL
Genesis 12:1-4a; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17; John 3:1-17
In today’s gospel we hear the familiar story of Nicodemus, a leader in the Jewish tradition; a Pharisee. During the night, under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus comes to Jesus. Having seen the signs that Jesus has done, he affirms that Jesus must be a teacher who comes from God, because surely these signs wouldn’t be possible without God’s presence.
And instead of accepting this affirmation from Nicodemus, it says, “Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’”
Nicodemus is confused by this. He likes things to be straight-forward. He’s used to abiding by the letter of the law, carrying out the commandments that God has set forth. So now, he hears Jesus saying that one has to be “born from above” and Nicodemus’ literal nature responds in a literal way: “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
But Jesus isn’t talking about an earthly birth, one based in flesh, but instead, he talks of being born of the Spirit. Being born into the person God calls us to be; not the image that the world has for us.
So what is this rebirth? What does it look like?
jodygreenwood 