Who Is God?

Psalm 8, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

This is a day of great joy and celebration for our church. Eleven members of the confirmation class will take their membership vows and be received into the church today. (A twelfth confirmand couldn’t be here today, so she’ll take her vows next Sunday.) Four of these young people are also being baptized. So, as I talk, I have these young folks in mind, but the rest of you are lurking around too.

This is also Trinity Sunday as assigned by the liturgical calendar, the only Sunday of the year designated for reflection on a doctrine of the church. We will consider the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine never explicitly outlined in the Bible but a doctrine made necessary by the writings of the Bible.

Let me begin with a statement for you to consider. All of life is actually a response to one central question. "Who is God?" "Who is God?" In other words, "What’s the nature of God? What’s God like? What’s the character of God? Who is God?" What we believe implicitly or explicitly about that one question determines how we live our lives. Isn’t that true?

For example, what if we believe God is a hardhearted, unforgiving, irrational, angry tyrant? Then our response may be to live our lives in dread hoping to stave off God’s awful judgment as long as possible no matter what. Or our response may be to live our lives as tyrants ourselves shaped in God’s image. "Hey, if tyranny’s good enough for God, it’s good enough for me."

On the other hand, what if we believe God has no expectations of us, God as some mushy, spiritual life force? Then our response may be to drift through life with no drive, no goal greater than our next meal or entertainment or pleasure.

Or what if we believe God is utterly distant, completely unavailable, totally beyond experiencing? Then why bother to pray, read scripture, worship, and meditate?

And what if we believe God is to be found most profoundly in nature? Then surely God is best encountered on the golf course and fishing stream. Who needs church? (Though tornadoes, cyclones, and earthquakes may make us want to reconsider this "God as nature" theology.)

Who is God? What image of God led people to fly planes full of innocent people into the World Trade Centers? What image of God continues to drive terrorists? What image of God led our leaders to attack the wrong country in response? What image of God governs our approach to the tremendous challenges we face: global warming, unfair wages for the working poor in our country, and lack of universal health care? Who is God? Please don’t ever let anybody convince you that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are passionate about it. "It’s all the same God." Baloney.

Who is God? That’s the central question we will answer with our lives. And sloppy thinking about God will lead to sloppy, wasteful, and sometimes stupid and evil lives. But God calls forth clear thinking and loving lives that bring us joy and bring God glory.

Who is God? As the confirmands have learned over the last few months, the church has proclaimed God is the Trinity–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What do we mean by "the Trinity," and what difference does it make in our lives?

The church says the Trinity means there is "One God in Three Persons." We don’t mean there are three gods. What do we mean? Well, it is a mystery beyond our understanding or explaining completely. But one theologian puts it this way, "‘One God in three persons’ means one personal God who lives and works in three different ways at the same time . . . [and] . . . all of God is involved in everything God does." (Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr., Christian Doctrine, 84-85.) "God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one as divine community who live with and for and in one another in mutual openness, freedom, and self-giving love. And this divine community is the model of all genuine human community." (Ibid. 95.) The Trinity helps us to catch glimmers of just how wonderful God really is.

On Thursday evening, a visitor to our church made a comment about today’s sermon title posted on the church sign out front. He said, "Your sermon title is interesting. Shouldn’t it read, ‘What is God?’ instead of ‘Who is God?’" And I answered, "No. God is not a ‘what.’ God is a ‘who.’" That’s one of the things the Trinity tells us. God is a living God, not a thing. God is an eternal being in relationship within God’s very self–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–giving and receiving within the very being of God. And God is an eternal being in relationship with us–infinitely greater than we are but relating to us not as lumps of clay but as people utterly precious to God and made in God’s image.

Who is God? Think about those images I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon. God is not a hardhearted, unforgiving, irrational, angry tyrant, despite what some TV preachers imply. No. The Trinity means God loves us, every single one of us, no exceptions. But the Trinity means God is not a mushy, spiritual life force with no expectations. God is the Lord who makes claims on every part of our life, our time, abilities, and money, and calls us to live in grateful response. And God, the Trinity, is not utterly distant, completely unavailable, totally beyond experiencing. No. God is transcendent, yet God is with us in all things (including tragedies). God knows everything about us, receives our prayers, study, and worship, and uses them to shape us. God is active in our lives in ways we cannot predict or control. And God is not only concerned about what happens here on Sunday mornings, though rest assured God is concerned about that but God is also concerned about what happens in God’s world, to the environment, and especially what happens to the weakest, most vulnerable people. The Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–is that radical of a God.

On Sunday, all the confirmands stood, one at a time, and read their individual statements of faith, as well as their favorite scripture readings, to the session. It was a joy to hear. And it made me smile when one young man said, "I’m going to come to church even when nobody makes me . . . And I’m going to come to church even when I don’t feel like it." I think this confirmand might be catching on to what it means that the Triune God is "being in community" and this Trinity calls forth a church community that supports each other and is accountable to one another.

So as he closed his second letter to the Corinthian church, Saint Paul laid out expectations that flowed from this Triune God. I leave you with his words. He said, "Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell (rejoice) Mend your ways. Be comforted and encouraged. Live in harmony. Live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you . . . The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." Amen.

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