June 16, 2019 - Trinity Sunday -

This past Sunday was Trinity Sunday and whereas earlier in the week I had not intended to comment too much upon the Trinity, I changed my mind.  I did not go in depth into the Theology of the Trinity, I did more of that two years ago and the link is provided below.  I did talk a bit about two of the Creeds that have been used by the Church through the years, which is an item that traditional Disciples and Baptist don't know a whole lot about as both traditions are non-creedal.

At the end of the sermon, I took a bit of a veer into another lane and talked about our connection to places, specifically sanctuaries and church buildings... take a listen and see how I (tried to) weaved this together with heavy theology and the like.  I mentioned here the Methodist Church back in Reliance, SD; a small nondescript little building where so very many important things in my life have transpired.

Last Sunday was, of course, also Father's Day and I was very happy and blessed that Maddie and her boyfriend Brandon came over to visit for the weekend.  I am a very lucky father to have such a beautiful and intelligent daughter, she is and has always been the apple of my eye.  Thank you, Maddie, for coming to visit and for you and Brandon coming to worship.

Thank you all for swinging through this tiny corner of the Internet.  Please have a blessed day and please...

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

Athanasian Creed (4th or 5th Century)
1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;
2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;
16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;
18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.
21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.
23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another.
26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.
27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.
32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God.
36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;
39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;
40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;
42. and shall give account of their own works.
43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.

Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ,  the only begotten Son of God,  begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,  begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;  by whom all things were made;  who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried;  and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;  and he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead;  whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost the Lord, and Giver of Live, who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spake by the Prophets. And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church;  I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN.  

Arius
Born: 256 AD, Ptolemais, Cyrenaica, Libya
Died: 336 AD,  Constantinople
More About Arius

First Council of Nicaea - convened by Emperor Constantine the Great in 325. 
More about the 1st Council of Nicaea

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria
Born: 296 AD, Alexandria, Egypt
Died: May 2, 373 AD, Alexandria, Egypt
More about Athanasius

Romans 5:1-5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Results of Justification
5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access[b] to this grace in which we stand; and we[c] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we[d] also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Footnotes:
a) Romans 5:1 Other ancient authorities read let us
b) Romans 5:2 Other ancient authorities add by faith
c) Romans 5:2 Or let us
d) Romans 5:3 Or let us


John 14:16-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in[b] you.

Footnotes:
a) John 14:16 Or Helper
b) John 14:17 Or among

John 14:26-27 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
26 But the Advocate,[a] the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Footnotes:
a) John 14:26 Or Helper

John 15:26 (NIV)  The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

John 16:7-8 New International Version (NIV)
7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

John 16:12-15 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

United Methodist Church, Reliance, SD

Thursday June 13, 2019 Sermon Video - "The Trinity, Fatith, Justification, and Suffering"

Below please find the manuscript and video from last Thursday night's worship service.  Though I hadn't originally planned to preach over the 'Trinity' on the following Sunday, I ended up preaching over the Trinity.  I am want to change my mind on sermons and sermon topics after all.

I've also linked below the sermon I gave two years ago about the 'Trinity'.  It's linked as a reference for anyone wishing to know more about how I personally understand the concept of the Holy Trinity.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy

This coming Sunday will be 'Trinity Sunday', now neither tonight nor Sunday am I planning to dive too deeply into the Theology of the Trinity.  Two years ago, I gave a sermon over the Trinity and if you'd like to know more about that I'd refer you to that sermon which is available on Youtube and in my blog post I will provide a link to that sermon.  Please take a listen to it, though it was a sermon given outside so you'll have to forgive the sound quality a little bit.

Tonight we're going to look at the verses found in Romans 5:1-5, that I just read for you all.  Please allow me to read them again and I am also going to show them on the screen:

Romans 5:1-5 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Results of Justification
5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access[b] to this grace in which we stand; and we[c] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we[d] also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Footnotes:
a) Romans 5:1 Other ancient authorities read let us
b) Romans 5:2 Other ancient authorities add by faith
c) Romans 5:2 Or let us
d) Romans 5:3 Or let us

My only diversion in this sermon into the concept of the Trinity is to point out that Paul's belief in the Trinity is on display here.  We see in these five verses three references to God, one direct reference to Christ along with an indirect reference, and finally, we are told that God's love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.  Truly, the Spirit is within us... if only we would listen more attentively.

So the Trinity is there in these words of Paul in Romans. Jesus and the Spirit are both identified as being vital components of our ability to know the peace and the love of God. The roles of Christ and the Spirit are both discussed in these five short verses.

But, let's move on... I do, however, want to point something out about the translation in the NRSV.  In verse two we read the following; 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

The problem here is that the word 'sharing', is not there in the Greek.  For whatever reason, the Translators of the RSV inserted the word 'sharing' and the NRSV continued that tradition.  I don't know if any other translations use this word but if one references the Greek interlinear, it's just not there. 

1223 [e] 2   di’ 2   δι’ 2   through 2   Prep

3739 [e] hou οὗ whom RelPro-GMS

2532 [e] kai καὶ also Conj

3588 [e] tēn τὴν  -  Art-AFS

4318 [e] prosagōgēn προσαγωγὴν access N-AFS

2192 [e] eschēkamen ἐσχήκαμεν we have V-RIA-1P

3588 [e] tē τῇ by the Art-DFS

4102 [e] pistei πίστει faith N-DFS

1519 [e] eis εἰς into Prep

3588 [e] tēn τὴν the Art-AFS

5485 [e] charin χάριν grace N-AFS

3778 [e] tautēn ταύτην this DPro-AFS

1722 [e] en ἐν in Prep

3739 [e] hē ᾗ which RelPro-DFS

2476 [e] hestēkamen ἑστήκαμεν  ; we stand V-RIA-1P

2532 [e] kai καὶ and Conj

2744 [e] kauchōmetha καυχώμεθα we boast V-PIM/P-1P

1909 [e] ep’ ἐπ’ in Prep

1680 [e] elpidi ἐλπίδι hope N-DFS

3588 [e] tēs τῆς of the Art-GFS

1391 [e] doxēs δόξης glory N-GFS

3588 [e] tou τοῦ  -  Art-GMS

2316 [e] Theou Θεοῦ  . of God N-GMS

Young's Literal Translation records it as such; 2 through whom also we have the access by the faith into this grace in which we have stood, and we boast on the hope of the glory of God.  

Though I have a great fondness for both the RSV and the NRSV, this translation is a seriously poor one in my opinion.  Both place into the mouth of Paul a hope that we all can 'share' in the glory of God.  Folks, we do not... we will never... share God's glory.  We can experience this glory, we can witness this glory... but... we are not co-equal to God and thus His glory is not something that we share with Him.  There is a difference... we can boast about the glory of God, we can hope to see and witness this glory... but, we will never share in it.  This is, in my opinion, a serious issue with the translation in the RSV and NRSV.  This is a prime example of the danger of translation, the insertion here of one word... a word that is not there in the Greek... nor is it implied either... and its addition creates the potential for some very, very bad Theology.

Now, on to our 'justification'.  Right away in verse one, we are told that we are 'justified' by our faith, thus obtaining the peace of God... and then at the beginning of verse two, we are told that we have gained access to this grace through Christ.  By the workings of Christ, we have not only gained justification but by His sacrifice, we have been made righteous in God's sight and we have been sanctified as well.

Let's look at the meaning of these words and the blessing and grace that they hold for us.

Justified - adjective
1. having, done for, or marked by a good or legitimate reason.
"the doctors were justified in treating her"
2. THEOLOGY - declared or made righteous in the sight of God.

Righteous - adjective
1. (of a person or conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous.
"feelings of righteous indignation about pay and conditions"
synonyms: good, virtuous, upright, upstanding, decent, worthy; More
2. INFORMAL • USA
very good; excellent. "righteous bread pudding"

Sanctify - verb
1) to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.
2) to purify or free from sin: Sanctify your hearts.
3) to impart religious sanction to; render legitimate or binding:
to sanctify a vow.
4) to entitle to reverence or respect.
5) to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing.

Through the sacrifice, the life, death, and life again of Christ, we are all justified before God.  We have been declared righteous, virtuous, upright, decent... worthy.  We have been purified and sanctified with the love of God Himself:

John 3:16-17 Revised Standard Version (RSV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Through Jesus, who was and is the Christ, we have the hope... and remember that when we say hope here it's not like gosh... I hope I get a passing grade on my test... no, it's the faith that we have in the grace obtained for us by Christ... through Christ, we have faith that we will one day witness the full glory of God the Father.

Because we have this faith of this coming glory, we are able to gain through the hardships of this life here in this world.  The pain and suffering of our lives will not and cannot make us weaker... rather we gain strength through all that life throws at us by our faith that through Jesus we have been made righteous in the eyes of God and we are worthy of receiving His grace and witnessing His glory.

Praise be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit...
Amen.

Trinity Sunday - May 22, 2016

This past Sunday (May 22nd) was Trinity Sunday.  There was a problem with the video this week and so I've just attached the manuscript from the sermon below.

I'm going to just leave this blog post at that for the time being as it's a terribly busy time right now and I need to be getting along to other projects.

I hope you enjoy the sermon.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Care and Grace,
Roy

Sermon given by Pastor Roy Karlen on May 22, 2016

Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday and we talked about the coming of the Holy Spirit.  I referred briefly to the Trinity during that sermon, but today we're going to talk more about the Holy Trinity because today is 'Trinity Sunday'.

As I mentioned then there isn't anywhere in the Bible where it directly states that there is a Trinity, rather it is inferred from a number of places in Scripture.  One of these is of course the scripture we shared last week in the 14th Chapter of the Gospel of John.  Today's scripture verses are found in the 15th & 16th Chapters of the Gospel of John and they go on to discuss the Spirit or Advocate again.

We'll look at the 15th & 16th Chapters of John in a moment, but first let's take a look at some of the other verses where we find references to elements that evolved into the understanding of the Trinity.

Some of these verses are:
Matthew 12:32 
Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Luke 24:49  
And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.

Romans 8:2-6   
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:26-34 
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us

Acts 2:4  
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Here in this verse in the Gospel of John, Christ dispenses the Holy Spirit onto his disciples.

John 20:22 
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

In the First Chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit is mentioned prior to the birth of Christ.

Luke 1:13-15  
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Luke 1:39-42  
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 

And where is the first place in the Bible where we have mention of 2/3rds of the Trinity, well it's fairly early on:

Genesis 1:1-2 
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

And of course we have the verses that the Lectionary has guided us to for this Trinity Sunday:

John chapter 15:26 to chapter 16:15  (NRSV) 
Page 878 in the Pew Bibles:
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. 3 And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

It's worth noting that in this passage Jesus twice refers to the Holy Spirit coming from the Father.  He is sending the Spirit but the Spirit proceeds from the Father and not from Jesus.  This is interesting to note because this quality of the Spirit was a part of the Great Schism, which was the division between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church all the way back in 1054 AD.  The Western Church or the Catholic Church as we know it today adopted the idea that the Holy Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the Son.  The Eastern Church or Orthodox felt that this diminished the role of the Father in the Trinity and again it was a part of the reason the two regions of the Church split apart; it was however not the only point of contention.

It’s also interesting to note that while the characters in the book of the Acts of the Apostles continually attribute their authority and power to Jesus, the author of the book never ceases to remind us that they do what they do in the name of Jesus because they are “filled with the Spirit” the Spirit is their constant guide:

In these verses in Acts we read about Peter: 
Acts 4:8-10  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.

Acts 10:19  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you.

There is also this verse concerning Stephen:
Acts 7:55  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And then Philip:
Acts 8:29  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.”

And here we have Barnabas:
Acts 11:24  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord.

And finally we have Paul:
Acts 13:9  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him.

So there you go... that's a whole lot of Scripture, but there really probably isn't too much in Christianity that is more difficult to wrap ones brain around than the concept of the Trinity.  It's generally explained as that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persona’s — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in persona, and further that : (1) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, (2) each is fully God,  and (3) there is only one God.

One of the problems with the Doctrine of the Trinity is that it is Doctrine.  We as Disciples of Christ are weary of getting carried away with Doctrine.  Another problem is that it's terribly difficult to wrap our minds around.

We have to remember that the Doctrine of the Trinity was created in a time when there was no understanding at all of Quantum Mechanics, no thinking that there might be additional dimensions to the 3 spatial and 1 temporal dimension that we all experience daily.  Today we are struggling to understand the ideas that there well may be anywhere from 11 dimensions to 26 dimensions of space-time.  We also tend to think of time as being only one dimension when it's actually the past, the present, and the future.  And to top that off not a one of us ever experiences the present.  By the time each of our brains processes the stimulus from outside our bodies, it's already the past.  We are living in the recent past our whole lives long.

God exists outside of time and space, quite simply He is everywhere at once and in all time at once.  Einstein's theories have shown us that the passage of time is an illusion.  Time lines and space time are not at all what we perceive them to be.  In order to not derail my own sermon I will simply leave it at this, all time according to the current understanding of the nature of time co-exists.

How do we as 3 dimensional beings process and envision a being that exists in every dimension and in all time simultaneously?  Well, we can't... 

How many of you are familiar with a Mobius Strip?  A Mobius Strip is a strip of material in this case paper, that I take and I twist like such and then I reattach it.  Now my strip that used to have two surfaces actually only has one surface.  For if I were to shrink myself down and take a walk along that strip, I'd discover that as I traveled I would walk in an endless loop along only one surface of paper.

Now if I take a piece of paper and I make it have three surfaces and I twist it I can create out of these three only one surface.  Again if I was shrunken down in size, I could start at any point on this strip and if I walked long enough I would travel along the entirety of what had once been three surfaces and which is now only one.  Such is the nature of God, what we have perceived as three is actually only one ... but, this is where my analogy breaks down.

For you see my 3 sided Mobius strip really is six sided and has become two sided, for I could also travel along the inside of this strip and walk in an endless loop which again would have me traveling on the entire inside surface of the paper.

But here's the kicker... God exists in all dimensions so unlike us where we cannot envision how to further unite the outside and the inside of this modified Mobius Strip... God can and does.  He is on the inside and the outside, he is on all of the sides at once and in all time at once as well, He is back when I folded this paper, He is here now, and He is already in the future when I discard my most excellent sermon illustration props into the recycling bin.

In my humble opinion for us to get overly engaged in the details of the Doctrine of the Trinity, and certainly to become such as the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church have done and divided their numbers over a fairly minor difference in the understanding of the Trinity, does not serve our God as He wishes for us to serve him.  But for the record, I think what we can infer from scripture gives greater weight to the Orthodox understanding.

Is our understanding of the Trinity perfect, certainly not... it's a tool to try and grasp the nature of God.  We with our finite minds are simply incapable of understanding God entirely.  

The understanding of the nature of God has changed throughout the history of the Church.  As I've said before, ancient Hebrew Theology evolved greatly with the esteemed Old Testament Scholar Walter Brueggeman's theories that this early culture practiced polytheism and came to believe in one God, it changed further during the Exile where it absorbed and adapted Zoroastrian teachings.  Finally, we as Christians have adopted the revelations of God through the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.  I personally think our understanding of the concept of the Trinity can be greatly enhanced by considering what has been learned about the very essence of God's creation itself, mainly through the advances in Quantum Physics.  Please understand that this change in understanding in no way changes the nature of God Himself.  God is God, God has always been God, God does not change, but our understanding and our relationships with Him can and has changed.

We as humans all too often don't like change... but God wasn't afraid to change the way He interacted with us by sending Christ to walk among us, or by sending the Holy Spirit to fill the hearts and souls of His followers.  There are times when we have to embrace change, we grow old, we have to move to a new home or the nursing home, we as a church need to find new ways of reaching out to our community.  We need to look for new projects and new experiences.  Just as God reached out to the world in a new way when He sent His Son to walk among us... that was new... but what a wonderful difference it made in this world.  Let us strive to be Christ like and make a difference in this world of our Father's, let us be filled with the Spirit and testify to that filling all the days of our lives.

Let us Pray!