This past week I was in a book store when a man seeing my clerical collar asked me: “Who do you think Jesus is?” Now, as a minister, I pray for questions like these to arise. My response was: “Jesus is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity.” If I had just stopped with the first part, he would have been fully satisfied with my answer, but it was the second part he found troubling. “So you believe in the Trinity, huh?” In creedal certainty, I said: “The Trinity is the only True God.” This man believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but he couldn’t get around the idea that He was God in the flesh. Conversations like that remind us of the centrality of the Christian message and sometimes how specific we need to be about our faith. It also teaches us that interreligious exercises where Muslims, Mormons, and Christians gather to pray, though well-meaning, is really as silly as Samson telling Delilah that a few ropes will bind him. Brothers and sisters, never lose sight that this is a Christian Trinitarian service, and as such, we are here to offer praise and to receive gifts from this great God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit.
Prayer: Most Holy and Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit, teach us to marvel at who you are and cause us to be jealous for Your Name, even on this holy day. Amen.
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