Meditation for Trinity Sunday.

The Rev. Matthew Idicula

June 11, 2006

Christians all over the world are celebrating today as Sunday after Pentecost. We are also observing today as Trinity Sunday. Pentecost originally is a Jewish festival. In Christianity it is one of the most important days. Pentecost day is the birth day of Christian Churches. We believe in a God in Trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Trinity is also the basis of Christian faith.

The main theme for these days for our reading is a God who loves us and a God who is with us because God is love. In the Gospel portion (John 3:1-16) we heard an interesting, controversial and thought provoking story. The famous story of Nicodemus. This story was played out as a passion play. In order to understand the story better; there are certain things that we should know about Nicodemus.

Nicodemus must have been wealthy. We read that when Jesus died he brought for His body valuable (myrrh and aloes) gifts (John 19:39). Only a wealthy man could afford that at that time.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee. We may think that Pharisees are not good people. It is not at all true. They believe that the Law, the first five books of the Old Testament, to be the perfect and complete word of God. They worship God and observe the law word by word. The best example of that is their Sabbath Laws. Last year when I visited Holy Land I saw that first hand. On Sabbath days even elevator floors cannot be selected by human efforts. Due to Sabbath it was set on automatic.

Nicodemus was a ruler. He probably belonged to one of the most distinguished Jewish families. It is amazing that this Jewish aristocrat; ruler of the Jews came to this homeless carpenter of Nazareth that he might talk to Him about his soul.

It was by night that Nicodemus came to Jesus. He may not have wished to be seen by others by coming to Jesus. But there may be another reason also. Throughout the day Jesus was surrounded by crowds of people. It may very well be that he came by night because he wanted an absolutely private and completely undisturbed time with Jesus.

Nevertheless Nicodemus was a disturbed man; very well be like many of us; a man with all the honors and yet with something lacking in his life.

When Nicodemus came to Jesus he said to him “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God”. Jesus’ answer was that it was not the signs and the wonders that were really important; the important thing was such a change in a man’s inner life; new birth.

When Jesus said that a man must be born again he misunderstood Him.

In Jewish faith the idea of rebirth is nothing new. When a man from another faith became a Jew; when he had been accepted into Judaism by prayer and sacrifice and baptism he was regarded as being reborn. But when Jesus spoke of a man being born again Nicodemus misunderstood. Suddenly he thought of the physical rebirth.

This idea of rebirth and the phrase born again; runs all through the New Testament.

Paul speaks of the Christian New birth throughout his writings. If any man is in Christ it is as if he had been created all over again (2 Cor. 5:17). In Christ there is a new creation (Gal. 6:15). The new man is created after God in righteousness. (Eph. 4:22-24) The person who is at the first beginnings of the Christian faith is a babe (Hebres 5:12-14). Christianity came to this world with a message of rebirth. What does this rebirth means to us?

There are four closely inter-related ideas in the gospel of John. There is the idea of rebirth. There is the idea of the Kingdom of God, into which a man cannot enter unless he is reborn. There is the idea of son-ship of God. And there is the idea of eternal life.

In Matthew also we have same idea but more simple. “Except ye be converted and become as little children ye shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven”.

Then what does Kingdom of heaven means? In Lord’s Prayer we see that the Kingdom of Heaven is a society where God’s will is as perfectly done on earth as it is in heaven.

To be in the Kingdom of Heaven is therefore to lead a life in which we have completely and willingly submitted everything to the will of God. We fully and perfectly and completely accept the will of God.

Let us take the idea of eternal life. Eternal life is not everlasting life in this miserable world. Eternal life is the kind of life that God lives. We can only enter into that life with close communion and fellowship with God; when we render to God that love, that reverence, that devotion, that obedience which truly bring us into fellowship with God.

When that happens we are born off water (means cleansing) and the Spirit (means power). We are born again.

To be born again is to be changed in such a way that it can only be described as rebirth and re-creation. The change comes when we love Jesus and allow Him into our hearts.

Then we become citizens of the Kingdom of God and we become sons and daughters of God. Then we enter into eternal life, which is the very life of God.

In the Old Testament portion (Exodus 3: 1-6) we see a different God. God the Father who called Moses to free Israelis. God spoke to Moses from an unexpected source; a burning bush. Abraham saw the smoking firepot and blazing torch. (Gen 15:17) When the slaves were free from Egypt God appeared before them as pillars of cloud and fire. Moses approached God who appeared in fire, with reverence and removed his shoes.

In the New Testament portion (Romans 8:12-17) we experience another different relationship with God; God the Spirit. Here Paul speaks of the Christian being adopted into the family of God. Because of what Jesus did there opens out to the Christian a life which is no longer dominated by the flesh. But a life, that is dominated by the Spirit of God; Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit is a word misunderstood by many Christian denominations today. Some have even taken monopoly on the word Holy Spirit or God’s Spirit. Charismatic Movement is considered to be the fastest-growing religious movement of our time, talk about Holy Spirit as their monopoly. On the other hand organized Christian denominations gave little or no importance to the word Holy Spirit or the presence of God in this world.

Holy Spirit is not only a power by which God once upon a time intervened in the world. Holy Spirit is also the power by which God intervenes constantly in the present world; in the Church; in our midst; in our personal lives.

When we live in this world some times we wonder why? Why this; why that why me? The risen God is with us always. Holy Spirit is with us in our homes, in our work places, in our Communities and in our churches. Remember the Spirit of God is with us when we are searching answers for our personal problems.

We are born again when we love Jesus and allow Him into our hearts and in to our day today life. Then we become citizens of that Kingdom; then we become sons and daughters of God; then we enter into eternal life, which is the very life of God and life with God.

Will you follow that risen Christ? God, the Father who called Moses to deliver His people from slavery. God, the Son who came down to this world as Christ to save us from our sins. And the risen God; who is with us as Holy Spirit to lead us in our day today life

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

May God Almighty help each one of us to attain that joy of hope for the world to come. Amen.