Preaching the Trinity as the God who gives of Himself for us will lead to a joyful confession of faith and true doxology.
How does one begin to talk about the Trinity? That is the question I wrestle with every year as I prepare to preach on Trinity Sunday. As has been observed many times, this is the one festival on the church calendar where we focus on a doctrine and not an event. Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost all focus our attention on what God has done in history to save us. Preaching events is simple enough: Observe the work and proclaim the gift. Done. However, on the Sunday of the Trinity, we are not focused on any specific event in the history of our salvation, but on the God who does the saving. So, how do you talk about the person of the triune God, let alone preach it?
It seems to me that there are two routes you can take. But before we get to that, I want to make one brief observation about how we carry out the task of “doing” theology. Theological work tends to be done in one of two ways. It is either observational or philosophical. Observational theology sees the work of God and preaches it, confesses it, and worships because of what has been done and given. Philosophical theology tries to get behind what God has done and explain it. Observational theology answers “what” God has done. Philosophical theology answers “why” God does what He does. Observational theology deals with God on earth. Philosophical theology deals with God in Heaven. At their worst, observational theology becomes a mere history lesson and philosophical theology becomes vain speculation.
Thinking of theology in these ways may prove helpful in preaching on Trinity Sunday. Too often, we want to take the philosophical route in preaching the Trinity. That is to say, we try to explain “how” God can be one in essence and three persons. We run the risk of climbing into Heaven so we can dissect God and explain Him like a science experiment. I suggest you avoid this tactic when preaching on the Trinity. It will inevitably result in some form of heresy. We will get things all wrong when trying to explain God’s nature like water, ice, and steam (modalism) or an egg with a shell, white, and yoke (partialism), or whatever other heresy we might cook up (insert obligatory Lutheran Satire reference here, Patrick). It is hard to preach on how a trinity works when it is beyond our mathematical capabilities to comprehend.
It is hard to preach on how a trinity works when it is beyond our mathematical capabilities to comprehend.
If, however, you want to take this philosophical route and preach on the transcendent nature of the triune God, I recommend utilizing one of the three ecumenical Creeds as your guide and as the text you preach. This Sunday, my congregation will be confessing the Athanasian Creed. It is long and heady and plenty philosophical. It is a marvelous work of the theology that corrects false teachings by confessing the depths of who God is for us. It might be worth your while to break the Creed up into sections, have the congregation confess a few lines, stop, and preach what was just said. Answer the questions, “Why does it matter that we confess there are not three eternals but one eternal?” This would be a wonderful way to avoid silly illustrations and really help your congregation think more deeply about confessing a trinitarian God.
The other route, the observational route, may seem difficult as you cannot observe God in Heaven. The old icons of three angelic figures sitting around a table are not particularly useful in our trinitarian meditations. However, observational theology does not climb up into Heaven. It simply receives what the scriptures deliver and proclaims it. It observes Jesus claiming to be one with the Father while also being sent by the Father (refer to John 5:19-29 and 20:21-23). We meditate on the inter-trinitarian conversation properly when, at the baptism of our Lord, we see the Holy Spirit descend on Jesus as He comes out of the water and we hear the Father announce, “You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased” (Mark 2:11). Observational theology hears how God is named Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the baptismal commission and believes this is the name by which we are saved (Matthew 28:19-10).
However, a sermon focused on just listing verses and reducing trinitarian theology to proof-texting will not do the work of preaching, namely, killing and making alive. Instead, it will just bore people to death! I propose, instead of working through each and every trinitarian passage, you should preach the trinity as a narrative. Or, better said, tell the story of what God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has done for us and for our salvation. Here, I commend to you Martin Luther’s marvelous hymn, Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice (Lutheran Service Book, #556). Oswald Bayer has suggested this is the greatest work of trinitarian theology he knows. In this hymn, Luther shows us the hopelessness of our sinful condition but locates our hope in the heart of God in Heaven. The Father will not leave our hope in Heaven and sends the Son, who willingly comes to free us from Satan and forgive our sins through the shedding of His blood. Jesus returns to the Father, victorious for us, and sends the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.
In this hymn, Luther views the entire narrative of salvation through a trinitarian lens and helps us sing the trinitarian faith into our hearts as pure gospel. You could use this hymn as the structure and guide for your sermon. Much like I advised with the Creed, have the congregation sing a few verses at a time and then pause for meditation/proclamation. This will help your congregation know the triune God as the One who gives Himself for us and for our salvation.
Preaching on a doctrine like the Trinity can prove challenging. Nevertheless, this Sunday offers preachers a wonderful opportunity, not to dissect the triune God and also not to ignore an inaccessible mystery, but we are set free to preach the Father’s love in the sending of His beloved Son in the power of the Holy Spirit for us and for our salvation! Preaching the Trinity as the God who gives of Himself for us will lead to a joyful confession of faith and true doxology.
