On this weekend when we celebrate the Trinity, there’s a special remembrance of the power of the three-in-one God. Worshipers are prodded to remember their own stories as they meet those of Isaiah and Nicodemus, both steeped in Jewish tradition. But now their experience is enhanced by these personal meetings with the God-head who speaks familiarly with them, despite their growing anxieties about not being good enough. Both men left this special presence with greater wisdom than they had brought–those hearing these ancient tales may well expect their own life- changes which may very well take them to new scenes of their own service and soul-fulfillment.
The famous Isaiah story, chapter 6:1-8, tells of a presumably young man, who in a vision is transported to the throne-room of the Almighty. Although tradition tells us that Isaiah is of the priestly–maybe royal–family of Jerusalem, he suddenly is overwhelmed with a sense of his own inadequacy: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” But an angel burns away his perceived foulness, fitting him for an ongoing ministry of speaking God’s Word and engaging with faithless Israel: he can honestly answer, “Here am I; send ME!” As Andrew Greeley reminds us, “God draws straight with crooked lines.”
The eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans is one of my favorites in Scripture; this week we look at verses 12 through 17 & 18. The hearer is reminded that the source of absolution and witness are by the Spirit of God–“All who live by the Spirit of God are children of God”! Bad habits? Evil and lusty thoughts? This Holy Spirit can overcome and kill them; and this Spirit reminds us that they really are dead and gone forever! Our actions and wills are insufficient unless sustained by the Spirit, God’s sacramental in-breaking. If God, through kindness, has elevated us to be heirs of the Kingdom, how could we look at other wanderers as anything less? What have you inherited from your parents? What have you inherited from your Abba?
Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, brought his questions out of the night of confusion into the True Light of Jesus, according to John 3:1-17. A work in progress, he too is seen to be pulled by the Spirit closer to the freedom which comes to the believer in Jesus. Nicodemus represents each of us who have difficulty envisioning the Kingdom of God to be here & now, and not something we can attain through a series of spiritual acrobatics. Unlike human birth, which we can more or less control, this birth from above represents a new way of life which God directs and cares about. Jesus’ role is not as prosecutor or dispenser of guilt, but as a benevolent guide who has seen it all and now is eager to affirm God’s Creation as a venue of loving care…
It seems good to me to have these narratives about good men who’re urged to go a step farther. My own growth in life skills of compassion, witness and good deeds evidently didn’t stop at Confirmation. Would that people of the World be open to the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit!
In the process of unfolding, Horace Brown King
My take on scripture lessons assigned to the upcoming weekend can be found every Tuesday at horacebrownking.com
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