Welcome to the Lord's house on this Sunday of the Holy Trinity.  If you've seen our worship theme today - "God Above Me, God Beside Me, God Within Me" - you might be wondering if your Pastor has given into some humanistic idea of humanity being part of God.  But this is Trinity Sunday, the one day of the year the church tries to explain the unexplainable and define the indefinable.  No example, whether it be the Triangle or the three forms of H₂O (steam, water, ice), are ever adequate to explain the Trinity.

          The biblical notion of One God in Three Persons is without parallel in any other religion and certainly without adequate explanation, even from the Bible.  The best we can do on Trinity Sunday is to describe God by what He does rather than what He is.  And to do so we must rely on the words of the Son who's given us that wonderful Trinitarian formula, those excellent words we use at the beginning and end of each worship service, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."  The Old Testament people were fearful of even speaking God's name, but we speak it every time we begin and end our worship.

          I'm very glad Jesus didn't say those words at the beginning of His ministry.  If He had, no one would have understood them.  His words would have been missed completely, for even the notion of God having a Son was vague knowledge only for the scholar.  To introduce God the Father together with God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all at once would have been too much to bear and His disciples might have deserted Him.  This was a people whose religion relied completely on its great "Shema", "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." (Deut. 6:4)

          But today we know our One God shows Himself in three Persons.  He is God the Triune, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Our worship theme, "God Above Me, God Beside Me, God Within Me," shows those three persons and how they relate to us.

          I appreciate the predicament Isaiah was in when He saw God and said, "Woe to me!  I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips..."  Yes, he was, and so are we.  The idea of being face to face with the Lord of Hosts is mind-boggling.  How can a sinful creature look a holy God in the eye and live?  Just having survived seeing God so stunned Isaiah that he eagerly says, "Here am I. Send me!" almost as if he just wants to get out of the room!

          Isaiah was the greatest of the writing prophets.  His name means "the Lord saves."  He was a contemporary of other prophets, Amos, Hosea and Micah, and began his ministry in 740 B.C.  He was married and had at least two sons, which helps connect us with Father's Day, though I doubt many fathers today would call their sons Shear-Jashub or Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.  Chuck and Brian are more to my liking!  Isaiah spent most of his life in Jerusalem, enjoying a relatively calm life under the reign of King Hezekiah and three lesser kings of Judah.

          Isaiah's call to service came in a dream.  People today don't place much stock in dreams, but I believe we should.  If we continually dream of shocking or erotic events, we might do well to ask God why in prayer.  True, our dreams can't be controlled, but neither can we have troubled dreams without being concerned.  God's people of old believed good sleep was a sign of faithfulness.  Disturbing dreams meant it was either time to clean up one's act or else God was sending them a message, a vision.  And He probably still does.  If I have a reoccurring troublesome dream, I don't just analyze it, I pray about it, and God usually reveals its meaning.

          "God Above Me, God Beside Me, God Within Me."  Isaiah saw only God above him.  He might have preferred God beside him, but would really have been confused by having God within him.  The Old Testament God was always totally "Other," and Israel would never have thought God was a buddy or a partner or a co-pilot such as people do today.  God doesn't need a co-pilot!  He doesn't need our worship or adoration either.  He is God and exists entirely of Himself.  We may need a buddy, but not God.  We, however, do need God, and in His mercy God does whatever it takes to provide for our needs.  "God Above Me" gives us our earthly needs, and also He gives us our heavenly needs of forgiveness and life and salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

          "God Above Me" is the creating Father, the Almighty One, Jehovah, the great "I Am".  And He is infinitely outside and above us.  But God wants a relationship with us and He knows He can't do that by living off by Himself in heaven.  God decided to come down to our level.  He knows we are too proud - or too weak - to look above ourselves all the time.  He knows we will miss Him or try to find Him in the things in life we see, our possessions or pleasure or power.  Thus, He came to us in human form.  Jesus, the Son of God who is "God Beside Me".

          He came as a human being born in a stable and raised in a village, the Messiah, the Anointed One who walked and lived beside us for 34 years as a Jewish rabbi 2000 years ago.  "God Beside Me" is the one I can relate to.  He was tempted like I am, bled when He was cut, had to go to the bathroom every day, the God in human form who had to wash His hands like everyone else.  He was like us in every way except without sinning.  He obeyed His Father and loved all people, even the grumpy people, even the slobs and whiners, even people like me who never seem to learn from their mistakes.  "God Beside Me" is Jesus, the Son I can relate to.

          But having God beside me is not enough.  I have too much to do, too many places to go and too many things to get to remember God.  Sadly, I have no time for "God Beside Me."  So God had to bring Himself to me to make room in my life for Him.  Thus comes "God Within Me," the Holy Spirit who enters us in Baptism, creating faith in our hearts and keeps bringing us back to God when we fail.  "God Within Me" is there because He wants to be, not because I'm a worthy place for Him to live.  "God Within Me" has to put up with whatever else is in there, the lust, the stupidity, the pride, and the carelessness with which we so often live.  "God Within Me" keeps me alive by believing in the "God Beside Me."  "God Within Me" keeps me on the right road.

          Last week we recalled Pentecost, when "God Within Me," the Holy Spirit, appeared as tongues of fire on the fledgling church and empowered its members to witness boldly to Jesus.  This text from Isaiah connects us with the angel's coals of fire and temple filled with smoke.  Last Monday Steve Huber and I were coming back through South Park when we saw the smoke of the Pine Junction fire.  The uncontrolled flames of the past week have done great damage.  Any fire out of control is something to feared, and the fire of "God Within Us" can also be frightening.  The church in the early days used to let the Spirit do His work, but now we so often seek to control it, and sometimes would rather put out the fire of God than let it burn.  But the fire of "God Within Us" cannot be extinguished, for it is the fire of God.

          This past week also saw a group of Epiphany people consider taking a huge step.  God has created a wonderful church among us.  We've been a comfortable church in a lovely free location.  We've been praying and dreaming of a place of our own.  Well, God is now answering that prayer, perhaps through five fine acres west of town.  But getting a place of our own will come at a price.  A purchase means payment, and payment must come from our pockets.  Now we will see if we're willing to dig deep and make the sacrifices needed to buy this new land, a place of our own.

          As we consider taking this step, remember our Lord Jesus.  He was willing to dig deep.  He was willing to make the sacrifice necessary to buy us back from the fires of hell.  He left His home on high so we could have a home of our own with Him.  He loved us and forgave us all our sins.  Like Isaiah, we have heard God say, "Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."  He "purchased our pardon on Calvary's tree."  And maybe now He will give us a church home of our own.

          But now we must trust Him even more completely, for life and forgiveness and all our daily needs.  And we must trust Him to bring us the ability to purchase a place of our own.  But in trusting, we must do our part, and dig deep into our pockets.  The salad days are over, and it's time to see what Epiphany Church is made of.  Maybe we're not ready.  Maybe we need more seasoning.  But I know one thing for sure:  this is God's church.  He brought it into being, and only He can give us success.  This is not our church, but His.  And now He is calling us to be people of faith.

          The coming days will be crucial for Epiphany church.  Will we rise up to this challenge or will we remain seated?  Will we trust God or will we fear the uncertain?  Will we make needed sacrifices or keep it all for ourselves?  Will we fan the flames of God or throw dirt on them?  Will we tap into the power of "God Above Me, God Beside Me, God Within Me?"  Will we tell others what He has done or sit in silence?  Will we invite them to dine with us at the Lord's Table?  Will we be loving witnesses for Him?  God give us courage to answer, "Yes! Yes, Lord. Here am I, send me!"  Amen

Copyright © 2000 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.