Thursday 31 May 2018

Trinity Sunday 27 May 2018 Sermon



Trinity Sunday 27.5.18 Knowledge of God

This feast gives us a chance to deepen our knowledge of God, to give Him a more specific focus.

Many are vague about God. They are not sure if God even exists or not, let alone the finer points.

To an extent He hides from us. He does this to induce us to search for Him.

We will not get onto His wavelength unless we are prepared to deal with Him on His terms.

He wants us to learn to be like Him, as in generous, humble, kind, forgiving etc. Meanwhile we are telling Him unless He works this or that miracle we will not believe in Him!

We have to learn absolute humility before God. We put no conditions or demands on Him.

We can ask for things, certainly, but in no sense do we hold Him to ransom.

If we would obey and do it His way we would have a much clearer notion of God than we otherwise have.

Many would believe He exists but would not trouble to find out anything about Him.

They see God more in the deistic sense, just someone out there somewhere… but no detail, nor do they think there needs to be.

This is not how it is meant to work. Yes, He is out there and a long way away, and no amount of distance or numbers can confine Him.

We talk of stars being bigger than another, or further away than another. God is bigger than all of them. He made them all. And the universe itself.

This could leave us with a sense of vagueness. We might be grateful, or admiring, but not feel the personal element.

Yet from another angle we know God is very personal. He cares about us in the most minute degree. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground (Mt 10,29). He knows all our needs, our moods, our desires and hopes.

There is still a lot we do not know about Him, but it is not the ignorance caused by neglect.

We can keep the awareness of His absolute otherness to us, but at the same time a recognition of His intimacy with us; of His desire to do us good, to save us, to heal us, to bring us to eternal life.

It is an insult to Him if we are vague only through laziness, through never thinking of Him. We treat those we love better than that.

We do not always know what His will is, or what He is going to do next, but we can trust Him in every situation; and that much He expects from us.

We have a workable trusting relationship with Him, where we pray constantly through any sort of difficulty. I do not know how this is going to be solved but somehow He will sort it out.

This works for short and long term, personal and global problems. God is far bigger than any problem or situation.

His grace would work much more smoothly if more people obeyed and trusted.

Sin will obstruct the progress. It could be so easy if only enough would humble themselves.

God is not hiding Himself here; we have created our own darkness by sinning against Him.

The more we humble ourselves the more we will see into the inner nature of God, the three Persons and their mutual love. The beauty that we presently see is just a glimpse of much greater glory. Remove the sin, and the light gets brighter.

We are capable of knowing God, in a way most of His creation cannot. We have the privilege of being able to draw into conscious unity with Him.

Let us adore Him, as we draw closer to Him.

All glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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