Invitation to Communion January 11, 2015

Join us in Communion
Also know as  the Lord's Supper.

"We welcome all to the Lord's Table

As God has welcomed us."

The Scripture from Mark describing Jesus baptism

Introduces us
To all three members of the Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Some have said that when Christians

Have a hard time understanding
An aspect of their faith.

They slap a label on it

And put it on a shelf.

The Trinity is such a concept

That is hard to get one's mind around.

To make the Trinity more understandable

Think of the Creator as

"I am,"
As he named himself to Moses.

Jesus is God in action,
The Word.

The Holy Spirit is the Love

That binds the Creator to the Word. 

So the Trinity

becomes

I Am Love in action.
Now join the Three-in-One

And take the cup and bread. 

The Saturday before Easter Death Reigns

On this day,

Jesus is dead.
His body lies
In a dank, stone hole
Sealed against the light.
A part of God is dead.  
The Trinity is broken.
The Creator holds the breath of life,

But the stench of death

Fills the tomb. 
Without the Word, 
The Comforter is bereft.
Tomorrow,
Life will conquer death.
Jesus will rise
With the promise
Of resurrection for all,
But not this day.
This day death reigns.

Lectionary Gospel Reading for January 12, 2014

Matthew 3:13-17
3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.
3:14 John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
3:15 But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
3:16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
3:17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

 Creator, Word, and Love

God complete in three.

 John recognizes that he confronts the Word,

God Incarnate.

John believes he is not worthy to baptize God.

Jesus reassures him with cryptic words.

Jesus chooses to use baptism

To signal his commitment to the Kingdom.

We echo his actions

When we are baptized.

And commit ourselves to the Triune God. 

 Jesus rises from the water

Just as he will rise from the grave.

The Love of God descends on Jesus

Linking Creator and Word with Love.

The Trinity is renewed.

Jesus, the Son of Man,

Has received the blessing of the Creator

Through the Holy Spirit.

That blessing and love will carry him

To Jerusalem,

To Death,

To Resurrection.

Trinity Sunday 2013

 The Trinity proclaims

"I am love in action."

The Creator,

I AM.

 The Christ,

The Word,

God in action.

The Holy Spirit,

The Comforter,

Love.

Together.
I AM Love in action.

Three in one,

Trinity.

God Defines Himself

Does God define himself?
Yes.
"What is your name?"
Moses asks God.
"And God said unto Moses,
"I AM THAT I AM."

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God."

"And the Word was made flesh,

And dwelt among us..."

So John defines Jesus
As the Word.
God, the great "I AM,"

Speaks creation into existence.
"And God said, Let there be light:
And there was light."
Through speech God acts.

God in action is the Word.

Christ is God in action.

Between "I AM" and the Word

Is Love,
The Holy Spirit,
Uniting Divinity in One.

God is Three in One.
God defines himself:

I AM Love in Action.

Photo by lepiaf.geo

Embrace the Trinity

Why do we not see the suffering of others?
Why are we blind to the burdens others carry?
Too much is put on being the individual.
Too much is put on making it on your own.
Too much is put on self-sufficiency.
If we are one with God,
We are not alone.
If we have the Comforter with us,
We see the plight of others.
If we know the Son,
We know that death holds no fear.
Embrace the Trinity.

Photo by double.reed

Closeness

Sunshine fills the morning.
The gray rain of yesterday is gone.
The sun is far away in miles,
Yet close in warmth and light.
The Almighty governs infinity,
Yet cares for me every day.
God stands outside of time,
Yet journeys with me as I grow older.
The Prince of Peace can sound the trumpet of eternity,
Yet listens to my daily prayers.
Creator, Love, and Word.
Past, Present, and Future.
Trinity.

God, Three in One

"In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was with God,

And the Word was God."

"And the Word was made flesh,

And dwelt among us..."

So does John introduce Jesus.

"I AM" speaks creation into existence.

God in action is the Word.

Christ is God in action.

Between "I AM" and the Word

Is Love, the Holy Spirit.

God, Three in One.

I AM Love in Action.