The Holy Trinity in our worship

Numbers 6:22-27 The LORD said to Moses, ²³ "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ²⁴ "'"The LORD bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."' ²⁷ "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

Today is Trinity Sunday. Each year, we set aside one special Sunday to emphasize the marvelous mystery that our God has revealed Himself as the three-in-one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Did you ever notice that even though we have only one Trinity festival per year, have you ever noticed the imagery, symbolism and statements of the Trinity that are seen, spoken and sung in our church and worship service?

In preparation for this morning’s sermon, I interviewed some of our Epiphany Lower School children here in the church. I wanted to know if they have picked up on the sights and sounds of the Trinity in worship. I first asked if they knew what the word Trinity meant. One knew it was the name of a church, but otherwise they didn’t grasp the concept of the meaning of the Trinity. When I prompted them that it means three persons in one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – then they caught on.

I asked if they saw any symbols of the Trinity in church. They knew that one! Their little hands shot in the air. They pointed to the hand above the arch and said that was for God the Father creating the world. They pointed to the crown above the stained glass window and said that was for God the Son as our king. And they pointed to the dove of the Holy Spirit that came down at Jesus’ baptism. 

I asked if they knew how the worship service began. They were correct in saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I asked what the pastor does with his hand while he is saying those words. They knew the pastor makes the sign of the cross.

Then I asked what the pastor says when he baptizes a baby at the font. After some thinking they said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” And what sign does the pastor make? “The sign of the cross.” So I explained how all three persons of our Triune God are active and present at the beginning of our worship service, and at the beginning of our lives as Christians, just like He was active and present at creation. The Father created everything using His Word, the Word was the Son, and the Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit hovers over the waters of baptism, as the Father makes a new creation of this sinful infant, all by the power of the Word of Christ.

Then I asked what the pastor says when he announces the forgiveness of sins in worship and the sign he makes with his hand. They were catching on by this time and readily answered, “I forgive you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And he makes the sign of the cross.” They understood the connection of the sign of the cross and the Trinity to our baptism and our worship.

In the Gloria, we sing praises to our three-in-one God, for the work each person of the Trinity has done in accomplishing our salvation. Whether we are confessing our faith with the Apostles’ Creed, or defending the two natures of Christ in the Nicene Creed or professing the mystery of the Trinity in the Athanasian Creed, we confess to God and to the world our faith in the Trinity.

I asked the children why we sing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty” before Communion. They had to think about that one for a while. When I asked them why there are three “holies” they caught on that holy is God the Father, holy is God the Son and holy is God the Holy Spirit.

Then I finally asked how we end our worship service. They recited it in unison, “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.” I asked why the Lord is mentioned three times. By this time they knew – one Lord for each person of our Triune God.

Our kids are being theologically trained. Our teachers, and especially you parents and grandparents, are doing a wonderful job of raising your children and giving them your Christian faith. You bring them to church so they can see the symbols of our Triune God. You bring them to worship with you as they hear how worship begins and ends in His name, how our sins are forgiven in His name and how our babies are baptized in His name.

You and your children need to keep be in worship to hear and see and experience the mystery of the Trinity. What happens here in worship is so very different than anything we experience in the outside world. Our children are enthralled with the sights on their I-pods and Gameboys, but they are bored driving across the country seeing the works of God’s hand in the plains, valleys and mountains of America. We go to the restaurant or grocery store to get our meals, so we have lost understanding of the time, work and patience of God growing our food. We enjoy the make-believe of Disney World or Six Flags more than the excitement of good grades or a job well-done or just being able to sit and relax quietly with our family.

Our children see lives and homes being torn apart by tornadoes, and they are scared. At the end of the day we examine how we are such colossal failures as a husband, wife, student or employee. We are afraid to give any control of our lives to anyone else – our boss, our child’s teacher, our government, our parents, our grown children, even our God.

All of that changes once we enter the Triune God’s presence in worship.

Here is reality. Here is reverence. Here is transcendence. We do not bring God down to us so that we can understand Him. God lifts us up to Him. We confess today: “We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.” Do you understand that? After 42 years of confessing it, I don’t understand it, either. But we believe it. Because God is greater than our understanding. We need to worship a God who is greater than us.

Worship is submitting our will to God’s divine will. It is pricking our conscience with His holiness. It is nourishing our soul with His truth. It is purifying our mind with His sanctification. It is opening our heart with His love. It is surrendering our desire to His godly purpose. When we worship, our sinful, selfish human nature, which is only concerned about ourselves, is put down, it is stepped on, it is ground into the dirt. Then by God’s grace and power, we lift up our hearts and hand to God (Lamentations 3:41) to praise our God for who He is and what He has done for us.

Here is excitement as we hear that our sins are forgiven. Here our children are reminded again and again that God is in control. Here we let God lead us where He wants us to go.

There is time, work and patience that goes into our worship. It is not to be rushed and condensed into sixty minutes so we can go on with the rest of our day. We slow down. We stop looking at our watches and we ignore our weekend schedules. We forget about the rest of the world and concentrate on what is happening here – forgiveness, peace and blessing.

We invoke God’s triune name on us in the beginning of our worship. We receive the Lord’s threefold blessing at the end of our worship.

“The Lord bless and keep you.” God provided for the Israelites as they crossed through the Red Sea on dry ground. God preserved Daniel by keeping him safe from hungry lions and greedy kings. When a young mother gives birth to her baby prematurely, God cares for and provides life for that child. When you narrowly missed a car accident, it is God who sent His angels to guard you in all your ways. When terrorist attacks or tornadoes or floods or recession hits, our heavenly Father is hard at work blessing and keeping us.

“The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.” When your daughter scores a goal in the soccer tournament or your son makes the honor roll or all your children are on stage together for another successful grade school play, you smile and shine with parental pride. Our Lord Jesus smiles and shines at you, His brothers and sisters. He smiles at you, not because you are perfect, but because you are His project of love. His grace shines on you when He picks you up as His little lamb wandering off into mischief, gathering you into His arms and patting you on the head, “Hey there, little rascal, stay close to me and you’ll always be safe.” When your marriage is falling apart or you’ve lost your job or you are scared to receive the doctor’s prognosis, you may feel like Peter, Jesus’ drowning disciple. But then you see Jesus’ face and everything is all right. He stills the waters. He calms the winds. He lifts you back into the boat and keeps you close by His side.

“The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” God the Holy Spirit blesses us with peace. This peace comes from knowing that His attention to our every need provides the peacefulness of security and comfort we need. Security like Hannah had knowing that her son, Samuel, would be blessed by God in his schooling and career taking place away from home. Security like Joseph had even though he lived and worked among people who didn’t understand his religion or appreciate his God. Security like Job had, convinced that everything he had was given by the Lord and was the Lord’s to take away in His perfect wisdom and love – and this would be for Job’s good. Security and comfort like you have because you can be absolutely certain that, even in the worst of troubles, the Holy Spirit is on your side, giving you peace.

All of this contained in just a few words of blessing. But what power is contained within those few words! “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” “Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy.” “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty.” “The Lord bless and keep you.” Simple words. Repetitive words. Teaching words. Relevant words. Meaningful words. Powerful words. Words for you. Words for your children. Words that we hear every week in worship. Words that we need to hear every week in worship.

Parents, what are your children learning from your worship? Do they see the same excitement as when you go to a basketball game? Do they see you prepare for worship as you do for a vacation? Do they see you hungry to arrive, seeking the face of the Father? Can we join with the Psalmist in saying, "I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD'"? (Psalm 122:1)

Your children are watching. They are learning. They are listening. They worshiping. Together with you, they are worshiping our Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)