Trinity Sunday
Ephesians 3.14-21
Rev Dr Erzsébet Horváth
Minister of the Reformed Church in Hungary. She teaches church history at Károli Gáspár Reformed University, Budapest and has since 1998 been president of the Ecumenical Church Archivist Association of Hungary.
On this Trinity Sunday, my dear brothers and sisters, I embrace you all in love by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. For you have the same Father and are one people through him, by the loving sacrifice of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.
This is exactly the aim of Paul's prayer in his letter to the Ephesians. We follow the example of Paul, who is on his knees, humbly beseeching the eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Father also through the propitiation of Christ. Paul is beseeching the Father, the Lord of the universe, who created the earth, who is the Father of all nations upon this earth.
The first message on this Sunday is that we have a God who is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and as Father he is the Lord of all nations. Dear brothers and sisters! Regardless of where you live on this earth, though there might be geographical, cultural, economic, sexual, or racial differences between us, we still have one Father who so loved you and me and this created world, that "he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (Jn 3.16). Part of his fatherly care (including the cosmic love of the Saviour) is that he did not and does not leave us alone. He sent the Holy Spirit who strengthens, comforts and encourages, just as Christ promised.
The second message from Paul's prayer is that our inner being needs the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Why do we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Think about our lives, even about yesterday or today. How many times have we sinned? On how many occasions have we walked by someone who was in need? In how many instances have we made wrong decisions? How often have we said that we have no time? How often has temptation surrounded us, and we have fallen down? How often have we fallen into sin's trap?
What kind of inner being do we have? Battle-proofed, well-armed, strongly prepared by the Holy Spirit? Or do we just listen to our own or perhaps others' opinions and always fall back because our old self is pulling us back? Without the constant renewal of the inner being, we can't complete our run and struggle successfully. This is what Paul is praying for: that we and you, by the Holy Spirit, may be strengthened, not trusting in our own strength, wisdom, or knowledge, because it is not enough and will not lead to life. Everything comes from inside us. Therefore it is vital to know who is in charge there. If the Holy Spirit empowers you and me, then Christ will live in us and enable us to distinguish between good and evil. Only Christ can give us the wisdom which enables us to live a pure life and stay in living relationship to Christ, the vine.
To our inner being belongs our conscience, something we can put to sleep. Unfortunately contemporary people, including Christians, struggle with a worldwide tendency to care only about ourselves, worry about what is good and useful to us, fulfil ourselves, achieve all we can, and fret not about others. This is the attitude: let us not be concerned about the events of the world, even in our own country, don't let us be troubled about the hungry or those who suffer incurable sicknesses, or the destruction of the environment - only we are important. To this attitude we all say "no", since God entrusted this world to us. But we should stop for a moment. We are all exposed to a danger. Many tricks are being used to put our consciences to sleep, telling us that the wrong is really not wrong, and through the many impulses we receive, trying to make us numb, irresponsible towards our fellow human beings, and the created world.
In spite of this, dear brothers and sisters, we may intentionally listen to our lives, intentionally avoid the hardening of our hearts. If Christ is really there, then he will give us his Spirit, and with a clear conscience we may say, "I am speaking the truth in Christ... my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit" (Rom 9.1). We should accept the discipleship of Christ, putting it into practice even if it is not fashionable, even if it seems like an obsolete thing in the eyes of modern people. We are led by Christ and not by this world. Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and without him there is nothing.
Dear brothers and sisters! In the centre of our inner being stands our heart, which is the starting point of both thought and will. So often, though we know what is good and proper, yet our will to do what is right is weak, so we fall. The writer of Proverbs warns us: "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life" (Prov 4.23). How clean is your heart, your inner being? Is your will stubborn, or are you searching without ceasing for what is kind and appropriate to God?
John Drinkwater wrote:
Grant us the will to fashion as we feel,
Grant us the strength to labour as we know,
Grant us the purpose, ribbed and edged with steel,
To strike the blow.
Knowledge we ask not, knowledge Thou hast lent,
But, Lord, the will - there lies our deepest need,
Grant us the power to build, above the high intent,
The deed, the deed!
It is imperative that our inner selves be strengthened. Paul was praying that this may happen by the Holy Spirit, so that Christ will make a permanent abode in our hearts. Inner strengthening occurs in two directions. On the one hand, our faith becomes stronger, more alive by our relationship with Christ. On the other hand, it pours active love into our relationship with others. Our relationship with Christ should be so strong, personal, and real that Christ's presence will be in our hearts. From there Christ will permeate our whole life, sanctifying it, and preparing it for further struggles.
Dear brothers and sisters! The third message is that Christ takes up a permanent residence in your heart, not a temporary one. The secret of your inner strength is that Christ has taken a permanent dwelling in your heart. But we should be warned, because a temporary thing is always for a short time, only good for a given time. We may never take Christ as a temporary thing, something we can take off like a discarded piece of clothing, or, if we so wish, put on. Our faith would be very weak, brittle, and questionable if we would do such a thing. We would expose ourselves to the uncontrolled will of evil which could do anything with us. Therefore Paul is praying that Christ will permanently live in our hearts.
Dear brothers and sisters! To hold onto Christ, to know him, to understand him, to receive his love and the sacrifice of his cross into our hearts, means that we are grounded, planted in his love, which is beyond all understanding. Since Christ can stay only in the aura of love, may our love be so strong that we become like a deeply-rooted tree. A life without love is like a tree without roots. It can't receive new strength, so it withers.
Brothers and sisters, may I declare the good news that we are joined to these good roots, so we receive constant nourishment. That nourishment is such that we can't keep it only to ourselves. We must distribute it. In that corner of this created world where we live, we are the good soldiers of Christ, who struggle, fight for justice, work hard, that the love of Christ, the upholding grace of the Father, and the comforting strength of the Holy Spirit may succeed. It is the will of God that all people and all nations should become one in Christ. To achieve this end Christ needs the church to go out and tell the world of his surpassing love and mercy. The church can't do that until its members, joined together in fellowship, experience the limitless love of Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters! Be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in the love of Christ and be a good perpetuator of this love, so that you may keep your hearts in Jesus Christ. At the great meeting when we will see Christ face to face, we will rejoice together with all those who belong to the people of God, with all those who are God's chosen children.
Amen.
