John 16:12-15

Jesus traveled around the Holy Land teaching is disciple for 3 ½ years. I think it might have been closer to 4 years. During these years the disciples had been taught about following God. Jesus told them that the Kingdom of God was like a man who had two sons, like a Good Samaritan, like a mustard seed and so on.

So right before he is about to leave them he gives them a closing address, a commencement speech if you will. Does he tell them that they have all the skills and knowledge they need? Does he tell them to stop studying and learning and growing?

No, in fact he basically says, "I am sending you a tutor." Our lesson today is really a part of the extended speech by Jesus that started in the two chapters earlier with the passage we looked at last week. Do you remember last Sunday's sermon? Well, if you don't that is OK because Jesus says the Spirit will remind us of all He has said. So if you can't remember what your preacher said, that is OK because the Holy Spirit will help you remember what Jesus said.

But basically Jesus is saying your education is not over. Jesus says, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." The spirit will not only remind you of what is in your class notes. It will also teach you new things that you were not ready to learn. So what are some of the things that we need to learn after graduation?

First, never stop learning. I know you have finished your degree and you think "What! I couldn't possibly learn another thing!" But there are many things that they can't teach you in school. I have a Bachelor's in religion and Masters in Divinity and a Masters in Theology. The last degree was earned in 1990. I started the first grade in 1970. So this year represents the point at which I have been out of school for as long as I was in it.

I have learned more since I graduated than I ever learned in school. It may not have been formal learning, but it was learning all the same. And that's just the things of my profession, theology and the Bible. There were many life lessons on top of that.

Never stop learning. Never think you have arrived. Keep asking questions and seeking answers. God still has a lot to teach you. The best is yet to come. An organism that is not growing is dying. A limb that is not used will atrophy. Don't let your brain atrophy; don't let your spirit atrophy. Let the Holy Spirit teach you things you were not ready to learn in school.

Never stop learning but realize there are some things you will never learn. You see we all need to enroll in continuing education seminars on Divine Calculus 333. Today is Trinity Sunday. We celebrate the Christian belief that there is one God revealed in three persons. We have a lot of clever ways to symbolize this: a triangle, water which is a solid, a liquid and a gas, the shamrock which has three leaves in one plant. But basically we are saying that 1+1+1=1

It doesn't add up. In the church we call that a "Mystery." When what we believe doesn't add up, we have that word for it. It's a Mystery. We say that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. So 100% God + 100% human = 100% Jesus. How can the God of the universe who spoke worlds into existence become a helpless infant who has to learn to say "mama?"

It doesn't add up. Ohhh, so the next time you try to balance you checkbook and you say you have money and the bank says you don't you can declare "It's a mystery!" But seriously, some of the most important things in life don't add up. And in those moment when things don't add up, whether the ledger is in your favor or against you, God can be the most present. In these moments when you experience unexpected and unexplainable love, or grace, or peace, or tragedy, God is present. So learn to accept the mystery of life.

Never stop learning, embrace the mysteries of life, and expect the Spirit to teach you from the most unexpected places. The story goes that a great preacher and theologian was out fishing one day for recreation when he came upon an island that was not on the maps. He discovered that there were three fishermen living on the island in total isolation from the rest of the world. He asked them if they were Christians and they said yes, but as her spoke to them he discovered that they did not know the Lord's Prayer. He said if you don't know the Lord's Prayer how do you pray. They said we look to God in heaven and say, "We are three. We are three. Have mercy on us." Appalled at this he taught them the Lord's Prayer.

Several weeks later he was out fishing again and it was near dusk and he was passing island and thing proudly how he had taught these uneducated fishermen how to pray. Then he noticed three lights coming to him on the water. At first he though the three fishermen were coming out in their boats to greet him. But then he noticed that they were walking on the water. When they got to boat they said, "Sir, we wanted to speak to you again because we forgot that marvelous prayer you taught us. It started "Our Father..." but we cannot remember the rest. The preacher looked down into the water as fish swam under their feet and he said, "That's OK you just keep praying the way you have been."

I know that with all your leaning and wisdom you are ready to take the world by storm. And I certainly do not want to curb your enthusiasm. But don't be surprised when you learn from unexpected places. Look especially to learn from people. Today we celebrate Memorial Day and we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Learn from their love and devotion, don't live in the past but learn from it.

So you have graduated. Well welcome to school. Whether you are going on to further your education or going to work, you are now enrolled in the school of life. You will encounter things and experiences you could not have imagined.

You see God still has a lot to teach you. He could have told you about these things before, but you would not have been ready to learn them. So God will go with you to teach you as you go through life.

So now that you have graduated, welcome to the school of life. Be ready to continue to learn and grow. Don't expect life to always add up. And look to learn unforeseen lessons from unexpected people and situations.

Power! It's what makes the world go round. Eons ago, scientists say, there was a huge explosion; a Big bang. And the energy or power that it created hurled the stars and planets into place. Some of that energy is electromagnetic and that is the light and radiation in the universe. Some of it is kinetic; that is the motion of the planets and stars. And some of it is in stable units, that is the matter. And all of it was set in motion by that original Big Bang.

Power is the driving force in politics. Nations vie for positions of power. Governments and politicians put their spin on events both current and historical to win people over; to gain power over them. Armies and diplomats try to gain strategic foot holds over their enemies to have power over them. Parliaments and legislatures formulate public policies designed to gain control or power over economies or populations.

Power is the driving force in other places as well. Business men and women put on their power ties to go to power brunches to gain power in the market place. Corporations try to control public opinion through advertising to sell their product. Public relations firms try to convince people that their client is the friendly corporation. Sometimes even our interpersonal relations turn into power games between the sexes or the generations.

Power! It's makes the world go round.

But the Bible gives us another perspective on power. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"(Ps. 8:1) The Moon and the stars are the work of God's fingers. God is the one who hurled the galaxies in their places. And God created this universe not through random events but through wisdom, the first of God's creations.(Pro. 8:22) This is not a refutation of the Big Bang theory; it is a clarification. If there was a Big Bang, God was the one who made the bang; and made it big.

According to the Bible we don't access this power through control of politics or economies. We access it through Christ. Paul wrote that it is through Christ that we have obtained access to the grace of God. And it is based on that grace, that unmerited favor, that we have a share in the majestic Glory of God. Did you catch that? Through Jesus we have access to the Glory of God. Through Jesus Christ we are plugged into the power source of the universe. We are on-line with the power that made the stars and Jesus is our interface.

This power is not transmitted or administered through the lies and deceit of governments or the misrepresentations and misinformation of advertisements and spin doctors. Instead it is transmitted through the Spirit of Truth: God's Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth."(John 16:13) Jesus then goes on to say, "All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that (the Holy Spirit) will take what is mine and declare it to you."(John 16:15) So it's the Holy Spirit that reveals God's truth to us.

God is the only true source of power in the universe. Like a Father, this power begot us: gave us life. By the Son, and his death on the cross, we have access to it. And through the Holy Spirit that reveals God's truth to us, this cosmic power finds expression in our lives. Power: it comes from the Father by Son and through the Holy Spirit into our lives.

Years ago there was a movie out called "Conan the Barbarian." If you missed it you didn't miss much, but the story it told reveals something about our world. As the movie begins the main character Conan witnesses his family being killed by a man who is on a quest for steel. This killer is seeking powerful blades of steel so that he can gain power. And so he goes about killing and stealing to find that power.

The orphaned Conan then spends his life searching for this man. In the process he uses the power of a steel blade to fight his way through life and eventually seek revenge. When Conan finally catches up with the killer, this killer is the leader of a cult. And in a classic moment of confrontation he tells Conan that he abandoned his quest for steel years before because he found that real power was in flesh; or the control of people.

Conan and the other characters are not alone: that is how the barbarian world we live in views power. Power is in the control of people and resources. Power is in being able to make people give you what you want. And so the most spiritual the world can get is to call a 900 number and speak to a spiritual advisor. So that this so called self proclaimed "spiritual advisor" can tell them how to manipulate and control people and events.

But God tells a different story of power. It is not about a son who seeks revenge for his parents' death. Instead it is about a Heavenly Father who is deeply hurt by the sins of the children He created. Instead of seeking revenge, this Heavenly Father sends His only begotten Son. The children mistreat this Son. They beat him and even kill him. But the Son willingly dies for sins of the world. The Son could have called on the power that made the stars to rescue him and destroy the world, but he chose to die for me.

That is God's example of power. The only begotten Son of God dying on a cross. Almighty God, in the flesh, willingly becoming powerless to forgive the sins of the world. The One who spoke worlds into creation going silent as a lamb to the slaughter. That is God's story of power.

And that is the truth that God is revealing to us. If you want to preserve your life, you must lose it for God as Jesus did. If you want control, you must let go and hand over control to God. If you want power, you must become powerless like Christ on the cross. That is the true power that makes the world go round.

Power! God: Father Son and Holy Spirit is the only source and means of true power. But the world can't see that. They vainly run after worldly power. They mistreat, oppress, and hate their neighbors trying to get control. They rebelliously disregard God's law so they can steal what the covet from their neighbor.

But real power and strength, the power and strength that enables us to live abundantly, comes from serving God and loving our neighbor. But they can't see it. Maybe we need to show it to them. Perhaps we, the people of God, need to live the sacrificial love of God. Instead of playing the world's power games, we need to die to self first. Instead of manipulation and control we need to practice slavery to God and servanthood. Then they can see through us the greatness of God in sacrificial love.

Live the power of God that makes the world go round! Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Surrender your will, your desires, to God in humility and service. Sacrifice yourself for God and others. Then by the grace of God you will be plugged into the power source of the universe.

"God is great!" Everybody knows it. Probably a thousand years before Christ a psalmist put it into words. "O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is thy name in all the earth."(Psalm 8:1) Just look at creation. The moon and stars that God has created. Their very existence proclaims the greatness of God. God is great enough to love even lowly creatures like us humans.

While the Psalms wondered about the greatness of God as creator of the universe, Proverbs speaks of God as the source of all wisdom. Before God established the foundations of the world, before God made any of the great things that declare his greatness, God created wisdom. In proverbs wisdom declares that she was there when the heavens were created. And God delighted in her, the first of the Almighty's creations.

Everybody knows about the greatness of God. Even those who don't believe in God assume it as a given. They say, "If there is a God, God by definition is all powerful and all knowing." Even the Godless people of the world assume that a creator must be great and powerful and wise. God is great! Everybody knows that.

We as Christians have been privileged to know the greatness of God in way that other people could only dream of. When Christ came, he was the living embodiment of the truth of God. Jesus, the Son of God, is God in the flesh. He himself said, "The father and I are one." And he said "I am the way the truth and the life." Through Jesus' life and teachings, God revealed Godself to humanity in a fullness that none has ever known before. Abraham had spoken to God, the Hebrews had eaten manna from heaven, and tried to obey God's laws, and the prophets had spoken God's word, but none of them knew God in the fullness that God was and is revealed in Christ. And through the Holy Spirit that presence is made real for us now.

We Christians have experienced the greatness of God like no other people at no other time in the history of the world. One of our attempts to express this experience of God's greatness is the doctrine of the Trinity. The Doctrine of the Trinity basically says there is one God: the God that is attested to in the Holy writings of the Hebrews. This is the one true living God, the One who led the people of Israel out of the desert.

There is one God, but this God has three persons. We call them the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three are of the same substance. All three are one. Each is infinite in power wisdom and strength.

The doctrine of the Trinity is beautiful, but for some it creates problems. Many find it inconceivable. It basically says that 3 = 1; the three persons of the Godhead equal one God. The philosophers and logical people of the world say, "You Christians can't have it both ways, either you believe in one God or in three god's." Both Jews and Moslems accuse us of compromising the unity of God by saying God has three persons.

The doctrine of the Trinity also creates other logical difficulties and questions. How can the God of the universe be born in flesh and live a human life? If God was in Jesus of Nazareth who was in heaven running the universe? And if Jesus was God and died on a cross then God died? If God died who was there to raise him again on the third day? Was Jesus talking to himself in the garden of Gethsemene?

These are all good questions, but we don't have complete answers to any of them. You see the doctrine of the Trinity is an attempt to explain something that is too great for humans to comprehend. All we can do is try to describe what we do know. We know that God is the source of all that is and was and shall ever be. God is the creator and mastermind of all that is. God is also the source of power that keeps the universe running. We also know that at the same time God came to earth in the form of a human being. God was born of a woman as we were born. God lived an earthly life as we live. And he died a human death as we will die. And finally we know that God dwells with each of us and loves each of us as though we were the only person who ever lived.

That is greatness. That is so great that words fail in describing it. It is no wonder that the finest minds that God ever gave to the church have trouble expressing it. How does 3=1 and 1=3? I don't know, but God knows and God is great enough to do anything.

God is great and we all know it - or do we? We say we know that God is great, but I don't see people acting like it. If we truly knew that God is great we would always turn to God. We would seek God's guidance. We would follow God's laws. But people don't. Instead they try to rely on themselves. They depend of only what they can control. We often depend on our own limited abilities.

If we knew God was great we would not worry ourselves sick about all our daily problems. Oh, we should be concerned for those who are suffering now. But if we truly knew God was as great as we claim, we would know that God is in control. We would trust him to take care of us. Like the lilies of the field and the birds of the air we would let God care for us.

You see, we know in our heads that God is great. But somebody needs to tell our hearts. We give intellectual assent to the proposition that "God is great." But what we need to do is entrust every part of our lives to this great God. Perhaps the spirit of God needs to introduce itself to our hearts. Then God's greatness will cease to be a logical proposition. Instead it will become a living reality and it will have a living impact on our lives.

Listen again to the words of Paul to the Romans:

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-8)

Paul is saying that we who are justified, saved, in Christ have peace. We have this peace because through Christ we have access to God. We are plugged into the powerhouse of the universe. And as a result we are connected to the glory of God. "More than that, we rejoice in our suffering." Why? Because we know that God gives us the power to endure through suffering. That endurance produces hope for vindication and justice. And we are not disappointed in our hope, because God has poured out his Holy Spirit upon us and filled us with his love. That love in the sign of God's presence with us.

God is great! And through Christ we are connected to God's greatness. Even in the midst of suffering we are given hope. Through Christ and the Spirit we have an infinite reservoir of hope, love, mercy, and peace to call on. Sisters and Brothers in Christ, the greatness of God is not a mere doctrine that we only agree with or not. It is an article of faith that changes our lives and sets us free to be alive. God is great, and because I know it I have peace and hope to endure all that life can dish out.

God is great! Did you know that? I mean do you really know that in a way that changes your life? I hope so.

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