Sermon for The Feast of the Holy Trinity, 2026
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” In the wilderness, Israel stood condemned, dying: the serpents among them. Still, God appointed a remedy: look at the bronze serpent on the pole, and live. So also you, the venom of your own reasoning, strength, and pride working through you: look. The Son of Man is lifted up. He has taken what you could not answer for. On the Cross, He bore your sin into death; on the Third Day, He arose, alleluia.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The Father gave; the Son descended, was lifted up, and rose; the Spirit was sent, riding upon the Word, blowing where He wills, blowing upon Nicodemus.
You know what became of him. The ninth hour has come and gone, the sun is nearing the horizon, and there is Nicodemus, at the foot of the Cross, a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes in his arms, working against the clock beside Joseph of Arimathea to wrap the body of the One he had come to negotiate with by cover of darkness. There’s no resurrection yet, no vindication in view. There’s only a dead man and linen strips and the smell of myrrh, and the sun going down, and the cost of being seen tending to Him. The night is coming again. Yet there Nicodemus is; the Spirit had blown where He willed, and Nicodemus could not stay away.
Nor can you, Beloved.
That same Spirit, riding upon the water and the Word of Holy Baptism, blew upon you, and you were born from above, from the womb of your mother, the holy Church, into the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That Name has been placed upon your forehead and your heart. What you could not answer for has been answered; what you could not bear has been borne. You now stand by His grace, not by your own reason or strength.
Readings:
Old Testament: Isaiah 6:1-7
Epistle: Romans 11:33-36
Holy Gospel: John 3:1-17
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