THE FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY AD 2024
TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
KURTZVILLE, ONTARIO
REV. KURT E. REINHARDT
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and
the train of his robe filled the temple. [2] Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings:
with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. [3] And
one called to another and said:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!
[4] And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house
was filled with smoke. [5] And I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts!
[6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken
with tongs from the altar. [7] And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your
lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.
[8] And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then I said, Here am I! Send me.

Acts 2:14; 2:22-36
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, Men of Judea and
all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.
[22] Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with
mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves
know— [23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] God raised him up, loosing the pangs
of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. [25] For David says concerning
him, I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
[26] therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
[27] For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
[28] You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence;
[29] Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died
and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. [30] Being therefore a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
[31] he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to
Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. [32] This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are
witnesses. [33] Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and
hearing. [34] For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand, [35] until I make your enemies your footstool. [36] Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and
Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

John 3:1-17
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. [2] This man
came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. [3] Jesus answered him,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.[4]
Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time
into his mother's womb and be born? [5] Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one
is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. [6] That which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Do not marvel that I said to you,
You must be born again. [8] The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do
not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
[9] Nicodemus said to him, How can these things be? [10] Jesus answered him, Are you the
teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? [11] Truly, truly, I say to you, we
speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our
testimony. [12] If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I
tell you heavenly things? [13] No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from
heaven, the Son of Man. [14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

3

For God so loved the world. With great confidence I can say that in the last 150 years that those
words have been heard many times over in this place, although in the beginning it sounded more
like this, “Also hat Gott die welt geliebet.” For God so loved the world, yes, those words have
been heard many a time in last 150 years here, because those words are at the heart and centre
what this place is all about that was formed and named for the Holy Trinity. For God so loved
the world, yes, this place and what has gone on here for the last century and a half is all about the
love of the God.
For God so loved the world. Love? Yes, there are plenty of times in life, that make us wonder
about and even question that love, for the world and for us. Especially when we look at that love
like little children, who think that love should only do and give what we want or think is good.
Good parents know that love sometimes withholds and says no, love even times must discipline
and correct, but children, even pretty grown up ones, like you and me, can find that pretty hard to
see and take.
Of course, you couldn’t really blame God for not loving the world. It after all seems to have
very little love for Him. At best it simply ignores Him most of the time, unless it’s actively
denying Him and rejecting Him. He’s given life to billions of us and continues to cause the sun
to rise and give us all that we need to live and what thanks does He get for it? Only a handful
give any thought to Him as He does all of that, and of that handful, few indeed are mindful of
Him most of the time.
No, God would have little reason for loving the world, if that love had anything to do with the
world itself. It ignores Him, avoids Him, rejects and even at times outright hates Him. It doesn’t
listen to what He says. It does the opposite of what He asks it to do. It shakes its fist in His face.
It turns its back on Him and walks away. It replaces Him with other gods of its own making that
say what it wants to hear and lets it do what it wants to do. It flirts and fools around with them
right before His face and is indignant and furious if He seems to mind.
For God so loved the world? Why? Could you? Would you? Love someone who treated you like
that? Could you? Would you? Love someone who treated you like you treat Him? Without
question the world treats God terribly, but being mindful of how the Lord Jesus told us to take
the log out of our own eye before we try and remove the splinter from our brother’s eye, there’s a
lot to think about in how we ourselves treat the Lord. Yes, in some ways we may not treat Him
as badly as the world, but no, it’s not great either much of the time.
Do thoughts of Him and thanksgiving flow through our minds and hearts from the moment we
open our eyes in the morning for all that He has given and continues to give us? Do we saturate
our moments, days and lives with His word? Do we not only joyfully hear it, but walk in all of
its ways moment by moment and day to day? Or are there times when we forget about Him,
ignore Him and even replace Him? Do we trust Him at all times and in all things? Or do we
sometimes doubt and question Him?
For God so loved us? When you look at our sinfulness, all the ways that we ignore God and turn
our backs on His ways, you really have got to wonder why He would. It would be hard for
anyone to like, let alone love someone who treated us, the way that we treat God, but love us He
does. Not because we deserve it. Not because we are worthy of it. Not because we have earned
it. But simply because that is who He is - that is what He is. The simple truth behind Jesus’
word is that God not only loves or is loving - He is love.
God is love and so for God to be God He must love. And for love to be love it must be God’s
love. You simply can’t separate God from love or love from God. From eternity God’s love has
been at the heart and core of Him, forever flowing between the three persons of the Trinity.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always been and forever shall be united together in the eternal
love that is theirs as one God. Because the Father is love, the Son is love, the Holy Spirit is love
they are forever one in love.
For God so loved the world because He is love. The truth of that could be no clearer than from
how or in what way He loved the world - HE gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die on the
cross to save it - to save us. Every question about God’s love for the world … about God’s love
for you and His love for me - is answered by looking to Jesus hanging on the cross on Calvary.
How strong is His love? Look at the cross. How deep is His love? Look at the cross. Will His
love ever give up? Look at the cross. Will His love ever end? Look at the cross.
Does God love the world when it forgets about and ignores Him? Does He love you and me
when we forget about and ignore Him? See Jesus on the cross and know that He does. Does
God love the world when it rejects Him and His ways? Does He love us when we reject Him
and His ways? Look at Jesus on the cross and be sure that He does. Does God love the world
when He allows all kinds of trouble to come upon it? Does He love us when He allows all our
trials and troubles to come upon us? See Jesus on the cross and doubt not but believe that He
does. In all of your sin, beloved, all all your falling and failing, in all your fears and worries and
cares, see how God loved you in Jesus and know that His love forgives you and will see you
safely home.
For God so loved you, yes, beloved, hear that truth loud and clear and rejoice in it, as that love
gives you the Son in His body and blood today, so that by the Spirit you might believe in His
love for you. Receive the fullness of what the love of God gave for you on Calvary and wants to
give you at the altar today, and depart in peace to live in the truth that God loves you not because
of how lovable you are but because He is love and you are beloved to Him in Christ Jesus.
Amen.