Holy Trinity Sunday – Romans 5:1-5
First Trinity Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, IN

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If you didn’t get the memo, today we’re celebrating Holy Trinity Sunday. This is one of the biggest celebrations of the church year. Right up there with Christmas and Easter. But it’s weird. We go around telling folks Merry Christmas and Happy Easter, but we don’t really go around telling everyone. “Hey, blessed Trinity Sunday!” Unless you want to get weird looks from your Starbucks barista or Kroger cashier. I think it’s because this is the only time we celebrate a church doctrine. The doctrine of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Which can be hard to get all fired up about. So, this is a day to be reminded of what makes the Trinity such an amazing gift for us.

St. Paul lays it out pretty nicely in our reading from his letter to the Romans. “Therefore, since we’re justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is one of Martin Luther’s favorite verses. And mine too. It means that we don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love or forgiveness. God the Father loves Jesus the Son. Jesus gave himself for us. And the Spirit comes into our hearts to give us faith. This is great news if you’re the kind of person who wants to beat yourself up for not being as good as you’re supposed to be. It’s not the end of the story. Because we believe in a triune God, we can rejoice that God abides within us and about us. It doesn’t mean our problems go away, but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together take that weight off our shoulders. There’s always another day for us. Blessed Trinity Sunday, friends!

But, sometimes this goes to our heads. Have you ever seen a bumper sticker or T-shirt that says, “I’m not perfect, just forgiven.” I confess, it always sounds more like an excuse or a warning. Like we’d better lower our expectations now, because someone’s about to cause us some trouble. Maybe we should back away because they’re not a very good driver. I’d like it a lot more if it said, “YOU don’t have to be perfect, because YOU’RE forgiven.” Then again, Paul says, “we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” Now, boasting doesn’t sound very Christ-like, does it? Like showing off our holiness. Or like turning salvation into a get out of jail free card. I love to commit sins, Jesus loves to forgive them, isn’t life great?

So, Paul gives us an attitude adjustment. “We also boast in our sufferings.” Life throws curveballs at us. It’s hard to keep the faith when everything seems to conspire against us. Sometimes it’s folks who undemine us or disrespect us. It’s hard to let that go, or not retaliate. No one wants to be a pushover. Michelle Obama said, “when they go low, we go high,” but boy if that doesn’t put a target on our back! Though sometimes it’s not people. Sometimes it’s sickness, or loss, or a feeling like the universe is just bound and determined to run us over. I have a few friends who are battling cancer right now. One just posted on Facebook this week that “fighting cancer sucks when you don’t have a lot of fight.” It makes you wonder whether God’s asleep at the wheel.

Of course, Paul says, “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” But wouldn’t it feel kind of hollow to say that to my friend with cancer? Telling him this is all somehow God making him stronger, just feels like kicking him when he’s down. Here’s the thing. St. Paul likes to wear his suffering like a badge of honor. Almost like he looks for ways to get in trouble. A couple weeks ago we had the story where they threw him in prison, and even though he had a means to get out, he didn’t want to waste the opportunity. Like he wanted to show off his devotion to Jesus. The more he suffers, the more faithful he looks. We might call that a martyr complex.

We can relate to that. Don’t we like to say, “no pain, no gain?” We might convince ourselves for a while, but we eventually falter. You know, pain is often a warning. It can mean we’re doing something very wrong. The only thing we might be doing is damaging ourselves. Running ourselves into the ground where we’re no good to anyone anymore. Yet, we’re still proud of ourselves, right? No one can accuse us of being hypocrites, or being lazy. It’s the American way to show that we’re strong and tough. But then, are we actually serving our neighbors, or just serving our own pride?

Jesus wasn’t tough or proud. He didn’t boast. He didn’t wear his suffering like a badge of honor. Instead, he just died on the cross, unjustly accused and victimized by the powers of this world. By all appearances, Jesus lost. Yet, by the power of God he was raised from death. Not by his own effort or strength, but because of his good and gracious Father who made him a promise at his baptism – “This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17) And the good news is that Jesus promises the same thing to us. “All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” For if we have been baptized into his death, we will surely be raised with him in the power of his resurrection.

And Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to trust that he’s telling us the truth. This is why St. Paul says, “since we’re justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We don’t have to be tough or strong. We don’t have to prove how good we are. Everything in heaven and earth has been given to us simply for the sake of our Father’s love for us. Though that doesn’t mean life is easy. We still suffer. Sometimes we bring it upon ourselves, because we can be our own worst enemies. But sometimes we’re victims of injustice through no fault of our own. The Spirit tells us the truth about this broken world. The same powers that attacked Jesus attack us too.

But St. Paul gives us something to hope for. We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. He’s not talking about bragging or showing off. He means that we don’t have to hide our suffering. Because then others know that they’re not suffering alone, and there’s power in that. Solidarity. Mercy. Trust that lets us tend each others’ wounds and carry each other for another day. “Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us for the sake of the Son.” And this will be enough for us. Therefore, my friends, may this Trinity Sunday be a blessing for you and for me.