Ephesians 1:3-14
Sermon on Trinity Sunday Eph 1:3-14 and Confirmands present their bible verse
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" - this greeting at the beginning of the sermon takes up the theme of Trinity Sunday: God is one. And is also three: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Three in one - how is that possible? And yet this theological idea says a lot about what God is like. And one thing is clear. God is more comprehensive, greater than any human being can ever comprehend.
But he engages in a story with people and reveals more and more of himself to them over time. God cannot and does not want to be for himself. He seeks a relationship with us.
Confirmands present their sayings
Katharina Brandl: The Lord is my light and my salvation; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
Meike Adrian: Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Cor 16:14
Yana Bischofberger: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12:21
Xenia Rust: Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Ps 23:6
Kai Schlüter: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Lars Krüger: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Luke 21:33
Heinrich Kyrieleis: All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23
Christopher Moorcraft: God is my stronghold and makes my path straight and clear. 2 Sam 22:33
Dear Confirmands, there is a lot of talk about relationship in your explanations for your Confirmation sayings.
God is a relationship-loving God. And he created man in his own image, it says at the beginning of the Bible. Man is a counterpart to God and God quickly realizes that man in turn needs someone to share his life with.
And so this year your relationship with God has grown, as well as with each other and with our congregation.
The sermon text prescribed for this Sunday reinforces this idea: God seeks a relationship with us and this makes our lives whole. And we can only praise God for this. In Ephesians we find this "song of praise", some also speak of a "meditation" on what is to be said about God. Such a text cannot and should not only be read and understood. It always wants to be recited inwardly and perhaps also with a loud voice. It is a poetic text that consists not only of a train of thought, but whose words should resonate and resonate within me
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Everything serves the praise of God's glory.
That we meet here in church, Sunday after Sunday and sometimes even during the week. Because we belong to Christ. He is our head, we are his members.
God, the Father, shows himself in him and gives us his blessing. This is indicated today on the altar with the flowers on the veil. The orange blossoms fall upon us like a blessing. And that is God's will alone, what happens there, he has decided it. Praise be to God ... Through Christ's actions, which ultimately brought him to the cross, we are redeemed and experience forgiveness and grace. A blessing, reconciling, loving action through which we "live to the praise of his glory".
And because we belong to Christ, God has imprinted his seal on us. The Holy Spirit - a reference to baptism. Baptism is the sign of belonging to God and Christ; and as a reminder of Jesus' baptism, of which we are told: "When he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And there came a voice from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased'" (Mk 1:10f).
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3 green wreaths wrapped around the cross today. Green - life - hope for us.
All three are God in themselves, none of the 3 persons is subordinate to the other two. All three are one. The idea of the Trinity is intended to express that God shows himself to us as Father and Creator of this world, as Jesus, his Son, as the Holy Spirit present among us.
I encounter God in different ways in my life. Sometimes I am close to the Father, sometimes to the Son, sometimes to the Spirit. Something starts to move, to vibrate in me, because he, God, is in motion and remains in motion. God is a living God who enters into a relationship with us. He wants to touch us in our innermost being and he also allows himself to be touched by us.
That resonates with me.
How wonderful. Praise be to God. Amen