Reflections: Saturday the First Week of Pentecost

June 3, 2023

Today’s Reading: Introit for Holy Trinity Psalm 16:8; antiphon: Liturgical Text

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 32:1-6,16-27, Luke 24:1-27

Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided unity; let us give glory to Him because He has shown us mercy.  (Liturgical Text)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a good mystery. Solving a riddle. Reading Sherlock Holmes. Watching Scooby Doo, Shaggy, and the gang unmask another dastardly villain.

Tomorrow on Trinity Sunday we celebrate one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith, the Holy Trinity. 

Tomorrow we join the Scriptures in celebrating not so much an event, like Jesus’ birth at Christmas or His resurrection at Easter, but God’s revelation of himself. That God is Three in One and One in Three. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God. A singular plurality and a plural singularity.

Tomorrow we celebrate not a when, but a who. Today we rejoice in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. That…We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. 

Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday, and there’s a mystery afoot. Ultimately, however, this mystery of the Holy Trinity isn’t a riddle to unpack, a puzzle to solve, or even a question we can fully answer, much less understand. Rather, the Holy Trinity is revealed in Scripture that we believe, teach, and confess. 

As we give thanks and praise the Holy Trinity, we also give thanks and praise that the God who is beyond our understanding reveals himself in words we can hear and understand. The uncreated God comes to us by means of his creation revealing his saving love in simple words, plain water, ordinary bread and wine. The incomprehensible God becomes comprehensible for us as he accomplishes the most incomprehensible, yet gracious act of all, as he goes to the cross to die for you. 

Yes, indeed, we confess a great mystery in the Holy Trinity. But it is a gracious mystery from our good and gracious Lord. Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided unity; let us give glory to Him because He has shown us mercy. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday) 

-Pastor Samuel Schuldheisz is Pastor at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.