The God Pause for Sunday, 11 June 2017 - The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States “Holy God, We Praise Your Name” (ELW 414)

The God Pause for Sunday, 11 June 2017 - The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States “Holy God, We Praise Your Name” (ELW 414)
“Holy God, We Praise Your Name” (ELW 414)
1. Holy God, we praise your name;
Lord of all, we bow before you.
All on earth your scepter claim,
all in heav'n above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain,
everlasting is your reign.
2. Hark! The glad celestial hymn
angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim,
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav'ns with sweet accord:
"Holy, holy, holy Lord!"
3. Lo, the apostolic train
join your sacred name to hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the white-robed martyrs follow;
and from morn to set of sun
through the church the song goes on.
4. Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name you,
though in essence only one;
undivided God we claim you
and, adoring, bend the knee
while we own the mystery.
------- Today is Trinity Sunday. It's the only Sunday of the church year that's devoted exclusively to a church doctrine. Yet that doctrine--that we believe in "one God in three persons"--isn't easy to understand. Indeed, there is much about the divine that is mysterious and beyond our grasp.
But perhaps that mysteriousness is a good thing. It's a reminder that our deep-seated convictions about God are not the same as certainty. There is much we will not know this side of heaven--including whether the doctrinal tenets we cling to are on the mark.
In his book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, author Rob Bell makes the case that we need to find a way to discuss faith that invites people in, rather than shuts them out. Acknowledging the mystery, humbly offering testimony, seeking to understand, listening more than we speak: these things might not provide answers to our own questions about the Trinity. But they may lead to faithful--and faith-building--conversations.
Holy Three-In-One, may I embrace the mystery that is you, yet still praise your name with fervor. Amen.
Shelley Cunningham, '98
Pastor, Zumbro Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota THE LUTHER SEMINARY
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
Telephone: 651-641-3456
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