Proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of your hearer. If it is good enough for the Athanasian Creed, it is good enough for your pulpit.
Hot on the heels of half of Peter’s Pentecost pulpit time last week comes part two of that inaugural message, seeding the infant church with the word that creates conviction and faith. We do not get the outcome of conviction and faith read out loud in this Holy Trinity pericope (they were cut to the heart, what shall we do?, repent and be baptized, Acts 2:37-38), but we know that is the historic outcome of the Word proclaimed (then as now). So, point one as a biblical preacher to keep in mind this week: The words Peter proclaimed, and the words you proclaim, will do their work. That is the Law (which works its intended outcomes of conviction and repentance) and the Gospel (which works its intended outcomes of faith and salvation). Preach the Law and Gospel this week, preacher.
Do not forget that those are opposite messages. They do not serve the same coextensive purpose, as if they are each philosophically necessary to serve some “law above the law,” some hidden system in the mind of God. They do not exist in equilibrium or balance in some kind of existential codependence. They are simply apples and oranges. The one condemns and kills. The other vivifies and empowers. The Law always accuses. The Gospel transforms. The only relevant common denominator of law and gospel is they both come from the mouth of God and hit the sinner’s ears. But they are not the same. So, do not confuse them, nor think that the Gospel leads to new laws or a new law. Distinguish them in your own head and let your craft follow suit.
That is an admonition, a reminder, and it is timely because the occasion of Trinity Sunday, maybe more than most occasions, runs the risk of inviting explanations and content which is unfruitfully teachy. Lots of teachers are comfortable with presentations that talk about a topic rather than delivering a gift to truly help a life lived with God and man. What is the job? Would you rather get all the data you can about the symptoms and history of your disease, scientific explanations and the state-of-the-art treatments available from the WebMD website, or would you rather have a doc actually treat the illness, get the medicine, get the therapy, get the goods delivered? This simple analogy translates on Trinity Sunday to lessons I have sat through that attempt to explain the mystery of the three-in-one and one-in-three. Explanations and lectures do not save. Sometimes the less said the better. An economy of speech should be a help in this regard.
Which reminds me of the Athanasian Creed. I must imagine there have been folks through the centuries (and certainly we will have people in the pews this week!) who range from confused to mildly amused at what sounds like pedantry, as we repeat our annual recitation of the Athanasian Creed. The challenge before us as self-reflective Christians is to confess it, even lengthy as it is, not as a dusty artifact of history (much less with a cocked eyebrow or eyeroll!) but to glory in the genius of it. And notice, Christian, that the genius of this creed lies in its center of gravity: The person and work of Jesus Christ for our salvation. How much more ought a sermon on the topic and a sermon on this text! You owe it to your hearer not to be teachy (overly explanatory and presenting a topic to talk about), but to be preachy instead. Alas, that word has a pejorative ring in English. What I mean is to proclaim (give the gift and make certain it is delivered!). Proclaim the person and work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of your hearer. If it is good enough for the Athanasian Creed, it is good enough for your pulpit.
That the Father sends the Spirit through His Son to those who receive His resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand, this is good news.
Teachy leads to law because teachy is, by its nature, didactic. Didactic unfolds systems, categories, yeses and nos, and leads to a life of wisdom, a life that fears (and loves and trusts) in God above all other things to serve God and neighbor according to vocation. This is catechesis, and we ought to glory in it. But catechesis has its proper place. The pulpit can (and should!) be used for catechesis. But I would encourage you to employ the catechetical pulpit sparingly, because the proper function of the pulpit is not some imagined, fair-and-balanced, neutral exegesis of a text (much less a systematic treatment of Christian doctrine). Rather, it is the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins. So, as you consider the texts before you to deliver that gift on this celebration of the Holy Trinity, look specifically for the Gospel. Just as the center of balance in the Athanasian Creed is the person and work of Christ, so should it also be in your preaching.
The Acts 2 text, of course, has its center of gravity in precisely this content, making it a perfect reading for the occasion. This is a great justification for the lectionary committee to have maintained it as the second lesson across all three years (not simply as part two of the Pentecost sermon!). Appreciate how trinitarian theology comes through here. After the Joel 2 (Joel 3 in the Masoretic Text) volley, Peter preaches the patriarch David via Psalm 16, linking all of Old Testament history to Christ’s being delivered up as part of God’s plan all along. He continues by appealing to the most recent history his audience has experienced: The resurrection and ascension of Jesus (Acts 2:22-33). He then doubles down on his conclusion with Acts 2:34. It is the Psalm 110 climax, emphasizing, as Christ had in his passion-week zinger with the Sadducees (Luke 20:41-44), that “David did not ascend into the heavens,” but David knew his Lord, and his Lord is Jesus. And this Jesus is the one who returned to His Father, the one who sent His Spirit, and the one whose “enemies (are) Your footstool” (Acts 2:35), who are those who do not share the faith of David who prophesied this Christ.
The fact that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is no good news. That the Father sends the Spirit through His Son to those who receive His resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand, this is good news. The one message is not simply neutral information about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The fact of the matter translates to inescapable and accusing law (you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men, Acts 2:23; your enemies your footstool, Acts 2:35; this Jesus, whom you crucified, Acts 2:36). The other message, though, is the miracle, what God did not have to do, but did. It is the Gospel. Jesus is the one God delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23) as the one who the patriarch David hoped in (Acts 2:26-28), an object of hope for David, for the apostles and tongue-speaking, mighty-works-of-God-proclaiming disciples of Peter’s day, and for your hearers this week. Notice, Davidic hope is trust in God’s goodness that springs from the Father’s love of His Son. Acts 2:26-28 should be your special study in this pericope on the good news delivered to those who trust in God’s favor.
It is God’s favor for His Son, that is, His Christ. Another word for that favor is “grace,” of course. Grace is God’s unmerited kindness, His favor towards sinful people in light of the person and work of Jesus Christ. That favor saves. It is as if God in His judgment stares at His enemies and pronounces His verdict, saving only the one whose merits He favors: His Son. Then, God looks through His Son at those who were judged and pronounces them innocent instead of guilty. God’s favor, God’s grace, is like another pair of lenses He looks through. They are not rose-colored glasses, not excused-absence or other negotiated demerit or discipline perspective, not blinders ignoring sin and unrighteousness, but looking, instead, through Christ-colored lenses, such that the Father says about the sinner, “You look like My Son. He is My favorite guy. I love Him. I love you.” That is grace. That is what David knew. That is what he hoped in. That is what he trusted in. And that is the gift to deliver to your hearer on this Holy Trinity Sunday.
You do not have to give a lecture on the faith of David, any more than you must prepare a discourse on the economy of the Holy Trinity or the communication of attributes. Instead, present the Christ who David hoped in, and you will have given the day and occasion its proper honor and your hearers the object of faith that saves.
God bless your Holy Trinity preaching this week!
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on Acts 2:14a, 22-36.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you preaching Acts 2:1-21.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
