Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
ROMANS 5: 1-5
JOHN 16: 12-15
JUNE 15, 2025
I grew up in a church where the Holy Trinity mattered … a church that celebrated Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I have shared with many of you that as a child perhaps due to my church’s reliance on the King James’ translation of God’s Word that God’s Holy Spirit was referred to as the Holy Ghost. Believe me that concept scared the living daylights out of me because even though I watched and enjoyed Casper the Friendly Ghost it was the frightening ghosts from movies and cartoons that I associated with that name Pastor Lewis quite frequently mentioned in church. I never wanted to bump into a ghost holy or unholy … actually my image of ghosts is definitely unholy.
It seemed strange that this ghost was haunting us. Believe me, I never heard my pastor nor my Sunday School teachers clarify the difference … never understood that one of my lifetime opportunities to connect with God comes consistently from God’s Holy Spirit. We heard Paul reference this in today’s reading from his letter to the early church in Rome … “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Of course we need to be open to it for God to reach us.
I think that it is very appropriate for us to consider the Trinity on Father’s Day. It is not that I will ever be able to adequately create a visual image for you of what that heavenly power force will look like on the day we go to glory. I am quite sure that we have a good sense of Jesus’ appearance because He lived amongst us. We know that He was not a blue eyed European but rather a dark skinned or olive skinned Middle Eastern young man. We can presume that He had a beard and long hair … at least that is my image, but I have seen paintings of Him without a beard and with shorter hair.
As for the Holy Spirit, William Young in his book THE SHACK created the best image of God’s Holy Spirit for me. He named the Spirit Sarayu, which comes from the Sanskrit language and means wind or flowing air. The original Greek name for the Spirit, which was the language when the New Testament was first put down in writing is Pneuma Hagion, which literally means holy breath or holy wind or Holy Spirit. Has nothing to do with ghosts whatsoever … I really wonder what those 16th century British translators were thinking or drinking. What’s interesting is that in the New Testament there are times that God’s Spirit is also referred to in Greek as Parakletos, which is best translated in English to our words advocate, counselor, helper, or comforter.
Jesus whom God sent to us for some very clear reasons stated “when the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you in all truth. He will glorify me, because He will take what is mine and proclaim it to you.” Jesus continued as John reports to us, “Everything that the Father has is mine … that is why I said that the Spirit will proclaim it to you.” Jesus earlier in John’s Gospel said, “My teaching is not my own, but it comes from my Father who sent me. Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know what I teach comes from God.”
And here we are on Father’s Day. Fortunate to be here … we made a choice to join in worship either in person or online with an opportunity to do some connecting of the dots to ensure that we live a life focused on God’s teaching thankful for God’s love that God showed us by providing a Messiah to us and then an advocate and guide to live our life. Believers … the faithful … those who live lives obviously impacted by Jesus’ teaching, which comes from God … it’s a choice but not everyone makes it.
We all know that like many who choose to run from their parents we can also choose to reject God’s teaching perhaps to ensure that our non-faithful friends wrap us up in their arms. So that we can fit into their world and not receive the criticism Jesus warns us can very well be the impact of following Him and standing up for what God expects.
Father’s Day … a God-connecting day … putting together God’s gifts of Son and Holy Spirit. How do you utilize what God offers for your life? Your Heavenly Father or not?
My friend Kevin Portz who is a deacon in the Episcopal Church and who was my first roommate after I graduated from university shared some Father’s Day insight this week as he travelled through Spain. Back in the day when we both worked for Social Security and lived in Vineland we were typical 22 year olds we never would have imagined becoming a pastor or a deacon … well we were not quite typical because even after partying on Friday and Saturday nights you would usually find us in some church on Sunday’s. Clearly we had been impacted by someone growing up … Kevin who never became a dad but who has been honored by the federal government and the State of Louisiana for his actions to care for hundreds of individuals if not more like a good dad … shared a message to those who call God their Father God … to those who hold Jesus Christ as Savior … those nudged in life by the Holy Spirit … his message, “We are part of a global communion of hope in the Risen Christ. We do not stand alone but are called to live by our baptismal promises to persevere in the teachings of Jesus Christ resisting evil and seeking peace among all people. We need to be courageous in our faith and resilient as God has taught us. Bringing His peace and justice among ALL people.”
Portz got me to thinking … how do we become part of this global movement connected with God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. God has no boundaries whatsoever. Jesus Christ … well He came for all of humanity. How did you discover Jesus? Did you fear the Holy Ghost or embrace God’s Holy Spirit? Who brought you the Light of Christ?
A few weeks ago, Betsy and Molly shared the impact their mom had on them. We all are blessed to know Denise and I am so glad we took her by surprise. I absolutely believe that the people we become is the result of an active effort by some adults when we are young. Some of us are blessed with amazing and loving parents … others have been embraced and molded by aunts and uncles, teachers, scout leaders, Sunday School teachers or pastors who have provided positive life direction.
I am one of those lucky ones who had a great loving dad … and earlier this morning dad “got me” again as I will share with you in a few moments.
I don’t think I have ever asked anyone what their first memory of their parents is. For those of you in my Bible study this might be an upcoming question. For dad and me it was Bill Mazeroski’s walk-on home-run against the NY Yankees in the 1960 World Series. Dad rushed home from work that afternoon sat down next to me and suddenly an image on our black and white TV showed Pittsburgh’s second baseman running around the bases with his arms raised up and an incredible smile on his face as teammates greeted him at home plate. Dad was up on his feet in those moments cheering and I am pretty sure tearing up as his team won the world championship.
That’s the first memory … but the essential memories ingrained in my heart and mind that more than likely helped make me the person I am today are reflections of Bob Delaney’s faith-connection. In World War 2 dad volunteered but he did not want to kill people so he volunteered to be a medic. He island hopped in the Pacific doing all he could to heal the wounded and spend last moments with the dying. As you might imagine he came home with PTSD but he came home. He did not want to kill people in a war but volunteered for one of the worst and most dangerous jobs in the military. He wouldn’t talk about the war but later I found a newspaper clipping from his hometown paper stating his nation recognized what dad did for freedom and to stop an evil dictator in his tracks. It was outside of Randall Memorial Baptist Church … I can take you to the exact spot if you ever are with me in Buffalo … dad taught me about racism and hate. Dad was a conservative man living in the time when race riots were occurring in our cities and when Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was marching … dad looked me in the eye and said ALL HUMANS WERE CREATED IN GOD’s IMAGE DAVID … ALL … and you, my son, are to LOVE ALL OF THEM no matter what some in power might say. Dad went on to explain that evil causes racism … or dad would have said the DEVIL causes racism and hate. Dad was big on referencing the devil.
Dad’s example for my brother and me was that church mattered. He and mom volunteered at church. Taught Sunday School … they didn’t make us read our Bibles with them but we saw them reading their Bibles at the dining room table and while sitting on the sofa. Dad provided a lesson … FATHER and son … and in the midst of it all was the Holy Spirit nudging and directing. Dad’s one son today belongs to two churches not just one and this son is a pastor. I think dad’s influence was rather incredible.
So who are you influencing? This is not just a message for the male members of this church. We all have an obligation to God, the Father, to the Son, Jesus Christ whose very last words were to tell us to go into the world and make disciples, which I believe should begin at home.
And, are you allowing yourself to be influenced by the Holy Spirit or do you prefer the talking heads on FOX NEWS and MSN who just want to get you to separate, divide and hate. Frankly, and no offense intended but I will never understand why any of us needs to watch voices on our electronic boxes screaming at us to take one side over the other when God’s Holy Spirit is calling us to love all. That’s not entertainment that’s making a choice.
God, the Father, who connected us with God, the Son, whose name is Jesus and leads us by the Holy Spirit … wants each of us to accept God’s love. It requires a commitment on our part … a willingness to be led by God finding the time and space and quietness to sense where we need to go. We need to read the Gospels to read God’s directions through Jesus’ words and then we need to follow to be led … to be loved.
And, today I opened up this Bible … knowing I had something from dad inside the Bible but I read it … a poem. Shocked, I have started writing a book of poetry with my daughter but never thought of dad as a poet just as a dad of faith who taught me that we are to welcome anyone and everyone into our home especially strangers who others might reject … here’s my dad’s Father’s Day gift to me on a Megan Pretzel Sunday.