Three in One

Holy Trinity Sunday
May 31, 2026
Matthew 28:16-20

“Three in One”

For anyone who does even small DIY jobs around the house, here’s something that is a must: 3-in-One Oil, “which is a general-purpose lubricating oil sold for household and do-it-yourself use. It was originally formulated in 1894 for use on bicycles, and remains a popular lubricant for bicycle chains. Its name, given by inventor George W. Cole of New Jersey in 1894, reflects the product’s triple ability to “clean, lubricate and protect.” The product changed ownership many times throughout the 20th century and was bought by its current owners, the WD-40 Company, in 1995” (3-in-One Oil - Wikipedia). We might call today “3-in-One Sunday” as we celebrate the Triune God whom we worship and serve: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This festival of the Holy Trinity has been observed for more than 1,000 years in the life of the Christian Church, and that is our focus in worship and preaching today. Based on Jesus’ words in the Gospel lesson, the Great Commission, the sermon is entitled “Three in One.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

This is the one Sunday in the church year when we use that really long creed, the Athanasian Creed, as our profession of faith. The very word “creed” comes from the Latin, credo, meaning “I believe. It is a statement of faith that many believers have not only lived for, but died for. We know the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, as we use these more regularly in worship services. The Apostles’ Creed has its origins as a profession of faith given in Holy Baptism and is still used for that purpose today. The Nicene Creed spells out more the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and is used in worship when we celebrate Holy Communion, in which Christ comes to us under bread and wine, giving us his true Body and Blood. But the Athanasian Creed? It is named after St. Athanasius (296 – 373 A.D.) of Alexandria, Egypt. Athanasius was a champion in his day of Biblical teaching on the Trinity as well as the Person and work of Christ, over against the Arian controversy. Though attributed to Athanasius, this anonymous creed clearly came at a later stage in the debate. The very length of this creed that bears Athanasius’ name can be off-putting, and it seems to repeat itself so much. And yet, this Athanasian Creed is a clear exposition on what is a central belief of our Christian faith, and that is the great Three-in-One, the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson, what we often call the “Great Commission,” are a clear reference to the Triune God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: this is the very Name of God into which we are baptized and by which we go and make disciples of all nation. When we get to the Athanasian Creed today, consider the words used to describe our three-in-one God here: uncreated, infinite, eternal and almighty. These are everything that we as human beings are not. In contrast to what Father, Son and Holy Spirit are, we are created, finite, mortal and limited. Each Person of the Godhead is what the others are, “And yet there are not three gods, but one God.” Over against the world around us that urges us to compromise the truth of who God is, “Christian truth compels us to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord.” This confession of faith in the Triune God may be met with ambivalence at best and hostility at worst. People may tell us, “That’s ridiculous! You either have one God or you have three. How can you have three in one? It doesn’t make any sense!” And this would “most certainly be true,” from a created, finite, mortal and limited perspective. But led by the Spirit, we  walk by faith, accepting this sacred mystery that defies human logic and holding fast the truth of our confession in our three-in-one God.

Created by God the Father, redeemed by the cleansing blood of God the Son, called to faith and sustained in faith by God the Holy Spirit, each Person of our three-in-one God works together in unity and harmony. Theologians have called this perichoresis, the divine dance of the Holy Trinity, where all three Persons of the Godhead move together in unity, drawing us as believers into this sacred dance of faith. This unity of the Holy Trinity is seen in the natural world around us with things that we may not even notice; things like water, an apple, and a plant. Water is found in three forms: as a liquid, as a vapor (steam), and as a solid (ice). All are water. Three in one. An apple has three parts: the peel or skin, the flesh, and the core. All are part of the one apple. Three in one. And the shamrock plant. As legend tells it, it was this plant used by St. Patrick to help explain the Trinity to the Irish people when he brought the Christian faith to Ireland. There are three leaves on one stem. Three in one. Here in our Sanctuary, the last plaque on the far right of the choir loft wall portrays this holy mystery of our three-in-one God with three intertwining circles, each without beginning or end. And here in the Chancel, the two altar plaques together with the central cross all point us to our Triune God whom we worship and serve. There is God the Father’s hand of blessing, open to us in love.  There is the cross of God the Son, as Peter in today’s Epistle lesson (Acts 2:14a, 22-36) says, who was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God… crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it” (Acts 2:23-24). There is the descending dove and flames of the Holy Spirit, poured out upon the Church at Pentecost, and given to us in our Baptism into Christ’s own death and resurrection.

This is our three-in-one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to whom be glory and praise forever and ever. Amen.