Do you see me in creation? I Am God. Did you hear me in the stillness? I Am God
Did you meet me at the mountain, Bathe in grace at Jordan's fountain?
Have you known me as your father? I Am God
 
Do you see me in my children? I Am God. Can you hear me in their crying? I Am God
Do you taste me in the bread, Find new birth where you are dead?
Do you call me your Messiah? I Am God.
 
Do you see me where there's freedom? I Am God. Do you hear me when the wind blows?
I Am God. Will your soul be set on fire, and your vision lifted higher?
Will you share my loving Spirit? I Am God
 
God of Abraham and Isaac, and the sons of Israel. Lord of sinners and of Sabbath,
Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, Fiery pillar of salvation, soft descending holy dove.
I am Father, Son and Spirit, I am God and I am love.
I am Father, Son and Spirit, I am God and I am love.
"I Am God", By Mark Newlon, Text - Larry Wik

In searching music which I often do, I found the song above. I was so impressed with the text that I decided to use this for my devotion. The music has an interesting tune but it is the verses that stood out for me: The God of creation, the God of Salvation and the Presence of God.

According to its description, this song is suitable for use on Trinity Sunday. Each verse pays honor to a single part of the Trinity, while the refrain sort of sums it up and brings it all together. I thought about all of this as a result of our midweek book discussion on "The Shack". We had some thought-provoking discussions on the Trinity so when I saw this song I thought it was well-written and worth sharing.

I think most of us can agree that the concept of the Trinity is hard to understand. It's difficult to grasp that God somehow is one God and yet is also the Son, which isn't God, and the Spirit, which isn't God or the Son, that they are different, but they are one. It's no surprise that all of us struggle with the mystery of the Trinity and how we can best understand it. Of course we have the Creeds, but if we're honest we recite these Creeds or we read them and we really don't think too much about what they are saying. But when we do stop and try to think through them carefully, as we did at our book discussion, I'm not so sure that we can find our understanding helped by them.

This leads me to think about the way I view the Trinity. Just as I am my daughter's mother, and my mother's daughter and my brother's sister, though I am those different people, I am me, the same me. I am one person engaged in three significant relationships just as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in relationship with one another. But of course there is so much more... those three in that relationship do a remarkable thing. They invite us to participate in fellowship with them. And I think that this is where the heart of the Trinity really is. God is love. God loves His Son and He suffers and dies for us. So God shows His love for us through His love for his Son, and we are His beloved. And then we are given the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, this presence that is poured into our hearts. I believe that the last line of the song's refrain is what hit me the most as it says: "I am Father, Son and Spirit, I am God and I am love."

With this understanding, Jesus gives us the two great commandments. To love God with everything we are, and everything we have, and to love our neighbors the same way we love ourselves.

Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus calls us to make disciples of all nations. We are to make students, pupils, learners, and they are to become faithful followers of Jesus. And they are to be baptized in the name of the Trinity. But, we discover that it's next to impossible to do it ourselves, we cannot manage it on our own which is why Jesus says, "and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

He is with us always, always, even if it might seem he is not. And this presence begins as we gather around the Word and Sacraments. By practicing our faith in worship and in service, we take part in the life and love of the triune God. We are the body of Christ, filled with his Spirit, empowered, and enabled to live out our faith in the world.

Contributed by Chris
Sunday September 20, 2009
Liturgical Year B Week 43
Sunday Gospel Readings:
Lectionary 25 (Proper 20)
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost