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HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY May 31, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto OPENING HYMN: 507 “Holy, Holy, Holy” Lutheran Service Book The Invocation Page 184 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 Introit (read by the Pastor) Psalm 16:8-11, antiphon: Liturgical Text Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown mercy to us. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown mercy to us. Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Page 186 The Salutation Page 189 Collect Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of the true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our Bible Readings: Old Testament Reading -- Genesis 1:1-13 & 24-31 Psalm 8 Epistle Reading -- Acts 2:14a; 22-36 Alleluia & Verse Page 190 Gospel Reading -- Matthew 28:16-20 THE ATHANASIAN CREED Page 319 HYMN OF THE DAY: 499 “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest” THE SERMON – Holy Trinity Sunday is unlike every other Sunday in the Church Year. Most Sundays focus on an event in the life of Christ or a particular teaching of our Lord. But today, the Church pauses in wonder and adoration before the mystery of who God is. Who He eternally is: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons. And so today we confess with the Church throughout the ages the words of the Athanasian Creed: “We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.” This is not a doctrine invented by theologians. It is not a philosophical puzzle created by the Church. The Trinity is the way God has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture, the Bible. And that revelation matters deeply, because the Holy Trinity is not an abstract doctrine removed from daily life. The Trinity is the source of your creation, salvation, sanctification, and our eternal hope. The Father creates you. The Son redeems you. The Holy Spirit sanctifies; He works faith within us and preserves us in the true faith. And yet these are not three gods acting separately, but one God working in perfect unity. Already in the opening verses of Genesis, we hear the mystery of the Trinity revealed: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The Father is acting. Then we hear: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” The Holy Spirit is acting. And when God speaks creation into existence—“Let there be light”—the eternal Word is present. Christ is acting. As the Apostle John declares in His Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word… All things were made through Him.” Martin Luther emphasized this in his lectures on Genesis. He wrote: “The Father creates through the Son, whom Moses calls the Word, and over this creative work hovers the Holy Spirit.” Luther recognized that even at creation, the Trinity is at work. And notice something remarkable in Genesis. God says: “Let Us make man in Our image.” Not “my,” but “Our.” God uses plurals to describe Himself. The Christian Church has long understood these words as a glimpse into the communion of the Holy Trinity. Luther wrote on this passage: “Here Moses clearly and forcibly expresses the mystery of the faith, that within and in the one divine essence, there are three distinct Persons.” The world did not create itself. Creation is not an accident. You are not the product of blind chance. You were lovingly created by the Triune God. Every breath you take is gift. Every sunrise is mercy. Every good thing comes from the hand of the Triune God. But the tragedy of Genesis is that the creatures made in God’s image rebelled against Him. Sin entered the world. Death followed. And this is where the work of the Trinity in salvation shines forth. The Father sends the Son. The Son becomes flesh. The Spirit testifies to Him and works faith in our hearts. In today’s reading from Acts, St. Peter proclaims the risen and exalted Lord: “This Jesus God raised up.” And again: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God… He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.” Notice how the Trinity is present at Pentecost. The Father raises the Son from death and exalts Him. The Son pours out the Spirit. The Spirit creates faith through Peter’s preaching of Christ. Christ crucified for our sins and raised for our justification. Your very faith is the result of the work the Holy Spirit has done and continues to do in you. Salvation is the work of the Triune God from beginning to end. Martin Chemnitz wrote beautifully on this, saying: “The external works of the Trinity are undivided.” That means the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together in perfect unity. Though Scripture may emphasize one Person in a particular work, all three Persons are involved because there is one divine essence and one divine will. The Father did not stand apart from your salvation. The Son did not act independently. The Spirit is not disconnected from Christ. Rather, the Triune God acted together for your redemption. The Father loved the world. The Son redeemed the world with His blood. The Spirit delivers that redemption through God’s Word and Sacraments. This is why Holy Baptism is so precious. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, our risen Lord commands: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Notice Jesus says “name,” singular. Not names. One Name. One God. Yet three distinct Persons. And into that Name you were baptized. The Triune God placed His Name upon you. The Father adopted you. The Son washed you clean in His blood. The Spirit created faith and made you a temple of God. This is not symbolic language. It’s reality. Your Baptism joins you to the life of the Holy Trinity. The Athanasian Creed says: “This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.” Those words may sound severe to modern ears, but the Church speaks this way because salvation depends on knowing the true God. A false god cannot save. Only the true God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—can redeem sinners. And the marvel of Christianity is this: the eternal communion of love within the Trinity overflows in mercy toward sinners. The Father doesn’t merely tolerate you. The Son doesn’t reluctantly forgive you. The Spirit does not begrudgingly sanctify you. The Triune God delights to save. The famous theologian Johann Gerhard wrote in his Loci Theologici: “The mystery of the Trinity is not revealed for idle speculation but that we may know the true God and rightly worship Him.” And that is exactly right. The doctrine of the Trinity is not meant to satisfy human curiosity. It is given so that terrified sinners may know who God is toward them. The Father who sends His Son for you. The Son who dies and rises for you. The Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you. This means that as a Christian, the Trinity is part of your daily life. When you pray, you pray to the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how or what to pray When you hear absolution, the Triune God forgives you. When you receive the Lord’s Supper, the crucified and risen Son gives you His body and blood, and the Spirit strengthens your faith. When you suffer, the Father still governs all things for your good. When you are weary, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. When death approaches, the Son who conquered the grave remains with you. And this matters, especially in our confused age. Many today want a god made in their own image—a god without holiness, without judgment, without mystery. But the true God cannot be remade according to human preferences. He reveals Himself. And He reveals Himself as Trinity. One God. Three Persons. Coequal. Coeternal. Uncreated. Infinite. Majestic. Yet also merciful. Luther once said: “To try to deny the Trinity endangers your salvation; to try to comprehend the Trinity endangers your sanity.” There is wisdom in that statement. We cannot fully comprehend God. If we could fit Him neatly into human logic, He would not be God. Yet while we cannot fully understand the Trinity, we can truly confess Him because He has revealed Himself in Scripture. And faith clings not to human understanding, but to divine revelation. So today, the Church doesn’t attempt to explain away the mystery. Rather, we kneel before it in worship. With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we confess: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Brothers and sisters, remember this above all: The Trinity is not just a doctrine to memorize. The Trinity is your life. You were created by the Father. Redeemed by the Son. Sanctified by the Spirit. And the Triune God who began this good work in you, will bring it to completion on the day of Christ’s final return. Then, in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, you will behold in perfect joy the glory of the Trinity forever. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 The Words of Our Lord Page 197 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Pages 198 (Our Communion Hymn is 636 “Soul Adorn Yourself With Gladness”) Nunc Dimitis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 CLOSING HYMN: 876 “O Blessed, Holy Trinity”