It was one of those odd coincidences that happen in everyone's life. I was looking through a file cabinet in the basement yesterday, and I came across my high school diploma. I remember the day vividly - walking across the stage and shaking hands with Mr. Sutton the Principal and Mr. Barr the Superintendent. The diploma meant I was pretty smart, and at that time in my life I was dumb enough to believe it. I looked at the date: June 6! I probably hadn't seen the diploma in thirty or more years, and I came across it yesterday, June 6 - exactly forty-six years to the day. A small one to be sure, but a coincidence nonetheless. So I had high school on my mind yesterday morning, when I got an e-mail from a friend. At the end of the message was an invitation to pass it along to other grandparents. Can you imagine? I shake hands with Mr. Sutton and Mr. Barr and it seems the next thing I know, I'm burping a granddaughter!

At any rate, the e-mail contained conversations between grandchildren and grandparents, and they're priceless. Here's one from a grandmother: "I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, 'Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these things yourself!'"

This morning we observe Trinity Sunday. In one sense, every Sunday at worship is Trinity Sunday. The pastor begins worship, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The pastor greets the congregation, "The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." The pastor concludes the liturgy, "Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever." Each Sunday is Trinity written large. And this morning we'll speak Trinity again during the time of Baptism: "Jack Charles, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Some of you even put your action to my words, as you trace the sign of the cross.

And with this in mind, I'd like to ask you a couple questions. You could shout out the answers - but please don't. Remember now, we're Lutherans, and we don't react during the sermon that way. Plus, the grandfather of Jack Charles is a pastor, and I don't want him to steal your thunder. So here are the questions. Since we believe there is only one God, how can God the Father be in heaven and God the Son pray to him? And the second almost echoes the first: Why would God the Son cry out from the cross, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" These are just two of many questions I'd like to ask this morning, but won't. I don't want any of you saying to me, "Pastor, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!"

For two thousand years Christians have been trying to figure out these things. From the beginning of time, in fact, we humans have been trying to fit God into our hearts as we try to wrap our minds around God. We have formulated doctrines and creeds to try to clarify and explain, but the questions are far larger than our answers. Another way of saying that God is bigger than the mightiest of minds. It can be no other way.

William Sloane Coffin wore many hats in his long ministry. He was a staunch anti-war activist during the Vietnam Era; he was convinced that nonviolence was more revolutionary than violence." He was a long-time chaplain at Yale University, and once served as the pastor of Riverside Cathedral. Coffin writes this: "It is bad theology to deify doctrines and creeds. While indispensable to religious life, doctrines and creeds are only signposts. Love alone is the hitching post." Poetic. When it comes to God, creeds are signposts; love is the hitching post.

Speaking of "when it comes to God," Nicodemus wanted to; in fact he yearned to come to God. He chose his route wisely as one night, very late, he came to Jesus. What was Nicodemus looking for? A handle on God. Now remember, this is only the third chapter of the Gospel of John. To this point, Jesus had performed just one miracle. He turned water into wine at a wedding reception. News must travel fast the seventy miles from Cana to Jerusalem. When Nicodemus heard how Jesus had saved the day, he suspected Jesus could do even greater things than mere water into wine. He prayed Jesus could take questions and turn them into answers.

That being the case, I wonder if maybe Nicodemus was disappointed when the late night conversation was finished and he returned to his home. Maybe Nicodemus was thinking, "What was that all about? I didn't get a thing from it." Nicodemus might be as disappointed as some of you might be at the end of this sermon - especially so if you are looking for descriptions of God, and a definition which would truly define God. After all, the last recorded words of Nicodemus are, "How can these things be?"

Jesus the preacher talks about being born again. Nicodemus in the pew wonders how to get back into his mother's womb. Jesus talks about the wind blowing, and being born of water and the Spirit; with his head spinning, Nicodemus wonders, "How can these things be?" And Jesus goes on to talk about a snake on a stick and the Son of Man being also lifted up. Confusing stuff and I picture a disappointed Nicodemus edging his way to the door. And then Jesus stops him in his tracks, "By the way, Nicodemus, God so loved the world." The hitching post William Sloane Coffin was talking about. Love.

Some people call John 3:16 "the Gospel in a nutshell." "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." After countless hours in a seminary class room, and endless years of study, this is the one thing that penetrates the shell of this nut: "God so loved the world." Maybe during Jack's baptism this morning, I should skip the language of Trinity, "Jack, I baptize you in the name of the Father, etcetera, etcetera." Maybe I should just say, "Jack, you're getting doused with God's love this morning. Mom and Dad will explain later!"

As signposts, doctrines and creeds as useful as they try to describe God; with the understanding that our God is far beyond description. Then again, a God who could fit into the nutshell of this cranium is not a God large enough to see us through all the mysteries of life and eternity.

Now, if you greet me in the narthex this morning and say, "What was that all about? I didn't get a thing from it!" Well, all I can say is, "Sorry friend, the Spirit blows where it will." Or, I might quote Woodrow Wilson, "One of the proofs of the divinity of the gospel is the preaching it has survived." On the other hand, if you do get something from the sermon this morning - that is a gift. Maybe one of those odd coincidences I was talking about!