05-31-2026 How God Treats Us

Thomas J Parlette
“How God Treats Us”
2nd Cor. 13: 11-13
5/31/26
Trinity Sunday is a day filled with metaphor. A quick look through the bulletin this morning would yield at least 14 different ways of describing the Trinity. Everything from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to Lover, Beloved and Love itself to the God who was, the God who is and the God who is to come. I hope all these ways of speaking about God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity, will serve to tease your brain a bit about who God is and how God interacts with humanity.
This morning we look at a passage near the end of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians in which he gives us a different approach to how we might think about our Trinitarian God. Paul describes three ways that God acts towards us. In his classic benediction to the Corinthians, Paul writes “May the Grace of Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Paul offers up his own version of the Trinity by focusing on how God treats us – with Grace, Love and an attitude of Fellowship.
First, God acts with grace, the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ – saving us from sin, even though we don’t deserve it. Reminds me of a story I once heard about a football player named Roy Riegels. It happened on New Years Day, 1929. Georgia Tech was playing UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game, a UCLA player named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble, but somehow got confused and started running in the opposite direction. He ran 65 yards before one of his own teammates tackled him just short of the goal line – otherwise Riegels would have scored a 2 point safety for Georgia Tech. UCLA was unable to move the ball, Georgia Tech blocked the punt and ended up scoring a safety anyway.
Riegels was crushed. He might have just cost his team a Rose Bowl win. Everyone in the stadium wondered whether Coach Nibbs Price would put Riegels back in the game or bench him. At halftime, the players filed into the locker room and spread out on the benches and the floors – all except Roy Riegels. He put a towel over his shoulders, hunched down in the far corner of the locker room, put his face in his hands and cried his eyes out.
Now, usually coaches have a lot to say during halftime, but that day, Coach Price was silent. He said nothing. Finally, an official came in and gave the three-minute warning for the second half. Price took a deep breath, looked at his team and said – “The same team that played the first half will start the second. Let’s get out there men.”
The players got up and headed back out onto the field – everyone except Roy Riegels. He didn’t budge. Coach Nibbs went over and sat down next to him. “Did you hear me, Roy? Let’s go, let’s get out there and play.”
Riegels looked up, his eyes red from the tears and said, “Coach, I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve disgraced the University and I’ve embarrassed myself in front of everyone. I can’t go back out there.”
Coach Price put his hand on Riegels shoulder and said, “Roy, get up and get back out on that field – the game’s only half over.” Roy Riegels went back out on that field and those Georgia Tech players would tell you, they have never seen a man play football like Riegels did in that second half.
Roy Riegels didn’t do anything to deserve getting back in that game. He deserved to be benched. But his coach treated him with grace. He didn’t give up on him. He knew that Roy just needed a second chance.
God is like that, too. We don’t deserve God’s gifts, but God gives them anyway. Our God is a God of infinite second chances. God treats us with grace – the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
God also acts with love. Unconditional love, the kind of love that is always there, even when we do mess things up. The kind of love we see between a father and his three old son named Brandon.
One day, Brandon sees his Dad eating chocolate chip cookies in the living room and he says to himself, “Dad loves milk with his chocolate chip cookies. I’m going to get him a big glass of cold milk.” And with that, Brandon goes into the kitchen, drags a chair across the floor, leaving a trail of dark scuff marks behind.
He climbs up on the chair, pulls himself onto the counter and yanks open the cabinet door – “Bam”- it smashes against the adjacent cabinet, leaving a gash where the handle hits. Barndon reaches for a glass, accidentally knocking two others off the shelf – “Crash”. But Brandon doesn’t notice – he is completely absorbed with his mission, “I’m going to get Dad a glass of milk.”
Meanwhile, Brandon’s Dad is watching all this, wondering if he should step in and save the rest of his kitchen, but he decides to wait a little longer as Brandon scrambles off the chair, dodging pieces of broken glass, and heads for the refrigerator.
Pulling hard at the refrigerator door, Brandon flings it open – it stays open of course. He puts the glass on the floor and grabs the galloon container of milk, full and unopened. He rips open the top, pours some milk in the vicinity of the glass, manages to get some in the glass, but most of it goes all over the floor.
Finally done, Brandon grabs the glass of milk and calls out – “Dad, I have a surprise for you.” He runs into the living room, trips and spills the milk everywhere – the floor, the sofa and on his Dad.
Barndon stands up, looks around and sees the disaster he has created. It dawns on him on much trouble he is in, and he starts to cry. He looks up at his Dad with that pained expression that says, “What are you going to do to me?”
But his Dad just smiles, and then starts to laugh. He doesn’t see a kid who has just destroyed the house – no, he sees his son who he loves very much. It doesn’t matter what he has done. Brandon’s dad stretches out his arms to hold his little boy tight and says – “Thanks for the milk son.”
That is the love of God, an unconditional love that is always there, no matter what, even when we do make a mess of things. God sent Jesus to show us that love – to live it for us as an example to follow. As we have heard, that was Jesus’ challenge to us – “Love each other as I have loved you. If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” We are not left alone to meet that challenge. We have help. We have the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us.
We all like to try to do things on our own. It’s the American way. We like to be self-sufficient and stand on our own two feet – independent. The same attitude can leak into our spiritual lives. It’s tempting to think that we can grow in our relationship to God all by ourselves. But that’s not what God intends. God knows that we all need people around us for support and guidance as we journey through life. That’s why God created the church. That’s why God gave us the Spirit that Jesus promised – so that we might have fellowship and support from one another. I’m fond of saying that when we come to church, we aren’t necessarily coming to get something from God for ourselves, to meet our own needs. There are times when we come to church because someone else needs us to be here. We may never know it, but sometimes we are supporting each other just by showing up, so that we might have fellowship with one another. There are no Lone Rangers in the family of God. We need each other. We are a community, a family of faith – and when we work together, we can accomplish great things.
Grace, Love and Fellowship – not a bad way to explain the Trinity. But Paul’s words are not just a good Trinitarian metaphor for how God treats us – they are also a good model for how we should treat each other. Grace, Love and Fellowship is a good model for how we should strive to live together as the Church.
Consider the story that M. Scott Peck tells about an old monestary that had fallen on hard times. Centuries earlier, it had been a thriving, bustling place where many dedicated monks lived and worked and had great influence over the surrounding area. But now, only 5 monks lived there and they were all over 70 years old. Clearly, the monastery was dying.
A few miles away lived an old hermit, who was widely believed to be a prophet. One day, the monks decided to visit the hermit and see if he had any advice for them – maybe he knew how they could save their dying monestary.
The hermit welcomed the 5 monks, but when they explained the purpose of their visit, the hermit could only nod his head. “Yes, I understand how it is. The Spirit has gone out of the people. Hardly anyone cares much for the old ways anymore.”
“Is there anything you can tell us,” asked the abbot, the leader of the order. “Anything at all that could help us save the monastery?”
“No, I’m sorry,” said the hermit. “I don’t know how your monastery can be saved. The only thing that I can tell you is that one of you is an apostle of God.”
The monks were both disappointed and confused by the hermit’s cryptic statement. In the way back, they wondered what the hermit could have meant – “One of you is an apostle of God.”
Who was it – who was the Apostle? We’re all so old, we’re all unimportant, too insignificant. But on the other hand – what if it’s true. Was the Abbot an Apostle p he had been the leader for 40 years. It could be brother Thomas – he was certainly a man of wisdom and compassion. He couldn’t have meant brother Eldred – he was crotchety at times and he could be difficult to get along with. On the hand, he was almost always right about things, it could be him. Probably not brother Phillip either – he was much too passive and shy, no backbone, no fire at all. But then again – Phillip was very dependable, he was always there when you needed him, very trustworthy and loyal – could be Phillip. Then each monk wondered – maybe the Hermit meant me. NO – he couldn’t have meant me, I’m just an ordinary person. But, who knows. Why not me.
As the monks contemplated about who might be the Apostle of God among them, they began to treat each other with enormous respect, on the off chance that what the Hermit said might be true. And on the off, off chance that it might be himself – each monk began treating  himself with enormous respect as well.
Now, because the monestary was situated in a beautiful forest, many people came there to picnic on it’s lawn and walk it’s grounds, and every now and then, they wander into the chapel to admire it’s beauty, enjoy the silence and engage in a few minutes of meditation. As they did so, without being conscious of it, they sensed the aura of extraordinary respect that now began to surround the 5 old monks, seeming to radiate from them, permeating the atmosphere of the monastery. There was something strangely attractive, even compelling, about it. Hardly knowing why, people began to come back to the monastery more frequently, to picnic, play, relax and pray. They began to bring their friends to show them this special place. And their friends brought their friends.
As more and more visitors came, some younger men started to talk with the old monks. After awhile, one asked if he could join them. Then another. And another. Within a few years, the monastery once again became a thriving order, and thanks to what that Hermit had said, a vibrant center of light and spirituality.
Grace, Love and Fellowship – that’s good way to explain the Trinity. Grace, Love and Fellowship – that’s how God treats us, and that’s how we should treat one another and our ourselves.
May God be praised. Amen.