{"id":845106,"date":"2021-04-20T18:34:33","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T22:34:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-06-23T20:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T00:15:04","slug":"bible-study-trinity-sunday-b-may-30-2021","status":"publish","type":"bible_study","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/bible_study\/bible-study-trinity-sunday-b-may-30-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Bible Study: Trinity Sunday (B) \u2013 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/pentecost-1b\/\">RCL: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29 or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2); Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/TS-2021-Bible-Study-Graphic-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-245111\" width=\"512\" height=\"268\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Isaiah 6:1-8<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This passage gives us the call story of the prophet Isaiah. It recounts how this particular person came to speak on behalf of God; prophets often go through a trial that marks them as God\u2019s mouthpiece. In Isaiah\u2019s case, that happens quite literally\u2014the prophet\u2019s lips are marked by a burning coal. On a broader level, this passage describes one intense kind of spiritual experience. Seemingly out of nowhere, Isaiah finds himself in the presence of the Living God, and it is beyond awe-inspiring: it is terrifying. Like many before him, Isaiah\u2019s instinct is that no one can see the Lord and live. Yet he not only lives but is dramatically empowered by this experience. He is emboldened to respond to God directly: \u201cHere am I; send me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The past year has marked us all in ways we\u2019re aware of and perhaps in ways we don\u2019t yet understand. In the midst of all its frightening trials and terrible griefs, are there also ways that you find yourself empowered or emboldened?<\/li><li>Is there something in your life that makes you feel unworthy to stand before God? Note that Isaiah felt unworthy, and God called him anyway. If your sense of your own worthiness were no longer in question, what do you think God might be calling <em>you<\/em> to do in the next season of your life?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Psalm 29<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This psalm invokes the presence and power of God in a massive storm. God\u2019s voice is heard in the roaring wind, the lashing rain, the thunderclaps that shake the earth. In this cosmic scene, God rides the storm from above the sky, and the heavenly court gives praise and glory to God\u2019s might. As in the passage from Isaiah, we feel overwhelmed by the scale of God\u2019s grandeur; we feel how small we are in the vast reaches of creation. Again, this storm-riding God inspires awe and terror; yet it would have been obvious to those in the dry hill country of Israel that such storms were also life-giving: a drenching rain could be the difference between a failed crop and a successful harvest, between a hungry child and a healthy family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Can you think of a time when your jaw dropped in awe of nature\u2019s grandeur? Does it stretch your concept of God to imagine God as being viscerally present in such a scene?<\/li><li>What is the life-giving rain that you\u2019re praying for this week? Where do you need nourishment or refreshment?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Romans 8:12-17<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One way to think about this passage is that Paul is trying to expand the imagination of the Jesus-followers in Rome. The church in Rome is a radical community made up of both Jews and Gentiles, which means Paul is addressing people with lots of different received ideas about what a god or God is like. Paul is playing off of a theme that ran through many different religions in the ancient world: a god demands worship, obedience and tribute, and one always runs the risk of angering that god and incurring their wrath. Such gods were imagined to be notoriously demanding, fickle, and unforgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul is trying to get the whole Roman church to grasp that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is radically different than that, and how that matters for their lives. God is not a slave-master who keeps believers in line through fear, Paul insists. God is a loving Father who wants nothing more than for God\u2019s children to flourish (\u201cAbba\u201d is even more intimate than that, meaning \u201cDad,\u201d or even \u201cDaddy\u201d). To be called by the Spirit and become a follower of Jesus means that we also relate to God like Jesus did\u2014as this fiercely loving, infinitely forgiving <em>dad<\/em>. Jesus shows us what it looks like to live as a child of this gracious father: not seeking status or gain above the other children but struggling humbly for the liberation and healing of all our siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Is there an arena of your life where you\u2019re trying to score points with God, or to compete against others for approval? What would it mean to let go of that impulse to measure up, trusting you\u2019re already the object of God\u2019s delight?<\/li><li>Paul was writing to the Roman church to address its internal divisions: God\u2019s children were fighting with one another. Is there someone you\u2019re in a fight with right now? Does it change your perspective on that to think of them and yourself as children of a loving father who delights in you both?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>John 3:1-17<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nicodemus knows that there\u2019s just something about Jesus. But he also knows that the miracles and signs that Jesus is doing represent a critique of the Temple system\u2014and Nicodemus has a position of power and privilege in that system. He senses that Jesus is the real deal, but he also senses that if that\u2019s true, he\u2019ll have to reevaluate almost every part of his life. Still, there\u2019s something undeniable about Jesus, something that promises a larger life than the one he has now. So, Nicodemus comes to Jesus curious and cautious, under the cover of darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And poor Nicodemus: right away, he\u2019s in over his head. Jesus tells him that he must be born \u201cfrom above\u201d\u2014that he must let go of the identity and a status that has been working pretty well for him so far, and embrace a new identity, as a child of the God who loves the world so much that he sent his Son to redeem it. But there\u2019s a gentle joke here in the text at Nicodemus\u2019 expense: the Greek word meaning \u201cfrom above\u201d also means \u201cagain,\u201d and Nicodemus gets confused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Is there a part of your own faith journey that you look back on and gently, generously chuckle at yourself? It\u2019s hard for all of us to get our heads wrapped around God\u2019s infinite love, and we all get sidetracked or scrambled. Can you picture God\u2014our infinitely forgiving father\u2014smiling at you as you try to puzzle it out?<\/li><li>What\u2019s something that\u2019s drawing you forward on your faith journey right now? What about God\u2019s promises revealed in Jesus feels like \u201cthe real deal?\u201d Is there a part of your life or identity that you might have to let go of to take that step? Does that feel scary, or freeing, or both?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-4c18725e-d80a-4e85-aaa5-6669ca0bd113\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Bible-Study-Trinity-Sunday-English.docx\">Word &#8211; Trinity Sunday (B) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Bible-Study-Trinity-Sunday-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-4c18725e-d80a-4e85-aaa5-6669ca0bd113\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-fa771c6c-8b00-4e6f-83ce-0a1165f5f953\" href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Bible-Study-Trinity-Sunday-English.pdf\">PDF &#8211; Trinity Sunday (B) Bible Study<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Bible-Study-Trinity-Sunday-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-fa771c6c-8b00-4e6f-83ce-0a1165f5f953\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RCL: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29 or Canticle 13 (or Canticle 2); Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 Isaiah 6:1-8 This passage gives us the call story of the prophet Isaiah. It recounts how this particular person came to speak on behalf of God; prophets often go through a trial that marks them as God\u2019s mouthpiece. In Isaiah\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201221,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[23,52,33,3],"tags":[377],"class_list":["post-845106","bible_study","type-bible_study","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible-studies","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-trinity-sunday-b"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":23,"label":"Bible Studies"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":377,"label":"Trinity Sunday B"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/845106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bible_study"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/845106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":952378,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bible_study\/845106\/revisions\/952378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}