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Whoever invented the tool box sure knew how to frustrate people.  When you have one of those things, you have a place to put your hammer and your screwdrivers and all those other things you need to do the jobs around the house.   The problem with a tool box, though, is that you can find everything in one except for the tool you are actually looking for.  That particular tool is more likely to be found on top of the fridge or near the site of your last project or where the kids left it when they decided to play with it.   It may even be found here at the church, or in your neighbour's garage more often  than in the tool box where it really belongs.   Wouldn't you love to see the day when you could press a button on your tool box that would make all the tools that belong there automatically find their own way home?  It would be great to have some invention that guarantees that you will have exactly all the tools you need precisely where you know to find them!  How much easier life would be!

One of the things that we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday is that Jesus Christ has Himself provided for us just such a thing.  He has given us all the tools that we need, not just to become God's children, but also to worship Him as members of His Church on earth.  Not only has He given us those tools, He has even given us a way that guarantees that we will have exactly all the tools that we need, precisely when we need them!  What a great gift that is!  

Today we thank God that Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit!  We thank God that Jesus has sent us the Holy Spirit Himself so that we can use all the tools that God has given us and use them to worship Him!

 

Have you ever heard of the “I-AM-CANADIAN” rant?  This was a beer commercial in which a man named Joe talked about what it means to him personally to be Canadian.   He listed a few points that most Canadians could relate to and then said, “My name is Joe, and I-AM-CANADIAN”!

The particular commercial ended up being a cultural phenomenon.   Even people who don’t drink beer raised their hands to their hearts and cheered along.   They showed that they knew that to be a Canadian is to be something special.   They identified with something outside of themselves and joined in the wave of national pride.   We are Canadian, and as Canadians, we have a sense of what this actor in that beer commercial  was talking about.

In our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus used words that identified Him for who He was, too.   He said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM!”   In doing that, He was saying something that set Him apart from everyone else in a way that was so clear that the people who heard Him on the Temple grounds that day picked up stones to kill Him!   

That is what happens when you clearly identify yourself.   You put yourself at risk.  You challenge yourself to accept yourself for who you are and you challenge others to accept you for who you are, too!  This Trinity Sunday, we see in our lessons how God identifies Himself to us.  By letting you know who He is, He is inviting you to know who you are, too.   Thank God that, by His grace, you can say, “I-AM-CHRISTIAN”!

Have you ever considered how fortunate you are to be a Canadian?  For all the griping about taxes and complaining about the weather and the worries about health care and crime rates and  all the rest, Canada is not really a bad place to be.  If you are not so sure of that, then ask the Europeans, who call us the land of opportunity and adventure and admire our vast lakes and forests and mountains and prairies.  Ask the Asians, who call Canada the "Golden Mountain".  Ask the many people of the world who desperately long for the peace and the prosperity and the sense of personal safety that most Canadians so very much take for granted!  

Canada is actually a very desirable country and there are many, many people who would cherish a birth certificate like yours or naturalization papers like yours.  Yet, there is something they know all too well about Canada.  Unless you have close relatives to sponsor you, or unless you are wealthy enough for your money to be your sponsor, getting Canadian citizenship is more a dream than anything else.  Most of the people who would love to live here will never get that chance because they don't have that kind of a sponsor!  

How fortunate we are that it is not that way with the family of God!   With God's family, there is plenty of room and an open invitation.  With God's family, the doors are open to us no matter how undesirable we might be to the governments of this world.  If God has created in you a desire to be in His family, then He has also made the way open for you to get there.  If you want to be in His family, then you have the perfect sponsor who will not only stand up for you and bring you in, but He will stay with you to keep you in!  

You see, Jesus is that sponsor.  In His name, the doors of God's great country are open to you, no matter how foreign you think you might be!  Through Jesus God moves you from being a foreigner to being part of the family!

Have you ever met or had to spend time with a person who made you feel very cautious?  There are people who send some kind of message by their expression or their appearance that almost yells out at you, “Keep your distance!  Be careful, this person is trouble!”  

Sometimes it is pretty obvious why that person makes you want to stand back.   There could be intimidating tattoos or bizarre body piercings or very tattered clothing or a look that says you are about to be attacked.   The person may have a creepy smile or that person may be taking far too much of an interest in you.  The person might be exactly the kind of person Mom and Dad always told you to avoid, so you do as well as you are able.

There are other people that raise your instinct to be cautious and it isn’t really obvious why.  They appear decent enough at first, but you just don’t trust them.   It might be because there is some kind of look in their eyes or that they have a sour expression that they have to work to hide behind a polite smile.   Whatever it is, there is something about that person that says, “Get too close to me and you will end up in tears one way or another.”  

It’s hard to know sometimes if it is instinct or experience.  It’s hard to know sometimes if it is something in you that makes the difference or if it is something in them.    There are simply some people that you find to be very approachable and others that make you want to run the other way.   There are things about some people that make you feel free to pour your heart out to them and things about others that make you afraid to even tell them your name.   

A similar thing exists when it comes to our response to Jesus Christ.   Some people find Jesus to be very, very approachable.   They find Him to be very easy to trust and very easy to believe.  Others spend their lives running the other way.   Of course, we know that the problem is not Jesus, but the people whom Jesus wants to include in His grace.   Thank God that He has made Himself approachable so that we may approach Him in faith, and be blessed!