In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     This may come as quite a blow to some, and it may be hurtful to others to have to face up to it-but here it is: "YOU ARE NOT GOD!" And contrary to what some of the preschoolers in our Children's Center think, "I'M NOT GOD, EITHER!"

     Now, that might seem to be all too obvious-we might assume, this is patently true. But we all know what happens when we assume.we make fools of ourselves. To say that we all know, we are not god, is to show our ignorance and foolishness, because the reverse is actually more the case. Whether we may or may not think we are God, the bald-faced fact of the matter is, most of us live as if we are God! The truth of our human existence is that most of us, we might even say all of us, fall into the same trap that snared Adam and Eve, our first parents. We want to be like God, we strive to be our own gods, we make decisions, live our lives, as if we are our own gods. And though we fake humility, and protest profusely, claiming this isn't so-our actions, tell all. We are, even in the Church, today-people who idolize ourselves, and our own pursuits and interests, and we marginalize the one True God, if we keep Him in our lives at all. And while this has always been so-while humans have always participated in the original sin of wanting to be like God-modern man has perfected it! Modern men and women have gotten so good at being our own gods, that we've even pushed God out of our church buildings.

     Interestingly, one of the most powerfully clear and concise books on this topic, is a new book by, of all things, an architect in England named Moyra Doorly. In her book titled, No Place for God, she looks at the shape of church architecture, and how it not only reflects the faith of the Church and of individual Christian, but also how it can shape our faith. And she points in particular to modernist architecture, that is shaped by the concept of "relativist space", that she contends, has it's origins in Einstein's theory of relativity. Doorly says that as the modern age had it's beginning in 1915 with the publication of Einstein's general theory of relativity, the spirit of the age was characterized, also, by relativity-a spirit that effected, not only science and technology, but our whole way of thinking, and living, and yes, worshiping! She describes the characteristics of the spirit of relativism as, "the denial of absolutes; the elevation of the subjective over the objective, the pursuit of constant change because of the belief that change, of itself, is progress." She continues, saying, "a man possessed by the spirit of Relativism cannot accept as valid any opinion or version of reality originating from outside himself. He might accept as "truths" those "facts" that can be scientifically measured and demonstrated, but even those might prove to be temporary. Meanwhile, every proposition or opinion that lies beyond the scope of modern science is merely relative to the subjective experiences or "beliefs" of individuals." And where has this lead modern man? She concludes, "The Relativist has no one but himself and nothing but his own subjective experience to depend upon. He cannot base his actions, tastes or preferences on any principles or convictions, and he will be subject to his changing whims or his society's changing fashions. The Relativist spirit, therefore, is a restless spirit, seeking constant change in a universe where nothing is fixed."

     Surely, we can all see what this has meant, and means, for us today-whether we continue to think of ourselves as in the modern age, or post-modern age, or post-post-modern age. If you buy into Doorly's theory, you end up with humans, and she says even Christians, who are their own god-making decisions about life, and the living of it, based not on any principles or convictions, not on some objective "truth", but on constantly changing, constantly shifting notions, effected as much as anything by his or her own whims, or society's changing fashions. And, Doorly suggests, contemporary church buildings reflect that. Since the modern age of architecture, she says that God has been all but pushed out of churches, leaving no place for God within the worship space, as many now call it. In the past, the church was the House of God, and though God was not confined to the church building, it was His space, for worship of God alone, and priest and people, together, faced altar and cross, that pointed them outside themselves, to a transcendent God who was greater than they were, and beyond them-a God who was all powerful, and all-present, but also, worthy of worship and praise, and a jealous God, who allowed no other worship of idols-a God who made Himself present in Word and Sacrament, but who was not shaped by our whims, or society's changing fashions. When you entered into a gothic church building, or a Romanesque sanctuary, you had no delusions that you might be god. The church, and the space, and the altar and the cross, made it clear, that God was the creator of the universe, and you, merely the creature. Today? The worship space is all about the creature. We have spared no expense in contemporary churches, making and remaking them into, not the house of God, but the place where the church comes to gather. Most of our new churches today look like meeting rooms, multipurpose spaces not unlike the cafetorium-a community room where any number of things happen, from concerts, to voters meetings, to coffee hour, to "entertainment tonight". Contemporary churches are places where people come to be welcomed, and coddled, and taken care of, so that no one feels uncomfortable or out of place-with soft chairs and carpeting throughout, and if you're lucky, cup holders! Because church, in America, has become a reflection of our relativistic ideas, that are deeply ingrained in us-so deeply ingrained that we deny they're there. Relativistic ideas that have convinced us there are no absolutes, there is no objective truth, we have to change, to progress and evolve-and there is, therefore, no god outside us-no god of the absolute truth, no god that is god of all, and for all. And when there is no god outside us, we can only turn within-and we become our own god.the Relativist has no one but himself, and nothing but his own subjective experience to depend upon. And isn't the perfect manifestation of that-the phenomena we call, "church shopping"-and the so-called spiritual seeker-people on a quest for the religion, even the church, that best suits one's personal, individual tastes and desires?!

     And what a sad situation we find ourselves in, if we have only ourselves and our own subjective experience, to depend upon! How tragic that we have come to a place where even in worship, we are simply worshiping ourselves, and the "god within", entertaining ourselves to death! It's sad and tragic, because we are trapped, in an endless cycle of seeking, and searching for the new, and the entertaining, and the dynamic-like dogs chasing their tails. Worshipping the god within, is a trap-a trap laid by Satan himself, to draw us, with Adam and Eve, away from the one true God, to being our own gods-which ultimately, leads to eternal death and destruction. Why? Because we can't save ourselves! Because left on our own, because trying to be our own gods, leads no where, finally. Because the only way out of the trap, is being set free by the Son, who was sent by the Spirit, who is here, to lead us, to teach us, to guide us, to the Truth!

     The traditional Lutheran lectionary had as the gospel reading for every Reformation Sunday, the passage from John where Jesus proclaims, 'If the Son makes you free, you will be free, indeed!" And that's what is needed in the Church today-a new Reformation, or rather, a continuing reformation-not different from the Reformation of the sixteenth century-a reformation brought about by a return to the Gospel-the good news that we are not, our own gods-that we cannot, save ourselves-but salvation comes through Jesus Christ, alone! In the 1500's Martin Luther fought against just this spurious "modern" notion, that we can be our own gods, effecting our eternal salvation, as if we have truth, life, eternity, in our "nasty little pocketses". The reformation that needs to continue, is that work of the Spirit, for which the Spirit was given-to lead and guide us-yes, us, into all the Truth! The truth that we are not god-the truth that there is a god, and we're not Him! The truth that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, alone, as He is the way, the truth, and the life. The truth that freedom-true freedom, comes, not from being our own gods, not from thinking we have everything under control, not from thinking it's all about us-the Truth that true freedom comes, from the Son-from the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us on the cross, that we might have new life in Him-and be finally, free-and free, indeed! Freed from feeling we are the be all and end all. Freed from having to be in control, of every aspect of our lives, and our parents lives, and our children's lives, and our neighbor's lives, and the life of the world! Freed from having to follow our every whim, or the constantly changing fashions of the world. Freed from our endless, exhausting quest for our own version of truth-freed because God has revealed Truth to us, in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. And this freedom, is freedom, indeed! It is freedom to worship and love and serve the Holy Trinity-and not ourselves. It is freedom to worship the one True God, in three persons, and not keep digging inside ourselves, looking for the God within. It is freedom to have as our god, as Martin Luther said in the Large Catechism, the god from whom you expect to receive all good things, and the god to whom you can turn in every time of trouble. Yes, Luther said, to

     worship the one true god means to trust and to believe in Him with your whole heart-that's what faith is-faith, not in yourself, but faith in God-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! And the Festival of the Holy Trinity aims to re-form us, to bring us back to, worship of the one True God, in three persons-that we may worship Him, and Him alone! Dedicating ourselves, and our lives, to this one true God-and no other-no, not even ourselves!

     In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.