Fred Lindemann on “The Feast of the Holy Trinity"

In this week’s Thinking Out Loud (Trinity Sunday), I had asked Fr. Petersen why John 3 had been the appointed Gospel for The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Not having readily available by memory this history of this feast, we embarked upon some sanctified speculation. An astute listener e-mailed me with the following from Fred Lindemann, in volume three of his The Sermon and the Propers:

   This Sunday was long considered the Octave of Pentecost and provided with Propers harmonizing with that use. In the eleventh century, local dioceses observed the Festival of the Holy Trinity on this day...Propers were chosen from offices used in various sections of the Church. Some local dioceses in Germany and England retained the original Gospel appointed for the Octave of Pentecost. The Roman Missal has substituted the Divine Commission in the Name of the Holy Trinity (Matthew 28:18-20). The retention of the original Gospel by the Lutheran Reformers has created a real difficulty for the preacher. Our Lord’s teaching on the Second Birth and its necessity is an important part of Christian doctrine. But it cannot be connected with the Feast of the Holy Trinity, not even artificially. The original Gospel is utterly out of harmony with the other appointed Propers. The Introit, Collect, Epistle, Gradual, and Preface are devoted to admiration and praise of the Triune God, and a sermon on the Second Birth is out of harmony. The doctrine of Regeneration and the article of the Holy Trinity are two separate and distinct doctrines and should be presented at different times on the basis of different texts. This difficult is not solved by an old Lutheran Church Orders when it states: “The Christian congregation is to be instructed on this day about two great doctrines of Christian teaching, of the Holy Trinity and Regeneration.” A sermon on the appointed Gospel would mean that the preacher introduce a new subject after the congregation has been prepared by the other Propers for a sermon on the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  

The listener then made this comment: “I don't share his lament about the Gospel being retained - I think it's an excellent holdover that reveals the work of the Trinity and caps off the festival season well with a Gospel still connected to Pentecost.” I agree.

HT: Fr. Michael McGinley