Brian H. Gill, Introduction
Last Sunday was Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost. Deacon Tim Pribula let me share his homily — thank you, Deacon!
After reading it, my oldest daughter noted that the paragraph breaks are unconventional. She’s right, but I left them as-is, since besides being a homily, it’s a script for a spoken presentation. And that’s another topic or two.
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: Deacon Tim Pribula’s Homily
(He didn’t explain how the Trinity works. Instead, he talked about Jesus, Judas, Peter, and accepting forgiveness.)
First Scripture reading
“Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.
“Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, ‘LORD.’
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
‘The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.’
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, ‘If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own.'”
Second Scripture reading.
“Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Gospel reading.
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
I. Two Men Failed
Two men. (pause)
Two men failed Jesus at the worst possible moment of His life —
it was a very personal betrayal of a friend. (Matthew 26:47–50; Luke 22:54–62)
One failed out of fear, denying he ever knew Him. (Luke 22:54–62)
One failed out of greed, handing Him over with a kiss,
choosing thirty pieces of silver over loyalty. (Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50)
Both failures happened in darkness —
the darkness of fear, confusion, weakness, and panic. (Luke 22:53; John 13:27–30)
And both men knew immediately what they had done.
They were flooded with regret, shame,
and that terrible awareness we all recognize:
I have failed the One who trusted me. (Psalm 51:3; Luke 22:61–62)
Yet their stories do not end the same way.
And the difference is not that one sin was worse than the other.
The difference is what they believed about Jesus after they failed.
II. Judas and Peter: Remorse, Weeping, and Conclusions
One man decided his failure defined him —
that there was no way back, no mercy left — and he despaired.
Judas: Not a Good Role Model
That man was Judas.
And Scripture is clear: Judas felt remorse.
In Matthew 27:4, Judas goes back, throws the silver down, and says,
“I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”
He is not indifferent. He is not cold.
He is not unaware of what he has done.
But Judas does something dangerous with that remorse.
He let’s shame speak louder than mercy.
He concludes something about himself: I am beyond repair.
He concludes something about God: there is no mercy left for me.
And he acts alone on that conclusion —
isolated, cut off from hope, and surrendering himself completely to despair.
He stopped believing Jesus would want him back. (Matthew 27:5)
The other man also failed deeply.
Peter’s Response to Failure and Grief
That man was Peter.
After Peter’s denial, the Gospel gives us one haunting line:
“He went out and began to weep bitterly.” (Luke 22:62)
That is not repentance explained — it is repentance felt.
And it’s something we understand, because most of us have wept bitterly over our sin in one way or another. (Psalm 38:18; Psalm 51:17)
Peter’s first response to failure was grief.
He does not run to the others to argue his case.
He does not justify himself or defend himself.
He does not decide what Jesus must think of him.
Peter does something very different from Judas.
He does not draw the final conclusion.
He leaves room for Jesus to speak first.
And when Jesus finally restores him on the shoreline, Peter’s words are simple and surrendered:
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” (John 21:15–17)
This is the posture of a good confession. (James 5:16; 1 John 1:9)
We approach and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”
And beneath every Act of Contrition is the same honest truth:
“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee…
And I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments,
but most of all because they offend Thee, my God,
who art all good and deserving of all my love.”
It’s not fear of punishment alone. Not shame. (1 John 4:18)
But the need for His love — and the desire not to live far from Him.
Or to say it plainly:
Lord, you already know who I am.
You already know what I’ve done. (Luke 18:13)
And I’m still here because I love you and I need your mercy. (Psalm 139:1–3)
III. Where We Recognize Ourselves
That contrast forces an uncomfortable question on us.
When I fail — especially when I fall into the same sins again —
what do I believe God does with me then? (Romans 7:15–25)
Many of us quietly live with the feeling that no matter how hard we try,
we never quite live up to what God expects. (Romans 3:23)
We confess the same sins.
We struggle with the same weaknesses.
And slowly, almost without noticing, we begin to draw conclusions that sound a lot like Judas:
God must be tired of me.
God must be disappointed.
And beneath it all is a deeper fear:
not that God will punish us —
but that God is finished with us. (Psalm 103:8–14; Romans 8:1)
IV. The Gospel’s Correction
That fear is exactly what Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel.
Jesus says:
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17)
God did not send His Son to look at you in shame.
He did not send His Son to tally your failures or confirm
your worst fears about yourself.
He did not send His Son to stand at a distance and shake His head. (John 8:1–11)
God sent His only Son to give His life for you — (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)
to carry sin, (Isaiah 53:4–6)
to bear the cross, (1 Peter 2:24)
to do for you what you could never do for yourself — (Ephesians 2:8–9)
so that you might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)
V. The God Who Comes Down
God does not love us from afar.
He does not shout mercy from heaven.
The Father sends the Son to come down into our weakness —
to stand where we stand, (Hebrews 4:15)
to feel what we feel, (Isaiah 53:3–4)
to carry what we cannot. (Matthew 11:28–30)
In Jesus Christ, God knows betrayal, fear, denial, shame, and regret —
because He has entered the human story Himself. (Hebrews 2:17–18)
This is why Peter’s story ends not in despair,
but in mercy and mission. (John 21:15–19)
Not because Peter was stronger.
Not because Peter was better.
But because Peter trusted that mercy was still possible. (John 21:7; Luke 22:32)
VI. Invitation and Hope
And this is the invitation before us today.
Not to draw final conclusions about ourselves.
Not to hide from God because we’re ashamed. (Genesis 3:8–10)
Not to isolate and handle our failure alone. (James 5:16)
But to trust mercy more than our shame. (Romans 5:20)
Because in Jesus Christ,
God knows your sin. (Psalm 69:5)
He knows your weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
He knows your fear. (Mark 14:33–36)
He knows exactly how you feel. (Hebrews 4:15)
And He loves you anyway. (Romans 5:8; John 21:15–17)
Lord Jesus, when we fail you, you do not turn away from us.
Forgiveness IS an Option: B. H. Gill’s Opinion and Links
Accepting forgiveness isn’t always easy. But knowing that coming back and sorting things out is an option: that’s a good thing:
- “King Josiah, Consequences, and Love” (September 13, 2025)
- “Wheat, Tares, Fear of the Lord and Working on Wisdom” (December 19, 2020)
- “12 Days of Christmas, Plus 1” (January 4, 2020)
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