Today is Holy Trinity Sunday—the only day of the church year dedicated to a theological teaching not associated with the life of Jesus. Furthermore, it contains the word “trinity,” which is not a biblical word but a theological concept developed about 300 years after Jesus’ death. A strange church day, to be sure.
But I’m totally into it. I know I’m an exception to the norm as I was brought up wholly immersed in the life of the church. I distinctly remember riding my tricycle around the garage on days it was too cold to trike outside. And as I made my circles, I would recite the Apostle’s Creed. Round and round I would go until I was both an excellent triker and an excellent mini theologian. I was able to wrap my mind around the doctrine of the Trinity even before I graduated to two wheels. Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a church nerd.
Yes, we celebrate the triune nature of God today. For those of you who might not be full-blown church nerds, what does this mean?
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the chosen people understood that God one God and was the only God. This was quite different from their cultural context where people carved lots of “gods” out of stone or cast them in metal and told stories of how these gods fought with each other endlessly—always staking out their supernatural turf. No, when the father of the faith, Abraham set forth from Ur to follow God’s command to go to the land of Caanan, he knew that there was just one God—and an all-powerful God that must be obeyed even if it was inconvenient. Moses knew this one God too, and saw God’s power unleashed in Egypt as God freed the enslaved and lead them forth to the Promised Land. The prophets continued to speak out about this one God who was holy and above all knowing.
Then, Jesus came into the picture and the new religious movement of Christians began to speak not only of God, but of the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit that was still moving among them. Yet, they declared that all these were still one God. No wonder people got confused and frustrated by this new understanding. It IS difficult to understand God.
Saint Augustine often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never fully capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine.
Yet we do have this doctrine and it can give us a peephole into the divine. What is this triune God like? Well, the Athanasian Creed puts it this way: “In this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” Jesus explained it similarly when he said: "Do you not know that the Father is in me and I in the Father?" And of the Spirit, Jesus said: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. God, you see, is a like a committee...that actually works.
What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within the three forms of God. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described the Trinity with the Greek word "perichoresis." This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a graceful dance within the internal life of God. It is a dance of inclusion, equality and most of all, love.
God, the great "I AM," whom we can never fully understand gives us a major clue to help us understand. We see that God is not alone, God is—at the very core—relationship. This is completely different from those Greek gods of old who were constantly fighting with one another. Not so for our God. In the Trinity we find a beautiful and caring relationship. God is united and loving and dancing together seamlessly.
Amazing! And yet what is even more amazing is that we have been invited into the dance too. God could have danced in peace apart from our world and all its selfish ambition. Instead, God chooses to redeem us and to be together with God and one another in the dance of life.
We all know the pain of not being invited, not being included. We humans do this to each other all the time, and it hurts. God does just the opposite: God invites all to the table. No one is an outsider in God’s eyes. Everyone is beloved and vitally important. Remember that when Jesus was baptized, the father God said to him: "You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased." Well, when we are baptized, God says the same thing to us: "You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased."
We are invited into the Trinity of God in our baptism. We become part of the dance—adopted by God the father, redeemed by God the Son and sealed with God the Holy Spirit. What have we to fear, then? If God has brought us into the harmonious community, then we can live in unspeakable joy. We are beloved, each called by name, each more important than we ever thought we could be. This is a dance we can dig.
Now you can see that the doctrine of the Trinity is not just a fancy theory—it is the reality in which we live each day of our lives. We are part of the community and we are free to dance with God. How, then, should we dance?
In a very popular passage from 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explained that we need to respond to this amazing love by being loving ourselves. Love, he said, is not a gushy feeling but an action. Love is patient. It is kind. It is not jealous or self-serving. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs. Love is the more excellent way. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. It never ends.
That’s the kind of dance we need. As I visit with people both inside and outside the congregation, I am chronically aware of this need. So many people feel hurt, lonely, isolated, rejected. There is pain that burns secretly within. It is like baggage too heavy to carry. They don’t know where to go or what to do to turn that around. They do not see themselves as beloved. They do not realize that they could be dancing with God.
We, who have been claimed as God’s beloved have an obligation to these people. We are to be the hands and feet of this triune God and make sure they understand that they are beloved. They are precious and God is pleased with them. They are invited into the dance where there is healing and joy. What more can we be doing to make sure that invitation is conveyed?
There is one God, who is relationship, who is dancing with equity and love. Can’t you see why I get excited about Holy Trinity Sunday? Whether you are a church nerd or not, you can see that it is worth celebrating! We are called to live and move and have our being in the Trinity’s love. This is the more excellent way. May we open our eyes to see our community as God does and say to them: Come, join the dance. Amen.
And now, may the peace which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© 2010 Laura E. Gentry
Showing posts with label Holy Trinity Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Trinity Sunday. Show all posts
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sunday, June 7, 2009
COMMUNITY OF THE TRINITY
A Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Today, we celebrate Trinity Sunday—the only day of the church year dedicated to a theological teaching of the church not associated with the life of Jesus and given the name “Trinity,” which is not even in the bible. Now why in the world is such a ancient and difficult-to-understand festival sandwiched right into our church year?
It all began in the ninth century where Christians in French monastic communities would celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. They were carrying on the tradition of the early Christians, who developed the teaching of the Trinity in order to give them a common understanding of God , which helped Christians understand that God was one, not three gods. Later, in the fourteenth century, the festival became so widespread that it was added to the church calendar and has been celebrated throughout the world ever since.
So now let us look at the three persons of God to help us understand and celebrate the Holy Trinity.
FATHER
God as God the Father—the Creator of our entire universe. In this morning’s lessons, we heard from the Genesis story of creation in which God calls the universe into being by the power of God’s word. God the Father is the all-powerful, eternal, yet loving source of all life. All that we are and all that we have come from God the Father. In the explanation of the Apostle’s Creed, Martin Luther said we ought to thank, praise, serve and obey the Father. And added his signature ending: this is most certainly true.
SON
God the Son in the form of Jesus. What does it mean that God became flesh and dwelt among us? We ponder this each year at Christmas time.
Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish theologian, tells a story of a prince who wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day while running an errand in the local village for his father he passed through a poor section. As he glanced out the windows of the carriage his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. During the ensuing days he often passed by the young lady and soon fell in love. But he had a problem. How would he seek her hand?
He could order her to marry him. But even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor. As you might have guessed, the prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved, into the village, entering not with a crown but in the garb of a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him for who he was and because he had first loved her.
This very simple, written by one of the most brilliant minds of our time explains what we Christians mean by the incarnation. God came and lived among us. I am glad that this happened for two reasons. One, it shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with us, that God is on our side, and that God loves us. Secondly, it gives us a first hand view of what the mind of God is really all about. When people ask what God is like, we as Christians point to the person of Jesus Christ. God himself is incomprehensible. But in Jesus Christ we get a glimpse of his glory. In the person of Jesus we are told that God, that mysterious other that created the stars and the universe—who didn’t even need to bother to be mindful of us—is willing to go all of the way, to become one of us: talk our language, eat our food, share our suffering and die on a cross. Why? So that a single person, you, me, might be redeemed. And, grow to love the infinite God who created you.
HOLY SPIRIT
And we know God as the Holy Spirit —the one who is with us in this very moment, inspiring us, illuminating the Scriptures, animating our faith and worship, interceding for us in our weakness "with sighs too deep for words," leading us, strengthening us, turning on the lights for us when our paths become unclear. Just last week, we celebrated the Sunday of Pentecost, in which we talked about how the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and has been blowing through the church ever since, blowing as powerfully as the wind. Jesus told us that this Spirit blows where it pleases. That is something we ought to be excited about.
TRINITY
Saint Augustine often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine. But this doctrine can be helpful in getting us to know our three-personed God.
Garrison Keillor once said of love, “We should not think that we have figured this out, because it is not a problem, it’s a mystery and always will be.” The same could be said of the doctrine of the Trinity. We don’t have to think of it as a problem to be solved, but rather a glorious mystery in which to relish.
But what does it mean for us that God is three, yet one? The Athanasian Creed states “And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. God, you see, is a like a committee that actually works.
What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within the three forms of God. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described the Trinity with the Greek word "perichoresis." This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a harmonious dance within the internal life of God.
So if God is a community and we are created it God’s image, what does that mean? It means that we are created to be in relationship, just as God is in relationship. The doctrine of the Trinity gives us a vision of a community of women and men in church and society who treat each other as equals and work together in shared responsibility of unity and love. You see, when we understand God in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity, we can see within the very person of God, a radical example of a community built on justice, relationship and care.
So that is what we are celebrating today. In clear terms, the profound mystery of the Trinity tell us who God is: the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Spirit who exist in perfect community with one another. And as people formed in God’s image, it tells us who we are, and why we crave community. May our hearts follow this natural impulse to search and out and find connections with God and with one another that we may be one as God is one.
It all began in the ninth century where Christians in French monastic communities would celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. They were carrying on the tradition of the early Christians, who developed the teaching of the Trinity in order to give them a common understanding of God , which helped Christians understand that God was one, not three gods. Later, in the fourteenth century, the festival became so widespread that it was added to the church calendar and has been celebrated throughout the world ever since.
So now let us look at the three persons of God to help us understand and celebrate the Holy Trinity.
FATHER
God as God the Father—the Creator of our entire universe. In this morning’s lessons, we heard from the Genesis story of creation in which God calls the universe into being by the power of God’s word. God the Father is the all-powerful, eternal, yet loving source of all life. All that we are and all that we have come from God the Father. In the explanation of the Apostle’s Creed, Martin Luther said we ought to thank, praise, serve and obey the Father. And added his signature ending: this is most certainly true.
SON
God the Son in the form of Jesus. What does it mean that God became flesh and dwelt among us? We ponder this each year at Christmas time.
Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish theologian, tells a story of a prince who wanted to find a maiden suitable to be his queen. One day while running an errand in the local village for his father he passed through a poor section. As he glanced out the windows of the carriage his eyes fell upon a beautiful peasant maiden. During the ensuing days he often passed by the young lady and soon fell in love. But he had a problem. How would he seek her hand?
He could order her to marry him. But even a prince wants his bride to marry him freely and voluntarily and not through coercion. He could put on his most splendid uniform and drive up to her front door in a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the maiden loved him or was simply overwhelmed with all of the splendor. As you might have guessed, the prince came up with another solution. He would give up his kingly robe. He moved, into the village, entering not with a crown but in the garb of a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time the maiden grew to love him for who he was and because he had first loved her.
This very simple, written by one of the most brilliant minds of our time explains what we Christians mean by the incarnation. God came and lived among us. I am glad that this happened for two reasons. One, it shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is with us, that God is on our side, and that God loves us. Secondly, it gives us a first hand view of what the mind of God is really all about. When people ask what God is like, we as Christians point to the person of Jesus Christ. God himself is incomprehensible. But in Jesus Christ we get a glimpse of his glory. In the person of Jesus we are told that God, that mysterious other that created the stars and the universe—who didn’t even need to bother to be mindful of us—is willing to go all of the way, to become one of us: talk our language, eat our food, share our suffering and die on a cross. Why? So that a single person, you, me, might be redeemed. And, grow to love the infinite God who created you.
HOLY SPIRIT
And we know God as the Holy Spirit —the one who is with us in this very moment, inspiring us, illuminating the Scriptures, animating our faith and worship, interceding for us in our weakness "with sighs too deep for words," leading us, strengthening us, turning on the lights for us when our paths become unclear. Just last week, we celebrated the Sunday of Pentecost, in which we talked about how the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and has been blowing through the church ever since, blowing as powerfully as the wind. Jesus told us that this Spirit blows where it pleases. That is something we ought to be excited about.
TRINITY
Saint Augustine often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine. But this doctrine can be helpful in getting us to know our three-personed God.
Garrison Keillor once said of love, “We should not think that we have figured this out, because it is not a problem, it’s a mystery and always will be.” The same could be said of the doctrine of the Trinity. We don’t have to think of it as a problem to be solved, but rather a glorious mystery in which to relish.
But what does it mean for us that God is three, yet one? The Athanasian Creed states “And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. God, you see, is a like a committee that actually works.
What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within the three forms of God. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described the Trinity with the Greek word "perichoresis." This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a harmonious dance within the internal life of God.
So if God is a community and we are created it God’s image, what does that mean? It means that we are created to be in relationship, just as God is in relationship. The doctrine of the Trinity gives us a vision of a community of women and men in church and society who treat each other as equals and work together in shared responsibility of unity and love. You see, when we understand God in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity, we can see within the very person of God, a radical example of a community built on justice, relationship and care.
So that is what we are celebrating today. In clear terms, the profound mystery of the Trinity tell us who God is: the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Spirit who exist in perfect community with one another. And as people formed in God’s image, it tells us who we are, and why we crave community. May our hearts follow this natural impulse to search and out and find connections with God and with one another that we may be one as God is one.
© 2009 Laura Gentry
Sunday, June 3, 2007
TRINITY MEANS COMMUNITY
A Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday
June 3, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
John 16:12-15
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, we celebrate Trinity Sunday—the only day of the church year dedicated to a theological teaching of the church not associated with the life of Jesus and given the name “Trinity,” which is not even in the bible. To this, you probably respond, “HUH?” Why in the world is such a ancient and difficult-to-understand festival sandwiched right into our church year? How did it begin? And what purpose does it serve?
It all began in the ninth century where Christians in French monastic communities would celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. They were carrying on the tradition of the early Christians, who developed the teaching of the Trinity in order to give them a common understanding of God , which helped Christians understand that God was one, not three gods. Later, in the fourteenth century, the festival became so widespread that it was added to the church calendar and has been celebrated throughout the world ever since.
Saint Augustine, one of the most prominent Christian thinkers, often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine.
Garrison Keillor once said of love, “We should not think that we have figured this out, because it is not a problem, it’s a mystery and always will be.” The same could be said of the doctrine of the Trinity. We don’t have to think of it as a problem to be solved, but rather a glorious mystery in which to relish.
How, exactly, God can be three-in-one, we cannot know, but we can know God in three various ways. Through the biblical accounts, we have come to know God as God the Father—the Creator of our entire universe. In this morning’s lessons, we heard from the Genesis story of creation in which God calls the universe into being by the power of God’s word. God the Father is the all-powerful, eternal, yet loving source of all life.
We also know God as Jesus, the only son of the Father—the Eternal God become flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us, who came to earth to live a life of service and to die and rise again to redeem us from our sin. Jesus made it clear that to know him was to know the Father, for they are one. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul says that "Christ is the image of the invisible God." In Christ, God created everything; in union with Christ all things hold together; in Christ all things are reconciled to God, bringing peace on earth and in heaven (Col. 1: 15-20). Jesus Christ has reshaped our understanding of God.
And we know God as the Holy Spirit —the one who is with us in this very moment, inspiring us, illuminating the Scriptures, animating our faith and worship, interceding for us in our weakness "with sighs too deep for words," leading us, strengthening us, turning on the lights for us when our paths become unclear, blowing as powerfully as the wind.
Three forms, and yet one God. The Athanasian Creed (on page 54 of the LBW) states “And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. Within the triune God there is a special energy which expresses the love of God experienced in Jesus Christ.1
What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within God which spills over into the Christian life. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described this way of understanding God by saying that there is an exchange of energy between the persons of the Trinity by virtue of their eternal love. The unity of the Trinity is not static substance, but an open and loving community. He used the Greek word "perichoresis" to describe the relationship going on within God. This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a dance within the internal life of God. 2 When we worship God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we celebrate the love which flows in God's mysterious dance of togetherness.
So if God is community and we are created it God’s image, what does that mean? It means that we are created to be in relationship, just as God is in relationship. The doctrine of the Trinity gives us a vision of a community of women and men in church and society who treat each other as equals and work together in shared responsibility of unity and love. You see, when we understand God in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity, we can see within the very person of God, a radical example of a community built on justice, relationship and care. It gives us a vision that the self and the other should be treated as of equal worth; that despite differences in power, things should be fair; that every person should be responded to and included and that no one should be left alone and hurt.
This reminds me of a true story of a priest who was sent to serve an inner city church. His passion was for young children and families, yet this parish was a small congregation—just a handful of elderly people. “How can I possibly have a fruitful ministry here?” He wondered. After a few months, he happened to be visiting the hospital and stopped in to a visit a mother with her newborn son. She talked to the priest of her experience of childbirth, and said sadly, “But the problem is that we had this baby all alone.” He asked her what she meant by that. She went on to explain that their parents lived across the country from them. The young mother said, “This is a little scary for us. We have no one to go to for advice about parenting. Most of the people in our neighborhood are also young couples like us. I wish this baby had some grandparents nearby.”
And suddenly a light came on in the priest’s head, “Grandparents!” he thought, “My church as grandparents! The whole congregation is made up of grandparents.” So he talked some people in the church into visiting the home of the couple. They had such a wonderful visit! The young couple had been desperate for someone to be excited about the birth of their child and the elderly visitors had been desperate to get some young people into their church community. It wasn’t long before the couple started coming to church where their baby was doted on by dozens of “grandparents.” The couple got excited and started telling their neighbors about the wonderful congregation of older people who made such great surrogate grandparents. Little by little, more of the young families began attending the parish and what happened was a fantastic synthesis of old and young people, which caused the church to be reborn. In relationship, loneliness and solitude gave way to loving new community.
You see, as people created in the image of the Triune God, our greatest human longing is to be in union. To be whole, we need each other. That’s how God is made and that’s how God made us.
So that is what we are celebrating today. In very clear terms, the profound mystery of the Trinity tell us who God is: the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Spirit who exist in perfect community with one another. And as people formed in God’s image, it tells us who we are, and why we crave community. May our hearts follow this natural impulse to search and out and find connections with God and with one another that we may be one as God is one.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© Laura E. Gentry 2007
June 3, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry
John 16:12-15
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (NRSV)
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today, we celebrate Trinity Sunday—the only day of the church year dedicated to a theological teaching of the church not associated with the life of Jesus and given the name “Trinity,” which is not even in the bible. To this, you probably respond, “HUH?” Why in the world is such a ancient and difficult-to-understand festival sandwiched right into our church year? How did it begin? And what purpose does it serve?
It all began in the ninth century where Christians in French monastic communities would celebrate the festival of the Holy Trinity. They were carrying on the tradition of the early Christians, who developed the teaching of the Trinity in order to give them a common understanding of God , which helped Christians understand that God was one, not three gods. Later, in the fourteenth century, the festival became so widespread that it was added to the church calendar and has been celebrated throughout the world ever since.
Saint Augustine, one of the most prominent Christian thinkers, often puzzled about the whole idea of describing God as a Trinity. He described an incident in which he was walking along the beach and observed a young boy with a bucket, running back and forth to pour water into a little hole. Augustine asked, "What are you doing?" The boy replied, "I'm trying to put the ocean into this hole." It suddenly occurred to Augustine that just as this boy was pursuing the ridiculous goal of putting the whole ocean into the hole, he was pursuing an equally ridiculous goal: trying to put an infinite God into his finite mind. We, with our very limited brains (in comparison to God’s wisdom), have come up with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity—the belief that God is expressed in three parts as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But we must recognize, as Augustine did, that we could never fully understand God—we could never capture God’s entire essence with a doctrine.
Garrison Keillor once said of love, “We should not think that we have figured this out, because it is not a problem, it’s a mystery and always will be.” The same could be said of the doctrine of the Trinity. We don’t have to think of it as a problem to be solved, but rather a glorious mystery in which to relish.
How, exactly, God can be three-in-one, we cannot know, but we can know God in three various ways. Through the biblical accounts, we have come to know God as God the Father—the Creator of our entire universe. In this morning’s lessons, we heard from the Genesis story of creation in which God calls the universe into being by the power of God’s word. God the Father is the all-powerful, eternal, yet loving source of all life.
We also know God as Jesus, the only son of the Father—the Eternal God become flesh, Emmanuel, God-with-us, who came to earth to live a life of service and to die and rise again to redeem us from our sin. Jesus made it clear that to know him was to know the Father, for they are one. In the letter to the Colossians, Paul says that "Christ is the image of the invisible God." In Christ, God created everything; in union with Christ all things hold together; in Christ all things are reconciled to God, bringing peace on earth and in heaven (Col. 1: 15-20). Jesus Christ has reshaped our understanding of God.
And we know God as the Holy Spirit —the one who is with us in this very moment, inspiring us, illuminating the Scriptures, animating our faith and worship, interceding for us in our weakness "with sighs too deep for words," leading us, strengthening us, turning on the lights for us when our paths become unclear, blowing as powerfully as the wind.
Three forms, and yet one God. The Athanasian Creed (on page 54 of the LBW) states “And in this Trinity, no one is before or after, greater or less than the other; but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal; and so we must worship the trinity in unity and the one God in three persons.” These three, equal persons of God work together in community as one, unified God. Some theologians insist that what is most important about belief in a triune God is not that we see God in three ways, but that we understand God as dynamic community. Within the triune God there is a special energy which expresses the love of God experienced in Jesus Christ.1
What is unique about Trinitarian theology, is that it explains that there is an inner relational energy within God which spills over into the Christian life. John of Damascus, an eighth-century theologian, described this way of understanding God by saying that there is an exchange of energy between the persons of the Trinity by virtue of their eternal love. The unity of the Trinity is not static substance, but an open and loving community. He used the Greek word "perichoresis" to describe the relationship going on within God. This word comes from the same root as the word "choreography." It suggests that there is a movement, a dance within the internal life of God. 2 When we worship God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we celebrate the love which flows in God's mysterious dance of togetherness.
So if God is community and we are created it God’s image, what does that mean? It means that we are created to be in relationship, just as God is in relationship. The doctrine of the Trinity gives us a vision of a community of women and men in church and society who treat each other as equals and work together in shared responsibility of unity and love. You see, when we understand God in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity, we can see within the very person of God, a radical example of a community built on justice, relationship and care. It gives us a vision that the self and the other should be treated as of equal worth; that despite differences in power, things should be fair; that every person should be responded to and included and that no one should be left alone and hurt.
This reminds me of a true story of a priest who was sent to serve an inner city church. His passion was for young children and families, yet this parish was a small congregation—just a handful of elderly people. “How can I possibly have a fruitful ministry here?” He wondered. After a few months, he happened to be visiting the hospital and stopped in to a visit a mother with her newborn son. She talked to the priest of her experience of childbirth, and said sadly, “But the problem is that we had this baby all alone.” He asked her what she meant by that. She went on to explain that their parents lived across the country from them. The young mother said, “This is a little scary for us. We have no one to go to for advice about parenting. Most of the people in our neighborhood are also young couples like us. I wish this baby had some grandparents nearby.”
And suddenly a light came on in the priest’s head, “Grandparents!” he thought, “My church as grandparents! The whole congregation is made up of grandparents.” So he talked some people in the church into visiting the home of the couple. They had such a wonderful visit! The young couple had been desperate for someone to be excited about the birth of their child and the elderly visitors had been desperate to get some young people into their church community. It wasn’t long before the couple started coming to church where their baby was doted on by dozens of “grandparents.” The couple got excited and started telling their neighbors about the wonderful congregation of older people who made such great surrogate grandparents. Little by little, more of the young families began attending the parish and what happened was a fantastic synthesis of old and young people, which caused the church to be reborn. In relationship, loneliness and solitude gave way to loving new community.
You see, as people created in the image of the Triune God, our greatest human longing is to be in union. To be whole, we need each other. That’s how God is made and that’s how God made us.
So that is what we are celebrating today. In very clear terms, the profound mystery of the Trinity tell us who God is: the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Spirit who exist in perfect community with one another. And as people formed in God’s image, it tells us who we are, and why we crave community. May our hearts follow this natural impulse to search and out and find connections with God and with one another that we may be one as God is one.
May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
© Laura E. Gentry 2007
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