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By the Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, Rector
It’s been said that God is not a puzzle to be solved but a mystery to be explored. There are no accurate answers to the questions, "Who is God?" or "What is God?" So many books have been written and all fall short. Far many more create God in their own image returning the favor from the book of Genesis.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." That’s very nice to hear, since much of the rhetoric we hear on the airwaves is the reverse. The picture of God that many draw and many others see is one of a god that condemns. That is not the God I preach about. The God I know is love, and creativity and joy. A God who makes whales for the sport of it and who heals people for the love of them. The only ones he chastises are the ones who condemn others. Those who have somehow fallen short or missed their mark are not condemned by him but invited deeper into the mystery of His love.
How do we describe such a God? The early Christian theologians inherited the Greek models of philosophy and applied these to Christian doctrine. The methods of Plato and Aristotle found their ways into the Christian centers of Antioch and Alexandria in present day Turkey and Egypt. They wrestled long and hard with the questions of God’s divinity and humanity for decades forging a formula that took a couple centuries and coming up with a doctrine we know as the Trinity, in honor of which we name this Sunday. God the Creator, Jesus the human redeemer, and the Holy Spirit of wisdom - feminine in the Greek words of scripture, but curiously masculine in the English translations.
All separate and all the same. All confusing, all the same. And yet, in the midst of the confusion a reality surfaces that cannot be described, but only felt through a resonance of the spirit.
I feel God’s presence and love in glimpses of grace and have throughout my life. I suspect you have too or else you wouldn’t be sitting here. But try to describe it and we fall short. Isaiah described a wonderful vision of heaven. The Hebrew scriptures aren’t full of theology but they are full of stories, pictures and visions. They speak their truth and wisdom through the language of myth and tradition. In Isaiah’s vision he sees God sitting on a throne not in heaven, but in the temple. For the Israelites God lived in the Temple created by Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians. But in his vision, Isaiah could still see it and God on the throne in it with angels flying about. One of the angels took a burning coal and putting it on his lips created that burning need to proclaim. And when the question came about whom they would send to the people - Isaiah uttered, "Here am I, send me."
It was a moment of conviction and transformation. A moment of clarity and determination. The discovery of something so profound and burning within to let others know: God is here and God does care. The mysterious distance of lofty thrones in Isaiah can be contrasted to Paul’s use of the word "Abba" in his Epistle to the Romans. He said, when we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. But the translators missed it again. "Abba" doesn’t mean "father," it means "daddy." Imagine, they could not bring themselves to translate a word so intimate, so loving and tender. I got a new appreciation for the word "Abba" when I saw a little Hasidic boy in Brooklyn jump into his father’s arms and call out "Abba." Then it made sense to me. The simplicity of the word and the closeness we are invited to share in God’s love. But how do you describe it in theological terms? We can’t. We can only tell it in story. Imprecise. Sometimes messy, and usually slanted, but oddly clear.
Nicodemus scratched his head trying to figure out just what Jesus meant by saying we had to be born again. I scratch my head on that one too. "Born again" is a loaded phrase. It’s right up there with "God". What does it mean? And is someone only born again once?
I’ve had two experiences that I could describe as being "born again." The first was at the age of 23 when I told another person for the first time that I was gay. In that one simple statement the years of pent up fear, self hate, and confusion exploded in powerful sobs that washed away the worst of it and replaced in my spirit the deepest and profound knowing that God loved me. Made me and loved me. Like a burning coal on my lips as though the angel of God asked whom can we send to tell others trapped in self hate that God loves them, I said "Here am I, send me. Try to stop me." The power of that conviction was amazing and I can describe it as passionately as any person who tells their story of being born again. That was 32 years ago and the strength has ebbed and flowed, but the deep knowing has remained.
I believe that being born again is that moment in each of our lives when the secrets we carry in our hearts; those that tell us we are not lovable are shown to be the lies. And once the lie has been exposed, the truth of God’s love rushes in like a mighty wind.
I felt another experience I describe as being born again that occurred 12 years ago. It was again the moment I told my secret truth out loud to another person. This time the truth I told was that I’m an alcoholic. Another and different reservoir of shame and guilt flooded out. Much quieter and less dramatic than my first experience, but equally as powerfully and deeply felt. Despite the pain and guilt I felt, the unworthiness and shame that I owned was laid bare and again the healing warmth of knowing that even in this God loved me, and a voice in my spirit that said," You’re going to be alright." Again, there was that deep knowing as mysterious as the One who sits on the mighty throne and yet also the quiet gentleness of the "Abba" holding the weeping child. How do you describe that except by story?
There is a power in saying our truths out loud. It’s incarnational, which means it takes on flesh and becomes real like the Word of God did in Bethlehem. The mysterious creator, the tender savior and the powerful spirit burning in us are real, and it’s God.
There is nothing that any of us have done or anything that we are that can separate us from the love of God and yet the fear of that separation keeps us silent too often. Silence can be very soothing, but it can also be the place where lies breed and twist inside us. It can be where bitterness is born and fear grows. That cannot be what God wants. Love is here and each of us is made by God and loved by God. Who we are and what we have done - good and bad - can be put to good use in helping others. What we have learned and accomplished can help others. Our speaker here today was invited because she dared to speak the truth burning in her spirit. She has helped others by her truth and her deep knowledge that she is lovable and loved. And no one can take that from her. Each of us is lovable and loved, and no one can take that from us. Even when we don’t believe it ourselves, God does and will send an angel with a burning coal to touch our lips. When that powerful realization hits, you won’t want to give your theology, you’ll want to give your truth. God did not come to condemn the world, but to save it through his love. It’s a message that needs to be heard. But who will go for us? Whom shall we send? Amen.
© 2012 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
By The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloudGenesis 1:1-2:32 Corinthians 12:(5-10)11-14Matthew 28:16-60In the name of the God who created us, the Son who redeems us and the Spirit who sustains us. Amen.Today is Trinity Sunday. It is one of those celebrations that is a real oddity for the church. It is the only day set aside on the Church calendar that asks us to ponder and consider, maybe even find some clarity, on one of Christianity's most fundamental and undoubtedly, probably one of the least clear doctrines -- the glorious, yet mysterious doctrine of the Holy Trinity. It is also probably the one Sunday of the year that many clergy seem to suddenly find their long lost relatives to bond with or they search doggedly for a guest preacher for the day. And let us pause in quiet for a brief moment and remember the hundreds of poor seminarians, who after weeks of grinding out research papers and honing up for final exams, find themselves standing in the pulpit on this Sunday to preach because its good practice for them. Me... well, always trying to be the good Deacon, just kind of put myself out there, said what the heck, and here I am.
You will be very happy to know that I'm not even going to attempt to stand here and try to explain the church's funny math to you. I can barely master basic math let alone try to think that I could actually explain, with any clarity, on how it is that Three -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- equal One. See, to me, that's funny math and I'm staying far away from that. I also realize that the "traditional" definition of the Trinity is not going to help very much either. I remember the last time someone asked me to explain to them the concept of the Trinity. I am sad to report that my explanation left that person… and me… with more questions than we started off with.
So, I thought, let me turn to the real professionals, the theologians who have spent countless years dissecting and studying the Trinity. The Trinity is explained this way in the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church: "the one God exists in three persons and one substance, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is one yet self-differentiated; the God who reveals Himself to mankind is one God equally in three distinct modes of existence, yet remains one through all eternity." There! I'm sure we all NOW understand this doctrine better. Right? I don't know about you, but I sure don't. I'll be honest with you, my eyes glazed over at the first reading of the definition and I certainly haven't gained any further insight since.
It's dawned on me that maybe… just maybe, the more I try to explain and define what the Trinity is the more I limit myself in understanding the fullness of the whole mystery of not only the doctrine of Trinity, but of God Him or Herself. When I slow myself down a bit and let the idea swirl around my mind a bit more, I realize that I can find a richness in the ambiguity of the language I struggle to seek in order to define this concept. The fact is, and I believe blessedly so, that I can not put my boundaries or limits on defining who God is -- He is totally without bounds and is limitless in His fullness -- both in my life and yours if we allow Him to be so.
So with all of that, it seems wise to focus on our readings this morning. In the Genesis reading, we have the creation story. God empties Himself into the creation in an act of self-giving love. Out of nothingness -- comes the fullness of life. This early community of faith knew God as their creator and in whose image they were created. Not only did they know God as their creator, but they knew -- sensed and felt it deeply -- God's love for them as children know the love of a parent. God was in an intimate relationship with them. He was the loving God who revealed himself to the prophets and as the protector, led them out of bondage and slavery. This is not a God who was far off -- He was a God in relationship with them -- even when things don't go so well and they strayed -- He continued to love them and showed his graciousness to them in spite of themselves.
God continued to pour Himself out to them and us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. God becomes flesh and dwells among us. It is Jesus who reveals God to us: the God who created us and is creator of all things; the God who watches over us and calls us into constant relationship with Him; the God who is just and loving, who heals and restores, who forgives and sets free. The disciples experienced directly how God acted in profound ways with His people. They didn't necessarily get it right away -- as a matter of fact, they didn't get it until Jesus' ascension. But, in the end, they came to realize the overwhelming love and care that God, through Jesus His son, poured out upon them. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he reminds them that when they agree with one another and live in peace with one another, the "God of love and peace will be with them [you]."
And in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus releases the power of the Holy Spirit upon them on the day of Pentecost as he promised them. The gift of The Holy Spirit brings them full circle with Jesus -- they are filled with life-giving and transformative joy -- which empowers them to go out into the world to "make disciples of all nations" and to bring those new disciples into the fullness of God's love and Jesus redemptive grace for all to live in.
Let's just spend a few moments with the Great Commission given in Matthew's Gospel. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." This commissioning from God, through Christ, is simple and straightforward. Go and make disciples of all. Teach them to obey what I have commanded you – to love the Lord our God and to love one another as God has loved us. Baptize them. And pray down the Holy Spirit upon them so that they too may come to know the fullness of God's love for them.
What is important to remember about the Great Commission is that we are sent out into the world to be the proclaimers and doers of the Word. It is Jesus, through God who has ALL of the authority – not us. We are to be the vessels of grace and peace and hope and to welcome everyone to discover, freely and joyfully, for themselves, the goodness of God's mercy and love. We are not called to impose our standards or cultural norms upon them; instead, we are called to be faithful witnesses of the redemptive power of Christ and God's never-ending love for all.
The Trinity is the name that we give to the God of our Christian story of salvation. It is the adventure story of God, who creates all from nothing. It is about God becoming flesh and living among us – for all time through -- the power of the Spirit. It is God's story of unbridled love for us because it is His love that overcomes and beats down the power of death. It is the story of God's spirit that transforms and sustains us – who calls us from singleness into community with one another and with the One who loved us first and always.
Why do we take the time to celebrate Trinity Sunday? It is a time for us to pause and wrestle with who God is and how God reveals Himself to us -- to wrestle with who we are and how we are to live in our community of faith and how we are connected to one another. We take the time so that we can understand how God acts and lives in our lives so that we can go out and share with assurance the Good News of Christ in the world.
People who are non-believers don't simply come to believe in Jesus because we can articulate some well-formed doctrine or theology. They are drawn to Christ because they see how Jesus is revealed in and through our lives. They are converted and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit because they witness the grace and love of Christ at work in and through their own lives. They are converted and transformed, because like us, they are caught up in the hands of the God who made us, redeemed us and will never let us go – in other words: caught up in the mysterious life and power of the Trinity.
This Sunday isn't about trying to explain unexplainable doctrine or to work our way through "funny math." It's a day for us to stretch our minds and consider who God is and how God engages us in ways that we might ordinarily take for granted and to examine what our relationship is to God today. It certainly isn't about knowing the right or wrong answers; it's about the willingness to embrace the mystery of the three different faces of God who is One. It's about taking the risk to truly experience for ourselves the completeness of God -- through Jesus – and allowing the Spirit to dwell not only within us, but to blow us out, into the world proclaiming with confidence the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In Christ, with Christ, through Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit we are made one with God the Father. Let us go forth into the world proclaiming with boldness and assurance, the Good News of Christ, this day and always!
Amen.
© 2008 The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloud
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