June 15, 2014
The Power of Three – Trinity Sunday
- 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
- Dr. Teri Thomas
This is Trinity Sunday.
I know you have been waiting for this celebration to finally arrive.
Actually, you probably say- “So what?”
If you or someone you love is hurting- you probably don’t care about Trinity Sunday.
If you are struggling with personal or family issues- you probably aren’t interested in church doctrine.
If your business is in trouble or you are unhappy in your job
the history of the Council of Nicaea will probably not help much.
If you are dealing with a wayward teenager
or headed for a divorce
or caring for an aging parent
or stuck at home watching church on your computer
it probably doesn’t matter to you that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit
uncreated, incomprehensible
three consubstantial persons, expressions, or hypostases
one God in three distinct persons, yet one in substance, essence or nature
You probably just want to know that God is God
and that somehow God knows who you are- where you are
what you are going through and what you need.
You just want to know God cares.
So, why do we even need a Trinity Sunday?
It sure doesn’t measure up to Christmas or Easter.
There is no Trinity Fairy bringing gifts or hiding eggs.
It doesn’t even come close to Pentecost.
Why don’t we take a cue from Augustine and simply say the Trinity is a like a tree
the roots, the trunk, the branches, they are all wood (one substance)
but they are three entities or expressions. Amen
But why stop when I have 15 minutes to fill?
Let’s look at another model for the Trinity
Think about a child’s pigtail.
If we look at the Trinity as a braid-three equal strands
all inter-related
none can be removed without destroying the whole thing
all three are equal in importance
equal in forming the whole.
Theologian Shirley Guthrie writes-
“The same God who is God over us as God the Father and Creator,
and God with and for us as the incarnate Word and Son,
is also God in and among us as God the Holy Spirit.”
Eugene Peterson reminds us that our Greek ancestors referred to the Trinity as perichoresis – which means dance.
“Imagine a folk dance, a round dance, with three partners in each set. The music starts up and the partners holding hands begin moving in a circle. On signal from the caller, they release hands, change partners, and weave in and out, swinging first one and then another. The tempo increases, the partners move more swiftly with and between and among one another, swinging and twirling, embracing and releasing, holding on and letting go. But there is no confusion, every movement is cleanly coordinated in precise rhythms, as each person maintains his or her own identity.” (page 44 of Christ Plays in Ten thousand Places)
The greatest minds of Christendom have applied reason, philosophical rigor, depth and breadth to understanding and interpreting the church's experience of "Father" "Son" and "Holy Spirit". But it the end, knowing God is as elusive as predicting a firefly's trajectory over a field of hay after dusk, as futile as keeping track of a drop of rain fallen into the ocean in a storm, as blinding as gazing directly at the sun.
http://www.edgeofenclosure.org/trinityc.html
All the explanations, all the descriptions, all the answers to the questions about the Trinity are frail human attempts to describe something that simply cannot be described.
Someone once said that humans trying to describe God are like a bunch of oysters trying to describe a ballerina.
We can read descriptions of God in scripture. Believers have tried for centuries to describe God. But the best anyone can really do is describe what their particular, personal experience of God is like – how it sounds, how it feels, what it reminds us of.
Barbara Brown Taylor wrote-
The problem is that it is rarely the same experience twice in a row. Some days God comes as a judge, walking through our lives wearing white gloves and exposing all the messes we have made. Other days God comes as a shepherd, fending off our enemies and feeding us by hand. Some days God comes as a whirlwind who blows all our certainties away. Other days God comes as a brooding hen who hides us in the shelter of her wings. Some days God comes as a dazzling monarch and other days as a silent servant. If we were to name all the ways God comes to us, the list would go on forever: God the teacher, the challenger, the helper, the stranger, God the lover, the adversary, the yes, the no.
(Home by Another Way, p 153)
So in all the mystery and confusion
we need to remember what I said last week
about having a BIG God who does BIG things.
We need all of God whether we understand it or not.
Understanding the Trinity is not important.
Knowing the promises of the Trinity is essential.
The Trinity assures us we are not powerless in the world
because we are have the inspired presence of God,
a God who created all that is.
we have the redeeming work of God through the human being Jesus
and we experience the presence of that same God in the Holy Spirit
who dwells within us and among us.
The Trinity keeps us from reducing God to what we can understand.
It keeps us aware of God’s mystery.
Trinity assures us our God can do great things.
It promises we can trust a God we cannot predict or ever know completely.
The Trinity promises us we are never alone
because God is a God of community
God is three- community- in relationship- not alone,
God is not alone and promises us we will never be alone.
just as the Trinity is a call for us to be in community,
in relationship with God and God’s children, there is no aloneness in the Trinity.
The Trinity is also an invitation.
An invitation to participate with God in the dance.
We are not mere spectators.
There are always hands reaching out to pull us in
to be an active participant in the relationship that is God.
We have the promise of a BIG God
in all three manifestations
particularly when we are sitting in these pews
feeling detached, isolated, alone,
angry, deserted, depressed,
grieving, hopeless, fearful, anxious,
wounded, ashamed, tired, lost
Steven P. Eason, Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 3, pp. 44-48
I believe that God wants to be know.
God wants to be known by us- God’s creation.
While I do not believe we will ever know God completely
I know God has offered us a variety of ways
God is over us
as a creator
as a parent
as a source of life
as an ancestor
as a chief
Bigger and more powerful than we can ever imagine.
And yet God is also right next to us
as a brother
as a protector
as a teacher
as a human being
who knows our pain and suffering
our struggles and celebrations
in Jesus
next to us.
And that same God is also in us.
as our new life
as our link
guiding and comforting us through all the changes and challenges life brings
as our inspiration
as our real content
the Holy Spirit
in us.
God
three in one
one in three
all for us all with us
all loving us
Thanks be to God the Father
Thanks be to God the Son
Thanks be to God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.