Trinity Sunday
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
Trinity Sunday
18 May 2008
Text: Matthew 28:16-20; Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Other: Psalm 8; II Corinthians 13:11-13
Explaining the Holy Trinity in logical rhetoric is sort of like trying to nail jello to the wall, but our scriptures appointed for today give us glimpses into the essential relationships of the Trinity which can inform our whole lives. After all, we have tastes of the Trinity throughout the scriptures, but the Trinitarian doctrine only developed after 5 centuries, several ecumenical councils, and, sadly, much bloodshed.
Several years ago, I preached on these same scriptures on the Island of Abaco in the Bahamas. My friend who priested 5 churches there was thrilled for his congregations to experience a woman priest for the 1st time, and I was privileged to prepare the children for a group recitation of the Genesis reading. When I asked the children how many readers we would need for each one to read about one day of creation, they all knew it would be 6. The Jewish lad Jesus grew up hearing this creation story recited in the synagogue liturgy, & much of our approach to life as a faithful people is founded on what we hear in this first creation story. My husband Bill who was an engineer loved the orderliness of this story, & as much as we humans want freedom, we're terrified of chaos & long for order. Though we know life in this world is beyond our control, it gives us great comfort to be assured that God the Creator is running the show. Here we see God bringing forth & then taming the feral elements one by one so they are eventually placed into the safekeeping, the stewardship, the crowning of God's earthly creation, humankind, whom God calls "very good."
God speaks the creation into being, seemingly effortlessly, calling forth each new element into the world, day by day. Each step of the story cries out abundance, plants yielding seed, & animals reproducing plentifully. At each day's end, God proclaims the creation good. My mind's eye visualizes this great creator God breaking into belly laughs of joy at the goodness of the new creation. I'm reminded of a line from last Sunday's psalm (#104) in which the psalmist addresses God saying, ". . . there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it." Isn't it refreshing to think of God's creating a whale just for fun?
Then, perhaps out of loneliness, God brought forth humans, in God's own image; both male & female in God's likeness. God created beings to have relationship with them, blessed them, & sent them forth with a mission. Once again, we see God's overflowing abundance as the humans are told to be fruitful & multiply in order to subdue the earth. Certainly, we humans have been fruitful & multiplied until we have over-populated the earth. Today, we are changed with the responsibility of conservation so that my precious granddaughters & your wonderful little ones, too, might have sufficient & quality air & water & plants & animals. The sense of "dominion" & "subdue" which we see in this passage carry the connotation of our being good stewards of all that we have been given so freely by God.
The story doesn't end with the 6 days of creation, does it? We industrious Americans often forget that God finished the work of creation & rested on the 7th day. I used to believe I had to finish all my work in order to deserve Sabbath. Let me emphasize that the Sabbath is not a reward for work well done. It's a natural part of the rhythm of life. If God needed a hallowed day for rest, don't you imagine we need that, too?
Since I've become a priest, Sabbath rest is certainly not on Sunday when I do the most public work nor is it Saturday, preparation day for Sunday. I try to take a day for Sabbath on Mondays, & as a sabbatical was proposed to me, I have been grateful that those who prepared my covenant here at Hope 3 years ago were wise enough to build in the provision for a sabbatical after 3 years. God commanded us to take Sabbath time to rest & recoup & be re-created. That's the background of the word "recreation," you know. We all need time to be "re-created." God the creator can do that for us, but only when we take time & have our hearts tuned toward God's work. In addition to my daily prayer time & weekly Sabbath day, a spiritual director & another spiritual direction group help me discern God's whispers in my life & work. I don't do these practices just because I'm a priest. To a large extent, my becoming a priest was a response to the rhythm I established long ago as a lay person, & ever since I've been at Hope, I've encouraged such a rule of life to all faithful people as we're all called to lead God-filled lives.
Remember that Sabbath Time is God's gift & command to all. It's not "vacation," for neither you nor I is vacating anything. I will be working on my own spiritual growth issues on my sabbatical, & Reb will be leading the congregation through similar re-visioning to prepare us all for more effective ministry & mission, so one of my prayers while I'm gone is for a large number of parishioners to avail themselves of this wonderful opportunity the Diocese is providing this congregation.
You might think that I've spoken an awfully long time about God the Creator, the 1st person of the Trinity, but in ways which once again defy logical explanation, we remember the prologue to the Gospel of John, "In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God." From the very beginning of the world, Jesus the Logos, the Word was present as Creator along with the Father. The phenomenal element of creation is that this God the omnipotent created God's very self in a relationship of three. This relationship with all the universe begins with the relationship within God Godself. What kind of arrogance for any of us to believe we're even supposed to try to live life or achieve alone! People of faith, made in God's image, are created to interrelationship.
As we turn to the Gospel lesson today, we're reminded of our call to authenticity as Christians in community. Jesus' life—teachings, healings, relationships—& then his death, resurrection, & ascension all make up the New Creation of which we are all a part. The 11 disciples go to the mountain, meet Jesus, & worship him.
Worship—that's the proper response to the Holy One, isn't it? The 11 are beginning to realize that Jesus truly is divine, though some doubt. Perhaps all doubt from time to time. Jesus' love for the 11—& for us—encircles that doubt. Working through doubt earnestly can lead one to deeper faith. Problems deepen when we don't confront our doubt so it leads to despair. I have a small group with whom I share & pray & work through such times , & I'm always amazed by the power of prayer.
Just in case the 11 aren't sure about Jesus' relationship to God, he tells them that "all authority in heaven & on earth has been given to me." Jesus now holds the authority previously God's alone, & now Jesus sends the disciples out by that same authority. They've not been in 3 years of discipleship training for them to just go back to their fishing boats & forget about it. Jesus sends them forth—no ifs, ands, or buts. Here, Jesus expands the mission for his disciples to all nations. Barriers of race, religious background, country, & even economic status have all been broken down. Here at Hope, we have been given a wonderful opportunity to be sign & symbol of an inclusive Christian community. What sorts & conditions of men & women do we close our eyes to & not invite into this circle of Christ's community?
Jesus intends the disciples to go, make disciples, baptize, & teach obedience. What an order! This isn't about hiring the right clergy to get us through the narrow gate. Each of us participates in bringing folks to Christ & preparing them to be disciples. The Greek word is a verb: discipling! Comes from the same root word as discipline. Oh, darn! We have to be disciplined? Yup, I'm afraid so! We're supposed to baptize as the entrance rite into the community of believers—& we need to repeat those baptismal vows often just as we did last week. We'll do so again as Bp. Wimberly confirms 4 of our own youth next Sunday. Our making of disciples starts with our rearing our own church family in the faith. Please be here next week to celebrate that confirmation with Fiona, Caeli, Jennifer, & Jessica.
Further, Jesus calls us to obey. How many of us have to try to do it our own way before we realize Jesus really does have a better plan for our lives than we can manage or even imagine for ourselves. We learn obedience in groups—praying, worshipping, studying scripture, seeing our life stories in light of the big Story of Jesus Christ. We learn obedience when we make hard but right decisions in our business life or with our children.
And we are never alone. Christ leaves us with that assurance at the end of Matthew's gospel when he says, "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Not one of us knows when the end of the age is coming, not even when the end of our own lives is coming. But it doesn't matter. Christ is present with us.
Which leads us back to the Holy Spirit, doesn't it? We celebrate the Trinity this morning in part to help us remember & give thanks that God is with us daily, that Jesus does not leave us comfortless, that the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us humans to be in God's image as we go about Christ's mission in the world. It is because the Holy Spirit binds us together as Christians that we are privileged to be together today.
Thanks be to God: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit! Amen!
Trinity Sunday
18 May 2008
Text: Matthew 28:16-20; Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Other: Psalm 8; II Corinthians 13:11-13
Explaining the Holy Trinity in logical rhetoric is sort of like trying to nail jello to the wall, but our scriptures appointed for today give us glimpses into the essential relationships of the Trinity which can inform our whole lives. After all, we have tastes of the Trinity throughout the scriptures, but the Trinitarian doctrine only developed after 5 centuries, several ecumenical councils, and, sadly, much bloodshed.
Several years ago, I preached on these same scriptures on the Island of Abaco in the Bahamas. My friend who priested 5 churches there was thrilled for his congregations to experience a woman priest for the 1st time, and I was privileged to prepare the children for a group recitation of the Genesis reading. When I asked the children how many readers we would need for each one to read about one day of creation, they all knew it would be 6. The Jewish lad Jesus grew up hearing this creation story recited in the synagogue liturgy, & much of our approach to life as a faithful people is founded on what we hear in this first creation story. My husband Bill who was an engineer loved the orderliness of this story, & as much as we humans want freedom, we're terrified of chaos & long for order. Though we know life in this world is beyond our control, it gives us great comfort to be assured that God the Creator is running the show. Here we see God bringing forth & then taming the feral elements one by one so they are eventually placed into the safekeeping, the stewardship, the crowning of God's earthly creation, humankind, whom God calls "very good."
God speaks the creation into being, seemingly effortlessly, calling forth each new element into the world, day by day. Each step of the story cries out abundance, plants yielding seed, & animals reproducing plentifully. At each day's end, God proclaims the creation good. My mind's eye visualizes this great creator God breaking into belly laughs of joy at the goodness of the new creation. I'm reminded of a line from last Sunday's psalm (#104) in which the psalmist addresses God saying, ". . . there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it." Isn't it refreshing to think of God's creating a whale just for fun?
Then, perhaps out of loneliness, God brought forth humans, in God's own image; both male & female in God's likeness. God created beings to have relationship with them, blessed them, & sent them forth with a mission. Once again, we see God's overflowing abundance as the humans are told to be fruitful & multiply in order to subdue the earth. Certainly, we humans have been fruitful & multiplied until we have over-populated the earth. Today, we are changed with the responsibility of conservation so that my precious granddaughters & your wonderful little ones, too, might have sufficient & quality air & water & plants & animals. The sense of "dominion" & "subdue" which we see in this passage carry the connotation of our being good stewards of all that we have been given so freely by God.
The story doesn't end with the 6 days of creation, does it? We industrious Americans often forget that God finished the work of creation & rested on the 7th day. I used to believe I had to finish all my work in order to deserve Sabbath. Let me emphasize that the Sabbath is not a reward for work well done. It's a natural part of the rhythm of life. If God needed a hallowed day for rest, don't you imagine we need that, too?
Since I've become a priest, Sabbath rest is certainly not on Sunday when I do the most public work nor is it Saturday, preparation day for Sunday. I try to take a day for Sabbath on Mondays, & as a sabbatical was proposed to me, I have been grateful that those who prepared my covenant here at Hope 3 years ago were wise enough to build in the provision for a sabbatical after 3 years. God commanded us to take Sabbath time to rest & recoup & be re-created. That's the background of the word "recreation," you know. We all need time to be "re-created." God the creator can do that for us, but only when we take time & have our hearts tuned toward God's work. In addition to my daily prayer time & weekly Sabbath day, a spiritual director & another spiritual direction group help me discern God's whispers in my life & work. I don't do these practices just because I'm a priest. To a large extent, my becoming a priest was a response to the rhythm I established long ago as a lay person, & ever since I've been at Hope, I've encouraged such a rule of life to all faithful people as we're all called to lead God-filled lives.
Remember that Sabbath Time is God's gift & command to all. It's not "vacation," for neither you nor I is vacating anything. I will be working on my own spiritual growth issues on my sabbatical, & Reb will be leading the congregation through similar re-visioning to prepare us all for more effective ministry & mission, so one of my prayers while I'm gone is for a large number of parishioners to avail themselves of this wonderful opportunity the Diocese is providing this congregation.
You might think that I've spoken an awfully long time about God the Creator, the 1st person of the Trinity, but in ways which once again defy logical explanation, we remember the prologue to the Gospel of John, "In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God." From the very beginning of the world, Jesus the Logos, the Word was present as Creator along with the Father. The phenomenal element of creation is that this God the omnipotent created God's very self in a relationship of three. This relationship with all the universe begins with the relationship within God Godself. What kind of arrogance for any of us to believe we're even supposed to try to live life or achieve alone! People of faith, made in God's image, are created to interrelationship.
As we turn to the Gospel lesson today, we're reminded of our call to authenticity as Christians in community. Jesus' life—teachings, healings, relationships—& then his death, resurrection, & ascension all make up the New Creation of which we are all a part. The 11 disciples go to the mountain, meet Jesus, & worship him.
Worship—that's the proper response to the Holy One, isn't it? The 11 are beginning to realize that Jesus truly is divine, though some doubt. Perhaps all doubt from time to time. Jesus' love for the 11—& for us—encircles that doubt. Working through doubt earnestly can lead one to deeper faith. Problems deepen when we don't confront our doubt so it leads to despair. I have a small group with whom I share & pray & work through such times , & I'm always amazed by the power of prayer.
Just in case the 11 aren't sure about Jesus' relationship to God, he tells them that "all authority in heaven & on earth has been given to me." Jesus now holds the authority previously God's alone, & now Jesus sends the disciples out by that same authority. They've not been in 3 years of discipleship training for them to just go back to their fishing boats & forget about it. Jesus sends them forth—no ifs, ands, or buts. Here, Jesus expands the mission for his disciples to all nations. Barriers of race, religious background, country, & even economic status have all been broken down. Here at Hope, we have been given a wonderful opportunity to be sign & symbol of an inclusive Christian community. What sorts & conditions of men & women do we close our eyes to & not invite into this circle of Christ's community?
Jesus intends the disciples to go, make disciples, baptize, & teach obedience. What an order! This isn't about hiring the right clergy to get us through the narrow gate. Each of us participates in bringing folks to Christ & preparing them to be disciples. The Greek word is a verb: discipling! Comes from the same root word as discipline. Oh, darn! We have to be disciplined? Yup, I'm afraid so! We're supposed to baptize as the entrance rite into the community of believers—& we need to repeat those baptismal vows often just as we did last week. We'll do so again as Bp. Wimberly confirms 4 of our own youth next Sunday. Our making of disciples starts with our rearing our own church family in the faith. Please be here next week to celebrate that confirmation with Fiona, Caeli, Jennifer, & Jessica.
Further, Jesus calls us to obey. How many of us have to try to do it our own way before we realize Jesus really does have a better plan for our lives than we can manage or even imagine for ourselves. We learn obedience in groups—praying, worshipping, studying scripture, seeing our life stories in light of the big Story of Jesus Christ. We learn obedience when we make hard but right decisions in our business life or with our children.
And we are never alone. Christ leaves us with that assurance at the end of Matthew's gospel when he says, "Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Not one of us knows when the end of the age is coming, not even when the end of our own lives is coming. But it doesn't matter. Christ is present with us.
Which leads us back to the Holy Spirit, doesn't it? We celebrate the Trinity this morning in part to help us remember & give thanks that God is with us daily, that Jesus does not leave us comfortless, that the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us humans to be in God's image as we go about Christ's mission in the world. It is because the Holy Spirit binds us together as Christians that we are privileged to be together today.
Thanks be to God: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit! Amen!
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at 10:02 PM
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