Holy Trinity 2007
Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
Well, here we are at Trinity Sunday. My big opportunity to explain the workings of the Holy Trinity to you. The three in one-the one in three. Water ice steam. the triangle. three leaf clovers. Henrietta’s example of this here three-in-one oil.
Here we have God the creator, Jesus the redeemer, the Holy Spirit the Sanctifier.
You know, God of Old Testament fame. Jesus of the cross. The Holy Spirit of Pentecost. Yet they are all one God. Indivisible.
Clear as, say, mud?
The Trinity is one of those things with no clear explanations. We try. We write books about it. We look for symbols.
But in the end, we fall short. Frustrating to some folks.
But on the other hand, do we want a God we can completely understand? Would we really worship a divinity that we can fully grasp?
The Trinity is not about being able to explain the parts of God…the three persons. To delineate clearly the work of God, the work of Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit.
I think Trinity Sunday brings us not to a theological understanding of the parts of God. But to a broader understanding of relationships.
For the Trinity is relational. Not a clearly delineated threesome. But an ebbing and flowing dance between the parts.
We can’t tell where one part ends and the other begins. Like when a dance is done well, the people move as a unit. Or, I’ve had this experience in a saxophone quartet….the musicians play together so comfortable that they meld into seamless music. If one falters, the others automatically cover for him. And the music goes on, and the listeners don’t even catch the missed measure.
It’s about God’s relationship with the Son and the Spirit, blended together. In ultimate belonging. The relationship makes the fullness. And the images make God richer. And not just the traditional images of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But today we add Wisdom. We have the Mother Hen, the Fire of Pentecost. The Good Shepherd. The Prodigal Father. The Loving Parent, the wise provider….
You can add your own favorite image of God. (Take images from the floor).
Sometimes we rely on one more than the other. But they are all there, blended together.
When we talk about Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are also in the room. When we pray to God we are praying to Jesus and the Spirit. When we celebrate the Spirit, God and Jesus join in the party.
They belong.
We like to belong. Nothing worse than not belonging. We are created to be in community. We are programmed to belong in groups.
So often in this world, however, we are sold a sense of belonging that keeps the individual at center stage at the same time we are told and sold conformity. We can belong as long as we all drive the same car or wear the same clothes or speak the same language. We are told that the right possessions will make us part of the right group. We look for like-minded good-looking people like us to hang with.
But when we find them we are stifled. Not much flow in involved when everyone is trying to hard to fit in.
In God’s world, we are all allowed to be different, diverse, unique while at the same time we learn to dance together. Bringing our gifts not for our selves, but to share so that all become richer. And in the giving we receive.
In God’s dance, we are more concerned about our partners doing well than ourselves. We hold each other up, learn from each other, celebrate each others strengths, give and receive freely. As God the Trinity gives among itself until the whole is stronger yet….
It is here that we most deeply join the dance of the
Trinity. It is in worship that we step
back from the world and see ourselves as part of the larger kingdom that is the
We bring our children here to learn to dance with diversity. To learn not just from teachers and books, but from music and silence and prayer. To learn to define themselves not in what they have but by what they can give.
We bring our friends here because even if we can’t articulate our faith, we know it is fed in this place.
We bring ourselves here week after week because in the dancing we are made whole. The gift of the community fills the longing of our hearts. The presence of each other brings us strength. When our faith is weak or lost, we borrow it from others. In this place.
We are caught up in the Trinity, ebbing and flowing in the relationship of God. Unable to articulate it or explain it away. But knowing that in God, it all fits together, the dance is seamless, always the same yet always changing.
May we always be open to new images of God. May we always be aware of the dancers next to us. And may we continue to invite others to join the dance of the Trinity.
There is always room for one more .