Reading for Trinity
Sunday/B: John 3:1-16
June 15, 2003
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
The Age of Enlightenment reached its apex during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries when people began to believe in the notion, that if we only had enough knowledge, then the world could be saved through technological, medical, and political advancements. Out of this context grew a philosophy of religion known as Deism. Deism was popular among the founding fathers of the United States, those in the European universities, and in more recent times, among some Episcopalians. In general, deists believe that God created the universe and after that creation, had no further interest in the world or its creatures. In this construct, God is some transcendent force (apart from the physical realm) that never reveals itself. Thus, we need not concern ourselves with this God since the physical world is already here. All we need to do is understand the workings of the world through science and then control it for our own benefit. For deists, freedom of human thought is sufficient for discovery of truth for the salvation of humankind.
Today's readings from Scripture dispute this kind of thinking. These readings portray a God who communicates, loves, cares for, and empowers human beings so that they can grasp the truth about who they are and how they can better live in harmony with each other and in the world. Today is Trinity Sunday. It is the only feast-day in the liturgical calendar that celebrates a doctrine of the Church. This Trinitarian doctrine lays out for us, an expanded notion of God; a God who reveals God's self in nature, in the hearts of humankind, and through the words and works of Jesus and other prophets. There are many folks who, when asked if they have ever had an experience of God, say that they are not really sure. If you find yourself in this camp, then the doctrine of the Trinity may help you see God more fully in your daily life. "God is with us" and "God is that in whom we live, and move, and have our being". These are ways of understanding the Trinitarian doctrine. The purpose of this sermon, is to present an expanded notion of God so that you might more fully recognize an encounter with God; and in that recognition, be transformed into the person God wills for you to be.
The theologians of the early Church were not sitting around talking one day and decided to come up with the doctrine of the Trinity. No. They realized that the early disciples had had a life transforming experience through the person Jesus. In the words, works, and spirit of Jesus, they identified the words and works and spirit of God. And so they began to articulate this similarity by saying: "The word of God has become enfleshed in the person of Jesus." After Jesus no longer walked among them, a strange thing happened. These disciples continued to experience his presence. In fact, their lives were transformed on that day of Pentecost when they were filled with an incredible spirit of truth, and a power that moved them from a place of fear to a place of love. This spirit of truth, this spirit of compassion, was identical to the truth and love that Jesus himself taught and embodied. Through the power of this spirit working in the hearts and minds of believers, people who were never with Jesus in his earthly existence, began to understand and enter into his life in ever new and deeper ways; sometimes even more profound than those who accompanied him on his earthly journey.
And so the early theologians began to make a connection between God, Jesus, and the Spirit of truth and transformation. They said that the substance, the truth, the power of transformation, the life-giving spirit, which people were now experiencing, all were coming from the same God. This substance, this truth, this power of transformation, this life giving Spirit, was of God, AND was in the person of Jesus AND was in the spirit that transformed people's lives. From this realization, came the doctrine of the Trinity- One God, three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Now you may ask the question, why did the Church have to be so specific about Jesus' relation to God? Why couldn't they have just said that Jesus was a phenomenal prophet who was inspired by God, and leave it at that? Why the doctrine of the Trinity? Well, there are a lot of inspired prophets out there with many good messages that change over time. The question becomes, is there an absolute truth that can liberate humanity from alienation and the suffering cause by people's inhumanity and ignorance? What is that truth and who proclaims that truth? Christianity declares that there is an absolute truth. In the person of Jesus, we now know God's truth for humanity in ways that we were unable to know before. Jesus laid out for us a path of compassion and called us to put love first. The love he spoke about was not just love for family or an erotic love, but a love that was far greater and more transformative for the human race. This kind of love is patient, kind, and envies no one. It is a love that is never boastful, arrogant, rude or selfish. It never insists on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. True love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. This love never dies. [I Cor. 13] It is this love, this agape, that has the power to unite humanity with God and each other in Christ. Any other claim, any other message, any other spirit, is not of God.
Now let me say just a few words about the terms, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These terms are metaphors to talk about the mystery of God. All religious language uses metaphors to express itself. Metaphors are not to be taken literally. If you think that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are two men and a bird, you have killed the metaphor. God is not a person. Jesus is not God's male child because God does not have babies. However, God is a living, dynamic, communicator, in relationship with us. And so we describe God as a person even though God is not a social being with a distinct center of consciousness as we understand a person to be. God is God.
All religious speech is like a finger pointing to the moon. To equate the finger with the moon or to acknowledge the finger and not perceive the moon is to miss the point. The doctrine of the Trinity is a finger that points to an expanded notion of God. It is a way to see the light that shines in the darkness, a way to participate in transcendent truth and to embrace reality. Whenever a flower opens up its beauty, God is revealed. Whenever, a person reaches out with compassion, God is revealed. Whenever justice prevails over oppression, God is revealed. Whenever the poor, the needy, and the marginalized are given preferential treatment, God is revealed. Whenever people respond with generosity, God is revealed. Whenever love triumphs over fear, God is revealed. The Trinity, is always revealing itself, hoping that we get a glimpse of this divine love as we grope in the darkness of our ignorance and pain. And in that glimpse of divine love, we can be transformed.
So what about the deists' claim that we need not concern ourselves about God and that human knowledge is enough to save humanity? Well, after the Age of Enlightenment, World War I happened. Then World War II happened. Then the Korean War happened, followed by the Vietnam War. Major genocides occurred in Africa and for the last four decades, there have been wars throughout the Middle East. If we are to survive as the human race, we need to embrace the divine truth of compassion that is being revealed through one God- Father, son, and Holy Spirit- The creator, redeemer, and sanctifyer of human life.
| Updated 6/19/03 |
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