Readings for Trinity Sunday/C:
John 16:5-15
DATE
The Rev. Karen Faye Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino, CA
Jesus said: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth ... ” [John 16]
Have you ever wondered how it is, that some fundamentalist Christians can say they love God and yet totally ignore Jesus’ teachings on justice, peace, and inclusivity? Have you ever wondered how it is, that some intellectual Christians say they believe in God and yet never develop a life-long personal relationship with God? Have you ever wondered how it is, that some evangelical Christians claim to follow Jesus and yet fail to see the divine spark in people who are different from them? Have you ever wondered how it is, that some Christians practice an inward spirituality and yet fail to reach out to those in need? If you have ever wondered about these inconsistencies among Christians, then perhaps you are ready to probe the Christian doctrine of God, known as the Trinity. Most Christians are inconsistent or distorted in their practice of the faith because they have a narrow understanding of God. They have failed to integrate or experience the fullness of the Trinitarian God in their daily life.
Today I would like to offer a teaching sermon on the Christine doctrine of the Trinity. The trinity can be summarized (rather awkwardly) as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, the trinity is not about two men and a bird. This doctrine of God is about relationships and how God’s purpose, presence and power touch us on a deep and personal level. The purpose of this sermon is not to try to convince you of this doctrine of God but rather to offer you a gift. And the gift is, an expanded notion of God that can lead you into abundant life, filled with the fruit of God’s spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. What more could a person want?
Trinity Sunday is the only feast day in the liturgical calendar that celebrates a doctrine of the Church. A doctrine is an authoritative teaching of the Church regarding beliefs and practices that are considered essential to the well-being of its members. This means that the doctrine of the Trinity not only creates a structure for our talk about God, but it also helps us understand the kind of lives we are called to live.
The doctrine of the Trinity arouse from a very concrete historical problem. The earliest followers of Jesus were Jews. Throughout their lives, they had been taught that there is only one God, the creator of heaven and earth. And yet the earliest followers of Jesus were convinced that they had beheld the presence of God in their midst in the person of Jesus. It then became necessary to explain the relationship between Jesus and God. After Jesus’ physical presence departed from the earth, his followers continued to experience the presence of God in their midst, this time in an inward, transforming way. On that day of Pentecost, they were filled with an incredible Spirit of truth and power. This Spirit moved them from a place of fear to a place of love and courage. This Spirit of truth and love was identical to the truth and love that Jesus himself taught and embodied. And so the early theologians of the Church began to make a connection between God, Jesus, and the Spirit of truth and love. And what they came up with (after many years of controversy) was the doctrine of the Trinity which basically says that God the creator, Jesus ‘the word’, and the Holy Spirit are distinct entities (i.e. persons) but are of the same divine substance which is God.
The doctrine of the trinity states that there is one God but that the fullness of God is best expressed through three relationships or persons. In trying to explain the concept of three persons but one God, I often use the example of a three leaf clover. A three leaf clover has three leaves, but it is one clover. Each of the leaves has the same substance as the other leaves, but they are three distinct leaves. If we were to tear off one of the leaves, then it would not have the fullness of a three leaf clover. It would only be a two leaf clover. If we were to remove or deny two of the leaves, then it would only be a one leaf clover. It would be a diminished clover. When we deny the fullness of God by embracing only one person of the Trinity such as God the creator, or the Christ-the Word, or the Spirit, God is diminished and our practice of the Christian faith can become distorted.
Trying to describe the nature of Jesus is perhaps the most controversial part of the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the trinity claims that Jesus is both human and divine. We all know that Jesus is fully human and we usually understand what it means to be human. But when it comes to his divinity, folks differ on when and how Jesus became divine. This is because the Scriptures are not as specific and clear as we might like them to be. So let me try to offer some clarity about divinity. You might have your own ideas about this.
To be divine, means to share in the nature or substance of God. On a human level (which is what Jesus was), divinity has to do with holiness, and righteousness, and Godly wisdom. Jesus is God’s template for humanity. In the person of Jesus, we now know God’s will for humanity. On a practical level, divinity has to do with right thinking, right action, right speech, and right spirit. When the Good Samaritan stopped and nurtured the injured person on the roadside at the risk of his own life, he was displaying his divine nature. When Mother Theresa spent her whole life caring for the poorest of the poor in the slums of India, she was displaying her divine nature. When people generously share their resources and gifts with those in need, they are displaying their divine nature.
I think there is a lot more divinity running around these days than conservative preachers would have us believe. So the next time you struggle with the divinity of Jesus, get in contact with your own divinity. The same spirit of God that was in Christ is the same spirit of God that is in you. And it is this spirit of God (which we call the Holy Spirit) that leads us into all truth and enables us to become like Christ. The difference between the divinity of Jesus and our own divinity is in degree and longevity. The doctrine of the trinity teaches that Jesus’ divinity was from the beginning where as we are adopted sons and daughters of God who often fall short of the image of God.
So how does this doctrine of the trinity inform the way we live our lives? How does this doctrine of the trinity inform the way we do church? In his book, *Becoming a Blessed Church, Graham Standish says that churches need to be mindful of being Trinitarian if they are to become truly blessed churches. We need to be grounded in the purpose that God the Creator, created us for. This means that as a community of faith we just don’t wander aimlessly, making decisions according to our own desires and fancy. “For churches to become blessed churches, the first thing they must do is to become grounded in God’s purpose by reconnecting with God the Creator, God the Eternal Purpose. They must become more aware of who they are and why they exist. The more firmly grounded in its purpose a church is, the more it opens conduits of grace that allow God’s blessings to flow.” [pg. 54]
Second, we need to be a people alive to the presence of God in Christ in our midst. “A church of presence offers a pathway for people to experience Christ. It calls them to commitment, prayer, sacrifice, love, and transformation. It teaches people that Christ is among us and in us, but that we cannot encounter Christ with the depth that Christ desires unless we adopt practices and lifestyles that allow the life of Christ to grow in us.” [pg. 72]
Finally, we need to be open to the miraculous power of God the Holy Spirit. Forming a church filled with the Holy Spirit was Jesus’ promise. “It is the power of the Holy Spirit that distinguishes the Christian faith from most others. While Jesus was alive, he taught his followers to follow the will of God, love others, and be Christ’s servants in the world, but that was only the foundation of what was to come. His real focus was on opening them to the power of the Holy Spirit. Especially in the gospel of John, we hear Jesus teach his disciples about the power of the Holy Spirit, a power that would allow them to preach, teach, heal, and perform miracles in the name of Christ.” [pg. 98] Jesus said: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” [Jn. 16] The disciples experienced the truth of Jesus’ teaching on the day of Pentecost. The power of the Holy Spirit filled their souls and gave them the passion and power to give their lives completely to God. From that moment on, they manifested God’s power in their lives.” [pg. 99]
There are a lot of forces in society and even in mainline denominations that attempt to discount the fullness of God as expressed in the Trinity. Some insist that God created the universe and then went on vacation, never again to interface with the created order. Others believe that creation is a random accident that has no real purpose. Still others believe that everything depends on human ego-strength alone, and that the power of God working in and through creation is simply a fabrication, an opiate of the people. These are diminished concepts of the God in whom we live and move and have our being. Don’t let these ideas seduce you into accepting a more narrow understanding of God. It will distort your practice of the faith!
I have been deeply influenced by God’s purpose for my life, moving me from a place of self-centeredness to a place of concern for the wider community of beings. I have been nurtured by God’s presence in my life, turning my reality from black and white into full color. I have been strengthened by God’s power, moving me towards truth, healing the deep wounds in my life, and enabling me to grow from a false-self into the likeness of Christ. Am I fully there? No! But without this full understanding of God, I would be left behind.
“Almighty God...Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen” [Collect of the Day, BCP 228]
* Become a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power; by N. Graham Standish, Alban Institute, 2005.
| Updated June 9, 2007 |
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