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St. George's Episcopal Church Roseburg, Oregon Trinity Sunday 11 June 2006 Go To St. George's Home Page

Isaiah 6:1-8
Canticle 13
Romans 8:12-17
John 3:1-17
Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74 th General Convention of the ECUSA

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:1-17)

     Trinity Sunday. This is the Sunday where Christians who profess their faith in the words of the Nicene Creed, come to a complete and clear understanding of the Trinity. Or not.

     When I had a research laboratory, many of my graduate students were non-Christians. Sooner or later, when we got around to talking about religion, the subject of the Trinity would come up. I would explain that “Trinity” is a term Christians use to describe the One God. This would, of course, evoke blank stares. And then as the conversation proceeded with talk about the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as well as God the Father, blank stares would morph into looks of stupefaction. “God the Father,” “God the Son,” and “God the Holy Spirit” sounds like three Gods, not One.

     Over the centuries many have tried to explain the concept of the Trinity – a concept that the Bible does not spell out very well; in fact the word “Trinity” does not appear in the Bible. Many of us have heard all kinds of metaphors to describe the Trinity, including the one that the Trinity is like water – H2O – which can be a gas, a solid, and a liquid all at the same time (the triple point) – but is always H2O at the molecular level. Other metaphors include the egg with its shell, white part, and yolk. Another is downright dangerous for its implications, I think, and that is that the Trinity is like the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government (so is the “Father” the executive or the judicial branch?). There are lots of metaphors to describe the three-in-one concept of the Trinity. But I wonder why we feel the need to do this at all? Isn’t seeking a metaphor to describe the mysterious concept of the Trinity like using a simile to define a metaphor?

     All of these descriptions fall short, and yet the Christian church has been promoting the idea of the Trinity since the Nicene Creed was first offered in 325 C.E., and accepted in its final form in 450 C.E. This is a long time to hold onto something that is so bloody hard to grasp.

     But maybe the desire to categorize and define the Godhead is just part of being a human being that craves making order and sense of all objects in the universe. We are very busy people in this way. Biologists of the 18 th and 19 th centuries worked diligently to classify all living things into Kingdom, phyla, families, orders, and species. Geologists did the same thing with rocks and minerals. The elements of the periodic chart are classified by the shapes of orbitals of their electrons. Classification is a black and white business. It takes certain criteria to be defined as a Pituophis catenifer (Gopher snake) or aThamnophis cyrtopsis (Black neck garter snake) or as Wulfenite tetragonal. And human beings want things defined. We want to know what’s what. And we do it all the time for good or for ill. Categorizing infectious agents into groups is good, because often times a single class of antibiotic will work on agents within a given group. Categorizing people by skin color is not so good.

     And the situation is really confusing when it comes to matters religious; categorizing language can bind us together or tear us apart. It can seek solidarity in unity or promote division through conformity. Trying to come up with definitive explanation of God is a bit like rearing children. I have a plaque in my house that reads, “Raising children is about as rewarding as nailing a poached egg to a tree.” Eventually the thing will come apart.

     Human language has its limits in defining the divine. So rather than stand here and try to do that, I want to focus on what I think is the more useful concept about the Trinity, and that is what it says about relationship.

     In Paul’s letter to the Romans from which we read today, Paul uses the words “Father,” “children,” “Son,” and “Spirit” interchangeably. He does not try to make a metaphysical case for the trinity, but rather he uses these terms to talk about the relational aspects of God.

     Those who can experience the Spirit of God, are adopted as children of God. In other words we can be drawn into relationship with God. This less about classifying God as a Spirit or as a Father than it is about the relationship that is possible through mu tual love and caring and respect. God’s focus – and it should be ours as well – is about internal and external relationships.

     The Trinity, in my view at least, is not about distinctiveness of persons or unity of substance, but rather about relationship and community. It is a lame way of describing a cosmic dance of sorts where to dance with one partner is to dance with them all. It is being invited into a love relationship where we see God face to face and confront our own fears, anxieties, and worries. It is what allows us to admit our shortcomings, faults, or failures, knowing we will be loved at the end of the day. And that is what allows us to live into the relationship and join hands like children might and dance with their friends and their loving parents.

     There are all kinds of relationships we can find ourselves in. Some are very nurturing and sustaining. Others might be lacking in something we need. Still others might point out that we ourselves lack the capacity to properly satisfy the needs of another person, and so we feel shame at our own inadequacy. Some relationships can be abusive or hurtful. Others are scary or bring up issues we would prefer left alone. Some involve betrayal and loss of trust.

     The relationship between Jesus, God, and the Spirit speaks to all of these relationships. There was a time when Jesus felt abandoned by God. There were times when he felt his spirit drained from him. There were times when he would go away by himself and seemingly recharge his soul through communion with God in prayer. But in the end, God drew Jesus to himself, and showed us that this is possible for us as well. It is in how Jesus interacted with such faith toward God that we see an example of the power of God’s ability to relate to us.

     In the Eucharistic celebration, we come forward to receive ordinary bread and wine, and join in a dance that has been going on for centuries and centuries. It is a dance where we somehow experience the metaphysical presence and reality of Jesus, God, and the Spirit all mingled together. It is a time when our highly classified and segregated world gives way to a sense of wholeness.

     The way we can understand the Trinity is by participating in that dance, and letting ourselves become part of the divine relationship that is the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. “ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Canticle 13 Benedictus es, Domine

Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.

Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to you.

Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.

Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you for ever.

Romans 8:12-17

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh -- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: 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.

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Copyright © 2006, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
8 June 2006

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