SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2023 | AFTER PENTECOST - Holy Trinity (A)
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Genesis - creation - not a Science book, not a historical book - rather, a description of meaning being given by God - all three persons were there
2Corinthians - ending of the letter - exhortation
Matthew - Mission is done in the name of the Trinity
Holy Trinity, Three in one and one in three, a mystery of faith. A front united and yet distinct.
At first, in Judaism,they talked about God the Father, Yahwe, the Lord, God the Creator…with mentions of the Spirit and increasingly more and more foreshadowing of a Messiah. Later, the yearning for a Messiah was intensifying until Jesus was born and some believed that He is the Messiah and other did not. And then Jesus really started spreading the word about the Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of the Truth…she would keep working with and in you as I depart in the flesh, he would say.
So fairly early in the budding church, we would start acknowledging that God we worship is indeed 3 in one - God the creator and father, God the Son, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit.
So here we are today, not necessarily any wiser as to how it all works, but still very much in awe of the grace and love coming from this fellowship. Our God is a relational God that loves company and diversity, so even God’s own nature is diverse. How cool is that? Very much so.
God is not some lonely grumpy guy up on a cloud, but a hard to grasp mystery that somehow seems relatable - there is strenght in numbers and having others for support sure helps as well!
On this Sunday, we can perhaps contemplate how very much active our God in three still is. I like to begin from nature - another proof that God likes diversity is the amount of different birds, trees, animals, and plants that you can see, well…just in my backyard! Finches, mourning doves, robins, deer, foxes, squirrels, maple trees, dogwood, hibiscus, and so on. Despite humanity’s efforts of polluting the earth, nature remains very resilient and bountiful…it’s a miracle by God’s grace! The same goes for our weather - 90+ one day, then proper thunderstorms and back to early Spring weather. Not ideal weather patterns, but there is beauty in each and every one of them. Our God is a generous artist!
The people we meet is also a diverse and rich blessing - I really do enjoy here in New Jersey that you will truly get all kinds of people from not only around the Americas, but the whole world - Chinese, Guyanese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Czech, German, Ukrainian…1st, 2nd, or n-th generation! A diversity of language, ethnic background, experiences, family structures, cuisines…And as June is also the Pride month, people of all kinds of identities and varieties of whom they are attracted to and love. That is how I imagine the kingdom come, only more and without prejudice!
And beyond nature and the people, we can marvel at God’s work through advances in knowledge and sciences - ways to treat illnesses that used to be lethal, understanding ancient history, speed of travel, easier ways to communicate across languages and cultures, ....
Let us not confine ourselves to a narrow view of God’s activity in the world that all that God is interested in is saving souls and then helping them to evacuate from a crumbling planet. God is interested in the whole of creation and that is exemplified by Jesus coming to dwell among us in the same flesh we bear and doing very ordinary things - eating, caring, helping, celebrating, praying… I trust it is why we have the Trinity, to remind us that there is so much more to God’s activity than we can grasp, keep track of, or understand. It is so much more than we can even imagine. I believe God is with those that are reducing or forgiving debts, caring for the sick and dying, granting justice to the oppressed, lifting up the downtrodden, empowering the powerless and toning down the powerful, stewarding the creation with care and love, or protecting the weak and vulnerable.
Beloveds, let us keep that on top of our minds, as we see around us those that are using the looming financial catastrophe as a bargaining chip to get what they want, those with power and influence oppressing whole countries, further destruction of the environment for the few extra percents of growth, those scapegoating already vulnerable people for populism points, and yes, also those that preach hatred, exclusion, and violence in the name of one God or another. To celebrate Trinity is not to spend hours on end with trinitarian theology, but rather to celebrate and hold tight to all the ways that God in the trinity is mercifully and lovingly active in the world and then become a part of this blessed transformation. Grace upon grace and then more grace…that is the agenda of the trinity now and forever. Amen.