In
today’s scripture, we hear Jesus talking about the Spirit and the Father. God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit—today’s text centers on the Trinity. What references to the
Trinity have you seen or heard so far in our worship today?
Call
to Worship—“Holy Trinity, 1 God in 3 persons, creator, Jesus, Spirit
Opening
hymn “Holy Holy Holy . . . God in
three persons blessed Trinity,”
Prayer
of confession started with Triune God,
Gloria
Patri “Glory be to the Father and
to the Son and to the Holy Ghost”
Time
with the Children—ways 3 can relate to one another
Even after the sermon, if you listen and
look, you should find more Trinitarian references in today’s worship.
Today
is Trinity Sunday, a day when we celebrate the Doctrine of the Trinity. This doctrine helps us try to grasp the
“Biblical—Christian understanding of who God is, how and where God is at work
in the world,”[1] what God is
like, and especially: what that means for us human beings.
Who God is: We
believe the Trinitarian God is not just our God but is the God who is over and
for and with all people, of all religions (or no religion) even before they
know this God.[2]
How and where God is at work in the world:
In the beginning, God created the universe and all that is in
it. Throughout history, as humans have engaged in acts that devastate our
world, that harm other creatures, or that hurt one another, God has worked to
reconcile humans with God and with one another. God continues to work in the world to bring about God’s good
purposes by transforming lives and systems. Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer are words that speak to God’s
work in the world.
What
God is like: God is unselfish. In today’s text, we hear that God the
Father gives all that is his to Jesus—God the Son. And we learn that Jesus shares all that is his with God the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit, in turn,
glorifies the Son.
The
words we usually hear to name the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—describe
relationship among the persons of God.
It is not a hierarchical relationship—with one above another. God the Father is not superior to God
the Son or God the Holy Spirit.
Communication does not occur only between the Father and the Son or
between the Son and the Spirit. The
relationship among the persons of the Triune God is not even a
semi-hierarchical relationship (like our triangle example with the children)
with one lording it over the other two. Instead the relationship is one of equality—they’re on the same level, mutuality—they’re working together, and
unity—they have the same goal. There is a Greek word to describe this
relationship—perichoresis. Peri, like perimeter, means around. Choresis means dancing (like
choreography). “Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are like 3 dancers holding hands, dancing around together in
harmonious, joyful freedom.”[3]
Dancing
around—constant movement so that our attention is drawn to the oneness of the dance
itself. Three dancers moving—but
not moving individually, separately, alone—moving together so that it is the
inter-personal movements, the inter-personal relationships that make up the
three-ness. Perichoresis depicts
the Triune God as community.
The
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are what they are only in relationship with one
another. The work of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit is focused on creation—formation, redemption, and renewal of
creation. The driving power of
this work is love.
So what? Where do we
fit into this understanding of the Triune God? What does it mean for us? <pause> If, in God’s deepest inner being, God is community-seeking,
then that is what God is in relation to us as well[4]
—seeking us out. If God’s work is
driven by love, then God does not want to dominate
and control us but to be God-with-us
(Emmanuel) and God-for-us (powerful Spirit).
We are created in the image of God. If
God’s nature is fully realized in community, then our human nature is fully realized
when we seek out others—living and working for the good of the community rather
than for our individual gain. If
there is no hierarchy in the divine community—no superior and inferior—then our
community of faith should also reflect equality. Our community should welcome
all—regardless of age, gender, economic, social, or sexual differences. If there is no hierarchy—but instead
there is mutuality in the divine community, then our community should empower
everyone—insiders and outsiders, old-timers and newcomers, old and young. If
God exercises divine power to invite us into God’s creative, renewing,
reconciling work in the world; then we should use our power not to dominate,
manipulate or control others.
Instead we should use our power to lift up and to liberate, then to
invite others into God’s work in the world.
Equality,
mutuality, unity are revealed in the Perichoresis—the dance of the Trinity.
Two
weeks ago, I spent the afternoon and evening in Ottawa, watching the Paola High
School Girls’ softball team play in the regional tournament. It was my 1st
PHS softball game. Every time our
team was at bat, I noticed one of the girls pay special attention to her
teammates who entered the batter’s box with less confidence than the
others. “This one’s yours” she
called out. “You can do it.” As she cheered her teammates on, I
noticed the batter stand a little taller, plant her feet a little surer,
practice swing a little harder, eye those pitches a little keener. I thought, “I want to be on a team like
this.”
When
our girls were in the field and time was called, they all came together in the
infield—it wasn’t just the pitcher and catcher or the pitcher and bases. They all came together. No one was left out. “I thought, I want to be on a team like
this.”
I
watched batters hit the ball down the first base line so the 3rd
base runner could score. I watched
outfielders running and heard clear and loud “I got its” to catch the fly-balls.
I saw no grand-standing and no one-upmanship. They were a team—working
together. And I thought, “I want
to be on a team like this.”
Near
the end of the game, it hit me that even though I was sitting right next to the
dugout, I had heard no grumbling against the umpires,
no catty chatter about the girls on the
other team, nothing negative. I realized this team does not need to tear anyone
else down in order to build themselves up. And I thought, “I want to be on a team like this.”
We
ended up at Dairy Queen after the game.
When we walked in, families from the other team were waiting on their
food. In a few minutes, our team
arrived. Our coach walked over to
the parents of the opposing team and said, “ Your girls played really well
tonight. They’ve had a good season.” Now we won the regional tournament, but
he made it a point to walk over and talk with the parents of the other
team. He made it a point to say
something encouraging, positive, and authentic—to someone on the outside. And I thought to myself, “I want to be
on a team like this.”
Equality,
mutuality, unity—I saw it that Tuesday night. The dance of the Triune God was the dance of the girls’
softball team. The dance of the
Triune God can be the dance of this congregation, too. How shall we live out equality,
mutuality, and unity?
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