For Sunday, June
16, 2019, Trinity Sunday, Year C, Readings:
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15
Does not
Wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? [Proverbs 8:1]
O Lord, our
Governor, how exalted is your Name in all the world? [Psalm 8:1]
Since we are justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; and we boast in our hope of
sharing the Glory of God....we also boast in our sufferings…that produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and
hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given us. [Romans
5:1-5]
When the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all
the truth…and declare to you the things that are to come…All that the Father
has is mine. For this reason [the Spirit] will take what is mine and declare it
to you. [John 16:13a,c; 15]
One part of the human condition is the occasionally obsessive
need to be rational about the irrational, that is to make sense of out of what
we don't understand so that we can find something of value or usable in it.
Great thinkers and ponderers, researchers and scientific minds alike, seek to
grasp the ungraspable and define the indefinable. We often strive to know what
is unknowable and explain the unexplainable, or at least contain the concept in
some mortal definition box. And there is nothing more irrational, indefinable,
or ungraspable than the theologically and intellectually mysterious Christian
concept of The Trinity, One God in Three Persons. All manner of
councils, creeds, arguments, and conjectures have sought to develop a workable,
understandable, useful definition out of a non-scriptural but closely held
doctrine of many Christian faith communities to which many simply choose not to
believe because it cannot be contained in a comfortable box.
This is the Sunday which sends many practiced and learnéd preachers
running for the list of available surrogates to fill in so as to dodge those
unanswerable questions. The group of lessons appointed for today are, as usual,
not terribly helpful in expounding upon what we, of those particular
Trinitarian groups, attempt to understand or, at least, accept without
question. That said, the passage from Paul's Letter to the Romans gave us
a sort of taste of the workings of our co-equal and co-eternal*, and consubstantial (of one and the same substance, essence, or
nature), whole and entire God. In John's
Gospel, Jesus, still in his pre-Pentecost Farewell Discourse in
this reading, is explaining to the disciples how they will soon understand all
they need to know through the coming of the Holy Spirit. They must have been
nearly cross-eyed after all they had experienced in the prior month.
With the millions of pages of commentaries, books, treatises, etc., available on Google, wiki-places, and untold thousands of websites, and the innumerable hours of sermons we've attempted to listen to (or write), 2 millennia later we're still trying to put the pieces and Persons of the Trinity together in a way that helps us to explain to ourselves, let alone others, what it is that we believe. Step back, take a breath, some things are simply not simple. Mystery is just that. Faith is a mystery ~ outside of any and all types of boxes ~ as is the Peace that passes all understanding. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; One for All and All are One. AMEN. Alleluia!
With the millions of pages of commentaries, books, treatises, etc., available on Google, wiki-places, and untold thousands of websites, and the innumerable hours of sermons we've attempted to listen to (or write), 2 millennia later we're still trying to put the pieces and Persons of the Trinity together in a way that helps us to explain to ourselves, let alone others, what it is that we believe. Step back, take a breath, some things are simply not simple. Mystery is just that. Faith is a mystery ~ outside of any and all types of boxes ~ as is the Peace that passes all understanding. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; One for All and All are One. AMEN. Alleluia!
*One of my
favorite ways to attempt a workable sense of the Trinity – gender language
aside – is through a piece of a 6th century creed from Dublin known
as Tírechán’s Creed ~ when speaking of God it says:
He has a Son who is co-eternal with
himself;
and similar in all
respects to himself;
and neither is the Son
younger than the Father,
nor is the Father
older than the Son;
and the Holy Spirit
breathes in them.
And the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.
And, there's this:
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE,
PRAY
Leader: ~ Holy and Blessed Trinity, as Almighty Creator and Lord of
All, as Lord of Revelation and Salvation through Christ Jesus, and as Lord and
Giver of Truth and Life through the Holy Spirit: You embody the eternal mystery of One
God in Three Persons. Fill us with the courage and conviction to open to the
love You have poured into our hearts that we may live as Your vessels of faith
in action.
O God
of Grace and Glory
RESPONSE:
To
You, O Lord, we pray
~ Holy and Blessed Trinity, let Wisdom raise her voice in
calling for the ethical and moral character necessary in all the leaders of
this world, this country, and this community, giving hope in action for
universal justice, mercy, and peace. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O God
of Grace and Glory
To You,
O Lord, we pray
~
Holy and Blessed Trinity, grant endurance and
optimism to all in continuous suffering of body, mind, or spirit, and vigor to
those who give support. We pray especially for:
O God
of Grace and Glory
To You,
O Lord, we pray
~ Holy and Blessed Trinity, relieve
the anguish of those in mourning, as You delight in the arrival of the souls of
the Faithful, returning Home for new life everlasting. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
O God
of Grace and Glory
To You,
O Lord, we pray
~ Holy and
Blessed Trinity, we pause in
this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
O God
of Grace and Glory
To You,
O Lord, we pray
~ Holy and
Blessed Trinity, continually replenish the stores of spiritual discernment for
all who inspire our explorations of faith. We give You special thanks and ask for
Your continuing Grace and Blessings for all of our Faith Communities as we go
forth ever together in faith and in Your service. We pray especially for: add
your own petitions
O God
of Grace and Glory
To You,
O Lord, we pray
The Celebrant adds: Triune God of the
Heavens, the Earth, and All that is Known and Unknown, You are our
Complete and Infinite Source of Faith, Love, and Hope. Urge our earth-bound
hearts to seek higher fulfillment as heirs and proclaimers of Your eternal Truth
in this life, exalting Your Name in all the world. We ask through Jesus, our
Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, our Sustainer, who, co-eternal and co-equal with
You, reign as our One True God, forever and ever. Amen.
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