When Israel was a child, I loved them, and out of Egypt I called
my child…I led them with human ties and bonds of love…I bent down and fed them.
[Hosea 11:1, 4a,c]
I wait
for the Womb of Creation, my soul waits,
and in her word I hope. My soul keeps watch for the Creator, more than those
who watch for the morning…hope in the Mother
of Creation! For with the Creator
of All there is faithful love and with her is abundant redemption. [Psalm 130:5-7]
Womb
of Life, my heart is not lifted up, nor my eyes exalted. Rather I have
soothed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with her mother…hope in the Wellspring of Life… [Psalm 131:1a,
2-3]
For Christ from God the Sovereign
received honor and glory, a voice came from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This
is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. [2 Peter 1:17]
Then
Jesus came and said to them saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. [Matthew 28:19-20]
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 at least 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 easy mortal definition.
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 some simply choose to discount because it
cannot be contained in a comfortable box. As Dr. Gafney reminds us, those
of us who have realized and those who might not have realized, that the concept
of the traditional Father, Son, and Holy Spirit nomenclature, allows
men and boys to hear themselves and their pronouns identified with God to the
exclusion and invisibility of women and girls and nonbinary persons. She
says further that, “This exclusion is formative for men and boys casting gender
hierarchy from which they benefit in divine terms…in the language of the Church…
trinitarian language…remain[s] a sanctified proclamation of male divinity.”
While recognizing that the traditional language will always have a place in the liturgical lexicon, one of Dr. Gafney’s Lectionary project’s goals is to offer more
ways to name God drawn from her own translations of the Scriptures while
using expanded and often more feminine titles for God. A few of her suggestions for the Trinity are: Sovereign, Savior, and Shelter; Majesty, Mercy, and Mystery; Creator, Christ, and Companion; Potter, Vessel, and Holy Fire; Life, Liberation, and Love.
One of my absolute
favorite thoughts about this same idea comes from Sister Sandra M. Schneiders,
I.H.M., a renowned New Testament Scholar and Professor, writing in U.S.
Catholic magazine for May 1, 1990 in her article: God is More Than Two
Men and a Bird.
This is the Sunday which sends many practiced and learnéd preachers [who
have told me this], running for the list of available surrogates to fill in so
as to dodge unanswerable questions. 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, just what is it 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. Our Trinity: Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier is
truly One for All and All are One. AMEN. Alleluia! Thanks be to our God.
One of my favorite ways to attempt a somewhat workable sense of the
Trinity – gender language aside – is through a portion of a 7th
century creed from Dublin known as Tírechán’s Creed from his
biography of St. Patrick ~ 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.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Womb of Creation, most
Holy God, lift our hearts as we awaken each day to know that your presence
is always within us, if we but seek to find you. Exalt the eyes of our minds to
see that our morning watch is constantly fulfilled, as through your faithful
love you soothe and quiet our souls.
Wellspring of Life
RESPONSE:
In you is our hope and our redemption
~ O Womb of Creation, feed
the consciousness and consciences of all those who choose to govern in our World,
in our Country, and in our Community. Fill them with an intensity of desire, to
remember the human ties and bonds of love bestowed by you for the sacred
benefit of humankind, including themselves. Restore that desire in each of us
as we walk together in the life you have given us to live. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Wellspring of Life
In you is our hope and our redemption
~ O Womb of Creation, grant
endurance and steadfast faith to all in continuous suffering of body, mind, or
spirit, and increasing energy to those who give support. We now join our hearts
to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
Wellspring of Life
In you is our hope and our redemption
~ O Womb of Creation, relieve
distress and comfort those in mourning, as you delight in the arrival of the
souls of your beloved, returning Home for new life everlasting. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Wellspring of Life
In you is our hope and our redemption
~ O Womb of
Creation, we pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud
or silently… add your own petitions
Wellspring of Life
In you is our hope and our redemption
~ O Womb of Creation, continually
replenish the stores of spiritual discernment for all who inspire our
explorations and exercise of faith. We give you special thanks for all they do and
ask for your continuing grace and blessings, as we go forth together in Your
service. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Wellspring of Life
In you is our hope and our redemption
The Celebrant adds: Creator of All, our Triune God of
the Heavens, the Earth, and All that is known and unknown, you are
our complete and infinite source of faith, love, hope, and redemption. Urge our
earth-bound hearts, through our Baptismal Covenant, to seek higher fulfillment
as heirs, proclaimers, and teachers of Your eternal Truth in this life, through
our thoughts, words, and actions. 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.
*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev. Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C, and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in your Liturgies/Services/Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to inform every facet of our lives in Christ. To learn more about her and her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/ 
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