Creator, Wisdom, and Spirit: Our Dynamic God
Joy Haertig | Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 12:47PM The Christian year and its “seasons”, begins with Advent – a season of waiting, expectation and hope.
This is followed by Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent and Easter – which are all about the life and ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The weeks following Easter are known as Eastertide which carries us to Pentecost Sunday, which is what we celebrated last week.
On Pentecost we mark the beginning of the disciples coming out of hiding and being filled with the Spirit of courage and speech which empowers them (and US) to go forth as the living Body of Christ, active in the world.
The Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday – You might picture it as a summit – a peak moment when we celebrate how God is made known to us through a multitude of ways: Through the power and beauty of creation, the life of Jesus who made God’s will and dream known in the flesh of human beings, and the Spirit, the mystical and empowering presence above, around, under and within us…
After Trinity Sunday we enter into the Season of Pentecost, also called the Season of Ordinary Time because there are no high holy days of celebration like Christmas or Easter.
Simply, beloved, ordinary time.
No less of a time to be with God or to BE the body of Christ in the world – yet still a time to catch our breath, to pause, to listen, to give thanks.
So before Ordinary time begins next week, we turn our attention to Trinity Sunday – the summit of the year, the coming together of all of the holy seasons where we can go, “Wow, God is truly amazing…Wow, we do live and breathe held within an amazing Love! Wow, we are connected and interconnected to all…Wow!”
For those of you new to the Christian church, the doctrine of the Trinity is a postbiblical teaching of the church – which means you will not find it in the Bible as a specific doctrine. After intense study of scripture by intelligent people in the early church, it was created to be both a proclamation and a teaching tool about the core of our faith as Christians. It proclaimed and taught that our God is ONE God but is made known to us in a multitude of ways: Through God the Creator, Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit – the advocate/counselor that Jesus promised to give to us.
It was fully developed as a church doctrine in the 4th century with the Council of Nicea.
Allow me to take a brief side trip about church doctrine.
The United Church of Christ is not a doctrinal church, which means we do not hand out a list of Christian doctrine that we have to believe in order to be a member or a guest in our denomination or local churches.
The UCC understands Christian doctrine to be a powerful witness to the beliefs of our ancestors and a tool for the ongoing reflection of our faith journeys.
Christian doctrine is a tool for deep reflection, not a claim of absolute truth.
The term “dogma” means “to think”.
The doctrine of the Trinity is meant to invite deep reflection in how we experience God, who God is and how we are in relationship with this dynamic force of Love in our universe.
The doctrine of the Trinity defies human logic – like Sarah talked about last week in the story of Pentecost and the flames of Spirit and people talking and understanding in various languages – it doesn’t make sense – We have to step outside of the “making sense” realm and enter into the realm of mystery and metaphor – of trying to experience and express something we can’t fully express because ultimately it is so much bigger than all of us and so far beyond our control!
I value the Trinity because I see it as an explanation of experience rather than a doctrine of absolutes. If someone asks me if I believe in God or how I experience God in the world – it can be a bit overwhelming…BUT
The Trinity can guide us, it can give us a structure, a set of hooks to hang our thoughts on.
For example, with the help of the Trinity I might respond to someone: I experience God in the power, beauty and vulnerability of nature – in the teachings and example, the courage and the witness of Jesus and in the love that takes shape when people work together for the common good of all living things.
I love the doctrine of the Trinity not only as a tool to help us talk about our faith, but for how it opens the window into mystery and points me towards a Divine Presence that is relational and dynamic at Its very core.
We have heard three of the five scriptures that were part of the assigned readings for Trinity Sunday.
Psalm 8 celebrates the incredible creative power of God the creator, the gifts of the earth and the heavens and expresses the awe that in the midst of all this greatness, God created human beings to enjoy and care for it.
In The Gospel of John 16 we are told how connected Jesus is to God. That what he has brought to us was God’s way of making Gods will known in the flesh of a human being.
“Jesus Christ”, the second “person” of the Trinity.
And then Jesus goes on to speak of the Spirit of Truth, a Spirit that speaks God’s Truth – the third aspect (or “person”) of the Trinity.
In Proverbs we heard about Lady Wisdom, – a feminine presence (not a literal woman) – a metaphor for all the emotions of awe, joy, praise, humility, gentleness, gratitude, and thanksgiving that are sewn into the very fabric of creation itself.
Why is this reading from the Hebrew Scriptures included in the assigned scripture for Trinity Sunday? I think of Lady Wisdom as another description of the Holy Spirit – Holy Wisdom that is meant to accompany and guide us as wise stewards of the universe that God created.
The Spirit – Holy Wisdom – Ruah – Breath, is not simply a Christian concept. This aspect of God is woven throughout our Judeo-Christian scriptures.
I have heard the doctrine of the Trinity expressed in a whole variety of creative ways. If you find yourself struggling with the traditional definition of “One in three persons” – consider some of these:
God is everywhere and always, God is there and then, God is here and now (David Reed)
God is like water – God is the ground water that moves underground, at various times the water wells up and springs appear above ground – Jesus, and then that water flows outward, the Holy Spirit. (Tony Robinson)
Or Way, Truth and Life
As Mother, Child, Breath
As Reconciler, Companion and Hope-giver
As Creator, Wisdom, and Spirit
Or how about this wonderful Greek word, “perichoresis” (perry-cor-ee-sis) which is used to describe Divine co-unity – the word literally means “dancing around” or “dancing in a circle”. Christian theologians have used it to describe the dance of the Trinity.
We do not have to interact with the Trinity as a dogmatic, static piece of stone or as a Christian test that St. Peter will ask us at the heavenly gates to keep non-believers out.
It can be a tool to help us talk with others about our faith – it can be a window that helps us peer into the mysterious and dynamic Divine presence we call God.
In Advent we gather in expectation and hope. We celebrate how God creates and moves and brings forth new life.
In Christmas we gather to celebrate the gift of God’s dream coming to us in the flesh of Jesus.
In Epiphany we celebrate the light of God that was made known in the birth and shared with all people – we seek to open our doors with a wider welcome.
In Lent we recall the costs and joys of discipleship with Jesus – we witness his courage and we seek for some of our own.
On Easter we rejoice in the resurrection, that the darkness of injustice and fear could not put out the light of Love and new life.
In Eastertide we consider what our next steps will be – how the good news will be carried forward.
On Pentecost we say “yes” to BEING the Church when we are scattered in the world.
And on Trinity Sunday we stop for a moment of AWE – for how God moves and breathes in so many varied and incredible ways…
In celebration of the Trinity – in affirmation of our dynamic and mysterious God –
Let us end with a little dance of joy…(I will take the hands of two other people and do a brief circle dance as three)
