Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
June 11, 2017
Trinity Sunday
When my mother died four years ago, I was overwhelmed by
the outpouring of support from the church and from my colleagues. My mother chose the Tuesday of Holy Week to
make her departure, which was a whole lot better than waiting until Maundy
Thursday. Offers came from colleagues
to see how they could be of help with the Holy Week liturgies, although I was
coming home and would be present for all of those services. Kind notes poured in from so many people, and
had we taken everyone up on their offers of food, we would not have had to cook
again until this very day. Walking
through the liturgies of Holy Week was particularly powerful that year, not
only because of the comfort of the resurrection, but also because I felt completely
held up and held together by the prayers and support of the far flung yet
gathered community. If I had any doubt
that the presence of God was with me during that time, the love of the people
around me made that presence known.
Today is Trinity Sunday.
Some commentaries call Trinity Sunday the one day of the church year
when we celebrate a doctrine rather than a person or an event. After all, we have come to this point in the
church year via Advent, the season of waiting for the birth of Christ; Christmas;
Epiphany and the revelation of the Christ Child to all people; Lent and the
preparation for Easter; then Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost. After the glory of our Pentecost celebration
last Sunday, now we turn to the somewhat confusing, and perhaps seemingly irrelevant
theological doctrine in which we state that we believe in one God who is
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Actually, I think that to call Trinity Sunday a celebration
of a doctrine does the Trinity a grave injustice. I believe that on Trinity Sunday, we
celebrate the way God works in the world and in our lives. If our readings on Trinity Sunday included
even just one reading that explains the Trinity, that would be helpful. But while no passage of Scripture explains
the Trinity, our readings today do give us clues.
This morning, we watch as God creates the heavens, the
earth, the seas, and all that is in them, and calls all of creation good. This story goes into great detail to show the
God who is in relationship with all that God created. Humans are made in the image of God and made
stewards of all that God created, so we are made to be in relationship with
creation, too. As the image of God, we
are to have dominion over creation the way God shows dominion in this story, by
building up and recognizing the goodness in all God has made. The psalm this morning calls creation the
work of God’s fingers. Creation is not
the work of a distant God, but the God who is connected with all God has made.
In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells the people of Corinth “Put
things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace;
and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy
kiss. All the saints greet you.” Then Paul
says “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” The
persons of the Trinity are named, but not explained. However, on the one hand, the hard work to
which Paul is calling the Corinthians requires the grace, love, and communion
of God. But on the other hand, when the
Body of Christ lives in peace, the grace, love and communion of God is
reflected to the world. The world knows
the fullness of God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by the way the Body of
Christ treats each other.
Lastly, we hear Jesus’ last words in Matthew’s gospel. On the mountain top, Jesus gives a clear
articulation of the Trinity when he commands the remaining 11 disciples and us
to “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.” Again, we hear the three persons of the
Trinity named, but not explained. But
perhaps we have a clue in what Jesus says next.
Jesus says “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.” In the first chapter of Matthew,
Joseph is told in a dream that Mary will bear a son, conceived by the Holy
Spirit. While Joseph is told to name the
child Jesus, which means savior, for he will save the people from their sins,
the angel also references the passage from Isaiah in which the prophet says “Look,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which
means, ‘God is with us.’
If we are made in the image of God, and God is Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, perhaps the call on our lives is to reflect God-is-with-us to
the world. Genesis calls us to reflect
God’s love for all God created. In 2
Corinthians, Paul tells us to reflect the grace, love, and communion of God in
the way we treat one another. And in the
gospel, Jesus connects his command to make disciples by baptizing in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with the promise that he is with us
always. Certainly in the days and weeks
after my mother’s death, I experienced God-with-me through the care and concern
of so many people, and I know from the stories I hear that many of you have had
similar experiences. But the command of
Trinity Sundays goes further than telling us to be God-with-us for each
other. The command of Trinity Sunday is
to be God-with-us for the world.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment