Trinity Sunday, 27 May 2018

The Holy Trinity is one of the most challenging Christian doctrines, often reduced to a footnote among liberal and progressive theologians.  How can the one God have three manifestations? Are they all the same God? Or, do we deal with three gods as some critics suggest? Different Christians emphasize different aspects of the trinity.  Some focus on the grandeur and personality of God the Father or Creator, who brings universes into being, evolves the cosmos and our planet, and yet is more intimate than our closest friend. Others emphasize the Spirit – the Holy Spirit – known either dramatically in speaking in tongues and healing moments or more subtly as the still, small voice, interceding for us and guiding us in sighs too deep for words.  To others, the historical Jesus and his way of peace, hospitality and justice is central to our understanding of God. For them, the way of Jesus, not doctrine, is at the heart of Christian faith. Still others honor the cosmic Christ, the creative word (dabhar and Sophia) that gives life to all things and is the wise energy and insight in all creation, as noted in Proverbs 8.

Moreover, many faithful Christians wrestle with the apparent maleness of the trinity, and the temptation of trinitarian thinkers to be fixated on male language and patriarchal relationships.  Should we jettison the “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” for something more inclusive such as “Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer” or do we lose something important in tradition and personhood in the process?  Process theologians recognize that the doctrine of the trinity – and the reality toward which it points – is itself in process. God is not static, but dynamic; God is not distant, but relational; God adapts to, and yet challenges, our cultural norms.  Accordingly, we cannot jettison the ancient language in its entirety, even though we must welcome new images that portray the richness and diversity of human experience and God’s relationship to the world. Diverse though our experiences may be, there is only one God, ethically, morally, and spiritually.  The God of Jesus is also the Spirit within and the Creator acting in the world. No theological “bait and switch” here: God’s integrity is revealed diversely, but it all comes down to love, healing, welcome, and the quest for dynamic unity and transformation.

There is one final question regarding the trinity, and that is, “What difference does it make?  Does the emphasis on three-ness or oneness shape in any significant way our ethics, politics, or earth care?”  

Isaiah’s encounter with the Living God describes one of the great mystical encounters in biblical history.  In a time of national travail, not unlike our own, Isaiah enters the temple, perhaps to seek a moment of peace or find guidance for his involvement in responding to the political uncertainty of the times.  He is confronted by the Living God and God’s angelic hosts. God in all of God’s grandeur sits on the throne joining heaven and earth. Isaiah is gobsmacked and filled with fear and trembling. He realizes the infinite distance ethically and cosmically between himself and the deity.  God is near, right in the temple, but God’s nearness reveals God’s grandeur. The infinitely personal God is also infinite in nature. Isaiah protests his sinfulness – his meager mortality – and God responds with the gift of transformation. Then, the personal God confronts Isaiah with a personal question: “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”  Despite his angst, and perhaps because of his angst, Isaiah responds, “Send me. I will be your guide and representative.”

We are Isaiah!  The infinite God is infinitely relational and addresses us in our own unique political and personal context.  We are unnerved by global climate change, violence in schools, political polarization, and the normalization of incivility.  We are uncertain, in the era of Trump, about the future of our nation. And, yet, here God calls us by name, presenting us with possibilities and the energy to achieve them.  The call of Isaiah is both individual and communal. We don’t know whether he was alone or in a group. My own sense is that Isaiah was surrounded by a multitude at worship, and that only Isaiah experienced God’s dramatic call to vocation.  In church on Sunday, this may also be the case. Most folk will experience inspiration, and then go about their business, hopefully oriented toward greater things, but perhaps one will hear God’s word directly and experience the call to profound creative transformation.  We must be open to transformation every time we worship, without predicting the nature of God’s movements in our lives.

Psalm 29 paints a picture of glory and grandeur.  Divine energy bursts forth in all things. Intimately, God energizes and inspires every creature.  All creation praises God. But, the energy within is also abounding glory. God cannot be limited to or identified with any of his manifestations, despite the wonder of the God’s world.  Radical amazement, to quote Abraham Joshua Heschel, is the only appropriate response among those who have experienced the glory of God, embedded in the heavens above and the intricacies of daily life.

Romans 8 integrates the language of the Trinity – Father, Spirit, and Son – and reminds us that, God is spiritually one, regardless of God’s diversity of revelations.  Our prayers are God’s prayers and true prayer emerges from God’s inspiration within us. Awakening to the trinity, however, may, as Isaiah’s mystical encounter reveals, join both wonder with struggle.  Suffering and glory are connected. Much as we hate to admit it, spirituality often complicates our lives. We become more attuned to the pain of the world, we empathize with others more deeply, and may be called to sacrifice some of our comforts to be faithful to God.  Yet, within sacrifice is the promise of glory. Our sacrifices are part of God’s holy adventure unfolding in our daily lives and the world. Those who speak “Abba, Father” or “Amma, Mother,” may be called to sacrificial vocations – and all vocation has a sacrificial element – and in the challenges they will also experience the “tragic beauty” of divine companionship and claiming their role as God’s companions in healing the earth.

Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus is a theological goldmine that demands more than one sermon.  First, Jesus reveals God’s Spirit to be free, untrammeled, and beyond human control. God’s Spirit can show up any and everywhere, when we least expect it and among those – including ourselves – where we least expect it.  Free Spirit is global Spirit; it is also intimate Spirit, addressing us right where we are, bringing forth possibilities from what we perceive to be limitations. Second, God’s Son (God’s Child) is the source of salvation, lifting us up from despair to glory, and waywardness to salvation.  Those who open to the Son/the Child experience eternal life in the maelstrom of human challenges. Third, the Incarnation is the gift of divine love. God’s bias is toward healing and wholeness. God does not nullify our freedom but provides a pathway for meaningful and healthy acts of freedom.

Trinity Sunday is good news, despite its mystery.  It awakens us to the mystic within and invites us to seek relationship with our Creator.  It proclaims the wonders of the world and challenges us to take our part in healing the earth.  It opens us to the many ways God addresses us, intimately and cosmically, and calls us to an “out of the box” spirituality. It reminds us that God is love and in embracing love, we most fully experience God.  God is on our side and comes to us in a variety of ways and, most importantly, in the ways we and our communities need.

Trinity Sunday challenges us to prepare for unexpected theophanies, encounters with God, and open our senses to God with every encounter.  We are called to a life of prayerful mindfulness, opening to that of God in our experiences, the persons around us, and the ambient universe.  In awakening to the Living God, in all of God’s various expressions, we must be prepared for transforming embodied in life-changing action.

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Bruce Epperly is Pastor and Teacher at South Congregational Church, UCC, Centerville, on Cape Cod, MA, and professor in the D.Min. program at Wesley Theological Seminary. He is the author of over 40 books, including Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed, Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God, Process Spirituality: Practicing Holy Adventure with God, and The Gospel According to Winnie the Pooh.