First Sunday After Pentecost: Trinity Sunday: It Is About Relationships

Today's Scripture Readings

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 (NRSV)

Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;

beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

"To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.

Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth--

when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world's first bits of soil.

When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,

when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master worker;

and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,

rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race."

Canticle 13 (The Book of Common Prayer, p.90).


Romans 5:1-5 (NRSV)

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering 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 to us.

John 16:12-15 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Blog Reflection

I recently had an experience on Facebook.  

Among the many posts that are appear on my feed from time to time are written to say things like, "If you love me, please copy and past this message in your status and post it.  I bet most of you won't.  If you do copy and post this message as I have asked, I will know that you love me."

I really do not like posts such as that.  Among my many reasons is that it encourages us to type and post something like that on Facebook than it is to say such things in person.  I also feel that such posts are suggestive of manipulating readers to say what the author whats to hear, rather than giving the other person the option to say something on their own.  Lastly, they often make me wonder about the genuineness of the original writer of the post and those who copy, paste and repost them.   Is it just to get it out of the way?  Is it real and heart felt?   Do we really know?   I am not so sure, nor can I be.  This is why I tend not to copy and paste them.  I will sometimes write the individual a private message to say it for real to the other person, or simply not pay much attention.

This past week, I did a whole 80 degree turn on one particular post.  The post read, "If you call yourself my family hit the like button and copy this on your status and when I see your name I'll know who my real family is, blood or not... Here we go!!😀"  Why I chose to pay attention to his and have opinions and ignore the others is as much a mystery to me as it is to you.  Well, I copied and pasted the message.  I got many really nice comments to the post on my own timeline.  One individual was quick-witted  enough to make a comment about how he does not copy and past such things followed by an emoticon with a winking eye.  My response to him was that I agreed and understood, but that this was one of those moments when I decided to do differently.  Then came one comment by someone I have rubbed shoulders with on any number of occasions.  The individual held nothing against me, but simply told me that she considers me part of her family.   Well, let me just say that that response put this Benedictine in my place as to how much I have to learn about humility.  It also provided me with an opportunity to do some genuine but tearful reconciliation with the other individual.  Something I did that was different than what I would normally do, became a catalyst for the Holy Spirit to bring about some forgiveness, healing and reconciliation for both of us.  It is something that I cannot adequately put into words, nor completely understand.  I can only write the experience of what happened; then hope that others understand what I am writing.

The great mystery of the Holy Trinity can be talked about, but can never be explained adequately or logically.  The Trinity of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; or Mother, Child and Comforter or any other name is simply beyond our human limitations.  They are also incomplete and inadequate names.  We celebrate this great mystery every time we celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism.  The Priest and congregants make the sign of the Cross with the Name of the Persons of the Trinity at various points in our worship.  Theologians of the past, present and undoubtedly in the future will write books, internet presentations, and just like me; write blog posts to meditate on this incredible part of our faith.  There are those who believe in the Trinity and what it means.  There are those who are not so sure.  Still, there are others who just do not and cannot believe in such a strange concept as one God in Three Persons.

There is one matter about the Trinity that is not written about anywhere near as much.  The Holy Trinity is more about relationships than it is about theology.   It is more about how God relates to God's Self and everyone of us.  As with many pieces of our Christian Faith which we confess in our many creeds and prayers, if we do not live into those mysteries with love and compassion for each other, the Trinity is just hogwash talk.  It is the ministry and mission of Christians to bring forth the presence of God the Holy Trinity, by living in reverence and consciousness of God's presence on others who are different from ourselves.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit "will lead you into all truth."  Jesus did not say that we would be given a truth that is once for all, stagnant and ever left in Church History and ancient Tradition.  Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit will (and does) lead us beyond our intellectual or theological dogmas, to a living reality of the God-Head present in every place and every person we encounter.  Each place, culture, person will show us a different view of God that we never understood before.  Every opportunity whether it coincides with our status quo or planned steps or not; is a moment for the Holy Trinity to live God's full reality as we allow ourselves to be led into one truth and another.

In recent weeks and days, our media is inundated with the debate about who should use which public restroom based on one's gender identity/expression.  The debate and those using transgender people as their scapegoat to demean and denigrate them; is based on ignorance and fear.   The news that one Christianist organization has been sending men into a women's restroom to help create a fear about sexual assault is just outrageously wrong.  It is fear mongering and the invasion of a transgender person's dignity, simply to make a statement as to what genitalia should be relieving themselves in what restroom. 

Honestly, do we really think the Triune God cares that much about such things?  I think the Holy Trinity is more interested in what we are saying about God when we marginalize and stereotype any person by the way of spiritual malpractice and doctrinal abuse.  Is it any wonder why people shrug their shoulders at any form of organized religion?

Maybe as we meditate on who God is in the Holy Trinity and how God is moving on our hearts with regards to our relationships with each other, we might discover our true selves.  Perhaps we might hear the Holy Spirit leading us into new truths that we would have never thought about before.  Maybe, just maybe we might receive the Holy Spirit's conversion in our hearts to learn to live into the Mystery of the Triune God-Head and make God known by love and compassion.  Maybe, the world would be a better place, and Christians will give Jesus Christ a good Name.

What do you hear the Holy Trinity saying to you?

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.228).

Almighty God, you have revealed to your Church your eternal
Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in
Trinity of Persons: Give us grace to continue steadfast in the
confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; for you live and reign, one God,
now and for ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.251).

Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed
for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one:
Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and
obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit,
that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your
Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (The Book of Common Prayer, p.255).

First After Pentecost: Trinity Sunday. The Mystery of God Revealed Through Us

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 6:1-6 (NRSV)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory."

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

Psalm 29 (BCP., p.620)


Romans 8:12-17 (NRSV)

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1-17 (NRSV)

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Blog Reflection

So many things have been written and said about the Trinity.  It has many meanings for various people.  It is something believed in or rejected as an impossibility.  Christians have debated this central mystery and enshrined its possibilities in the Nicene and Apostles Creed.

God still patiently waits for the mystery of the Trinity to become a living reality that goes beyond debate or creed.  God calls Christians to discern and reveal the Trinity in our relationships within communities of people who are real and desiring what cannot be seen.  The Trinity is revealed as diverse people receive one another as Christ, as we listen to what the Holy Spirit tells us through them.

As same-gender couples continue to work and hope for more than just the right to marry the person they love; but to be able to live into who they are beyond labels and prejudice.  There the fullness of God is revealed with beauty and holiness, just as it is in the marriage of straight women and men.  When we wake up and realize we all have a responsibility to be good stewards of creation, by preserving and sharing the worlds resources; the Trinity is integrated and living among us.  We must respond to God's call to eradicate the attitudes that feed racism, gun violence, and income inequality; because where ever love is, God's presence is there.

As we meditate today on what the Trinity means for each of us, may we also recommit ourselves to that love of Jesus for all the world that heals divisions and oppression.  May we ask God to help us to respond to the Presence of the Holy Trinity that makes us the Icon into the greatness of God in the world.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Collect for Trinity Sunday.  The Book of Common Prayer, p.226)

First Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday: God's Relationship Shared with Humankind

Today's Scripture Readings

Genesis 1:1-2:4a (NRSV)

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. God made the two great lights-- the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night-- and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

So God created humankind in his image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

Psalm 8 (BCP., p.592)


2 Corinthians 13:11-13 (NRSV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. 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.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. 

Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Blog Reflection

Undoubtedly, my blog readers see an interesting diversity within the theology of what I write.   I can be all over the map.   That is the beauty of the Anglican/Episcopal Tradition.   We are the via media.   We are Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Unitarian/Universalist and any number of traditions.  At the same time, we are none of the above exclusively.   There are many unique individuals and influences within the Anglican Tradition and others that are distinctly and solidly Christian.  The one common thread that binds Episcopalians together is The Book of Common Prayer.   It is our prayer and what we pray and do within our prayer that unifies us amidst our differences.

There is one of many parts of our Tradition as Episcopalians/Anglicans that I remain very Anglo-Catholic about.   That is this Sunday's Feast of The Holy Trinity.  

Trinity Sunday is steeped in the Christian Tradition.  It is greatly controversial, and not without reason.  It is a mystery that is beyond human comprehension.   The Trinity defies human logic.   Even though we use the word "the-o-log-(ic)-y" in the many ways we attempt to explain and/or describe it academically or even to the least educated of people, there is no logic of any kind that adequately comes close to a definition.  Even with St. Patrick's attempt to explain it with a three leaf clover, his breastplate hymn, and the countless Saints through out the centuries, the complete understanding of the Trinity evades the human intellect.

For many, the easy way out is to say that the Trinity cannot be explained, because Jesus "never claimed himself to be a Divine Being."   This is a very common belief among Unitarians.   This belief though it is valid from their point of view, is not something I agree with.   I have tremendous respect and affection for Unitarians/Universalists and their "Standing on the Side of Love" campaign on behalf of LGBT, Women, Immigrants and more.   There are many Trinity believing Christians who cannot come up with a slogan as brilliant as what the Unitarians have.

Another way out for many Trinity believing and/or questioning Christians is to say it is without logic, so why discuss it?   A valid point.  If it tends to bring about endless controversies that disrupt the coffee hour after Mass, then perhaps it is better left out of the discussions.   Or is it?

I have just begun reading a new book as part of my formation as a Novice for Vowed Life with the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict.   The book is entitled: Toward God: The Ancient Wisdom of Western Prayer written by Michael Casey.   Casey is a Cistercian Monk and Prior at Tarrawarra Abbey in Victoria, Australia.  I think what I have started reading so far has something to say about the Trinity.   See my quote below

Prayer is our means of taking a sighting, of re-orienting ourselves-- by re-establishing contact with our goal.  In the presence of God many components of our life fall into perspective and our journey makes more sense.  We look toward God, conscious that seeking what is unseen corresponds to a very deep stratum of our being.  It is not just a bright idea or fad; it grows from the soil of the heart.  Prayer is inseparable from living (page 5).

I think what the above quote from Casey's book about prayer are telling us, is that prayer and the mystery of the Triune God are about a deepening of a relationship between God and us.  When we limit the Scriptures to mere interpretation for the sake of defending a prejudice, or prayer as something we do only when we are wanting something; the mystery of the Trinity remains incomplete and without concrete conversion.   When we contemplate upon the awesome relationship of the One God who is Father/Mother/Creator,  Son/Daughter/Redeemer/Servant, and Holy Spirit/Advocate/Sanctifier/Life-Giver/Mother Spirit, etc. as being about God's relationship with God's Self to humankind, lived in the lives of those Baptized into the Body of Christ that is the Church;  the Trinitarian mystery breathes, works and loves others around us and through us.   What we pray the Nicene or Apostles Creed what cannot be seen becomes a living and breathing reality.   It can actually be touched by our human senses in ways that we cannot put into words.  It is just too awesome.   It baths the soul in spiritual ecstacy that raises us beyond any explanation. 

As we struggle with additional mass shootings at public schools and other places; wrestle with the horrific violence to LGBT people in countries like Russia, Uganda, Nigeria and right in our own nation; the Trinity longs to become an empowering transformation through us "more than we can ever ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20).

As we ask ourselves in the depths of our soul, how to respond to church theologians who still suggest that marriage equality is at all equivalent to Nazi Germany and the invasion of Iraq, it is the living relationship of the Holy Trinity with us, that will give us guidance and the words of the Holy Spirit.

As Christians of good will discern how to prayerfully respond with justice, healing and reconciliation for the oppressed, the disenfranchised, those who are sick, without companionship, struggling with addictions and more; it is the relationship of the Trinity to humankind that longs for us to be the answer to our prayers.

The relationship of the Trinity with God's Self is a relationship of obedience out of love for God and all humankind.  A love that seeks to end the discrimination towards individuals of differing religious beliefs and practices.  A love that wants to see women treated with equal dignity and respect, regarding the work place and their reproductive health care.   A love that does not condone violence in the Name of Christ of any kind, but thirsts to see the inclusive ministry of radical hospitality to bring about healing and reconciliation through the lives of those who believe in the majestic Name of the Holy Trinity.

The Psalmist rightly asks that if God who is so great that everything was created by God, then why are humans so wonderfully created and given such graces from the mind of the Holy One?  

It is because God wants us to do more than soak up the blessings for ourselves.  Our kind and gracious God has given us the fullness of a Father's love in Christ through the Holy Spirit so that Christians may be the living and breathing life of God that makes visible that which cannot be seen by the human eye.   Love and compassion that is inclusive makes each of us an icon of the Beatific Vision of the Holy Trinity.   Because we live in relationship to God the Holy Trinity, with all of God's holy people.

The Question I ask in conclusion is; how seriously are Christians about that relationship that goes beyond the pews and walls of our churches?

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 228).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 815).

Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us
grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace
with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom,
help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our
communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy
Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (Book of Common Prayer, p. 260).

Trinity Sunday: Lead Us Into All Truth, We Aren't There Yet

Today's Scripture Readings

Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31 (NRSV)

Does not wisdom call,

and does not understanding raise her voice?

On the heights, beside the way,

at the crossroads she takes her stand;

beside the gates in front of the town,

at the entrance of the portals she cries out:

"To you, O people, I call,

and my cry is to all that live.

The LORD created me at the beginning of his work,

the first of his acts of long ago.

Ages ago I was set up,

at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

Before the mountains had been shaped,

before the hills, I was brought forth--

when he had not yet made earth and fields,

or the world's first bits of soil.

When he established the heavens, I was there,

when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above,

when he established the fountains of the deep,

when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

then I was beside him, like a master worker;

and I was daily his delight,

rejoicing before him always,

rejoicing in his inhabited world

and delighting in the human race."

Psalm 8 (BCP., p.592)


Romans 5: 1-5 (NRSV)

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering 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 to us.

John 16: 12-15 (NRSV)

Jesus said to the disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Blog Reflection

On this Trinity Sunday during Year C, we have a view of the mystery of God presented to us in the feminine as opposed to the masculine.   While we traditionally address God the Trinity as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God is also known as Mother, Servant and Life-Giver.   God's revelation of Self is not limited to our labels, ideals, theologies, or Creeds.   God's truth is ever teaching us, moving us and calling us beyond where we are into new understandings of God.

The reading from Proverbs tells us of the Wisdom of God.   The Wisdom of God is also referred to as the Word of God.  Christians know the Incarnate Word was and is God's perfect revelation of Self in Jesus Christ.  In that Wisdom is the One through whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made.   The Prologue of John's Gospel 1-18 tells of the Word through whom everything exists, and continues by God's will.  It is by way of the Wisdom of God that everything that holds itself together is what it is, and continues.  The very goodness of all things and people, is by way of God who is Wisdom and the Word made flesh.

It has been suggested by many that Jesus Christ could have been transgender.  He was the Son of God, yes, at least in His outer appearance.  Yet, His character, compassion and tenderness show a very feminine nature.  One that could suggest that He was both male and female.

St. Julian of Norwich wrote A Song of True Motherhood.

God chose to be our mother in all things
  and so made the foundation of his work,
  most humbly and most pure, in the Virgin's womb.
God, the perfect wisdom of all,
  arrayed himself in this humble place.
Christ came in our poor flesh
  to share a mother's care.
Our mothers bear us for pain and for death;
  our true mother, Jesus, bears us for joy and endless life.
Christ carried us within him in love and travail,
  until the full time of his passion.
And when all was completed and he had carried us so for joy,
  still all this could not satisfy the power of his wonderful love.
All that we owe is redeemed in truly loving God,
  for the love of Christ works in us;
  Christ is the one whom we love.  (Enriching Our Worship 1, Canticle R, p.40)

The truth of God's revelation continues as the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth.  The reading from John's Gospel is my favorite for this day.  Because, we are hearing Jesus telling His disciples and us, that the work of God revealing truth is not finished.  It also suggests that truth is something that is never abstract or objective only.  Truth is in the Person of Jesus as understood in John 14: 6.   However, even the Truth is understood and grasped only so much by each generation of Christians.   As Christ, Himself was born, grew into knowledge and wisdom, so must Christians.   As the Church that was born on Pentecost which we celebrated last Sunday grew and expanded in the Truth of Christ, so it must continue to mature and become more inclusive today.

Rather than receive this news as a threat to our comfort zones, we should be looking with anticipation of what God is leading us into.   The evolutionary God is always revealing God's Self in new and amazing ways.  God is continually evolving in our midst, and as God does, so must the Church and Christians.  In the Trinity we know of God's love as unified, yet diverse in three separate and distinct Persons.  Each Person exists and loves in union with God, yet one is not the other.   It is a mystery that we cannot totally explain, nor can we understand.   At the same time, the mystery of the God-Head, one in three Persons continues to reveal God in new and awesome ways.  There are no words that can adequately describe God, nor is there art work that completely captures the image of the Trinity for us.   Only be faith and trust can we grasp the Truth, and be open to the Holy Spirit to be lead into all truth.

Among the truths that the Spirit is ever leading us into, is the erroneous interpretations of Scripture with regards to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people.  As I have read the blogs written about the Boy Scouts of America voting to allow gay scouts, marriage equality laws being passed, the removal of LGBT families from immigration reforms, the one remark that leaps out in almost every comment line is: "If you embrace homosexuality, you are not a true Christian, because God's word clearly condemns it."  What is happening in a statement like that, is not evangelism.   It is not religious fervor to win souls for Christ.  It also does not suggest an honest relationship with God through the Scriptures.   It is, however, a relationship with an idol in ideology, a lust for power, and an addiction to hate rhetoric.

An actual reading of the Scriptures using the guidance of good scholarship, and careful criticism, one will learn that in the times, traditions, customs and languages in which the Bible was written, they did not have two words called heterosexual and homosexual.   Sexuality in the time of the biblical authors was about dominance and power, by men over women.  Women as property, because they were thought to be inferior.   The idea of a man assuming the sexual position of the presumed "weaker species" was uncustomary and viewed as "unnatural."  Because many other Christian Scholars like the Rev. Gray Temple in his book Gay Unions in Light of Scripture, Tradition and Reason details much of what I have written in this paragraph.   The book is so great for Episcopalians on both sides of this important issue.

Over the many centuries the Bible has been used and abused to suggest that it is okay to discriminate against African Americans.  If you have not watched the movie Lincoln, you should.  In that movie, they are trying to pass the thirteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery.  During the debate in Congress, one of the Representatives says of African Americans then, what Christians say about LGBT people today.   "We should not deem equal, those whom God has deemed as unequal."   This language is being used and has been used to denigrate the poor, those ravaged by tornadoes, storms and floods.  Those words have been used towards Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, Atheists, Buddhists and many others.   Even if the words are not spoken, the intent is all too often there in what is said in it's place.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to lead us into all truth.  We are definitely not there yet.   All of us have to mature in truth, so that we can better live what is true.  One of those truths the Church and society must grasp is that it is never appropriate to use the Bible, God, Jesus Christ, the Sacraments, or any other such part of our Faith to commit and/or justify violence, injustice, oppression and bias.  As God, the Holy Trinity loves each of us for who we are, we must also be open to God's grace to love others as Christ loves us.

Amen.


Prayers 

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, p.228).

Heavenly Father, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts, to
direct and rule us according to your will, to comfort us in all
our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into
all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer from Noonday Prayer, Book of Common Prayer, p.107).

Look with pity, O heavenly Father, upon the people in this
land who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as
their constant companions. Have mercy upon us. Help us to
eliminate our cruelty to these our neighbors. Strengthen those
who spend their lives establishing equal protection of the law
and equal opportunities for all. And grant that every one of
us may enjoy a fair portion of the riches of this land; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Oppressed, Book of Common Prayer, p.826).

 

Trinity Sunday: A Relationship of Love to Be Transparent

Today's Scripture Readings

Isaiah 6: 1-8 (NRSV)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory."

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

Psalm 29 (BCP. p. 620)


Romans 8: 12-17 (NRSV)

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3: 1-17 (NRSV)

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Blog Reflection

Trinity Sunday always follows Pentecost.   Call it a "book end" as we move from the Easter Season on Pentecost into the Season after Pentecost or sometimes it is called "Ordinary Time."  Yet, before we return to the other Sundays after Pentecost, we stop on this first Sunday after, to reflect on a very profound and mysterious part of the Christian Faith, called the Trinity.

We could get into a long winded philosophical discussion about whether the relationship between the three Persons of the Trinity is logically possible or not.  We can talk about how when we are baptized in the Name of God in the three Persons of the Trinity.  We could also spend a significant amount of time on the subject of whether to refer to the three Persons by way of the traditional Names, or by more inclusive Names.  Yet, what the Trinity means for Christians still gets lost in all of the rhetoric of theological treatises and books. 

The Trinity cannot be explained or even described.  It can only be experienced as God's grace so chooses.  It is both beautiful and mighty.  It is holy, yet compassionate.  It is open to more than any human expression that can be written or spoken about.  God, the Holy Trinity can be known and loved as the One from whom all love comes and returns.  Yet as God's love in the relationship known as the Trinity is beyond our sight or comprehension, it is transparent in that it also transforms.  It can change the lives of all who are recipients of God's favor through boundless and all inclusive love.

The experience of God's relationship of love is transparent when we as human persons make the effort to "love my God, who lives in my neighbor" (St. Louis Marie de Montfort).  A transforming love that does not condone violence, prejudice, injustice or oppression.  A love that knows that to exercise brutality in word or action in the Name of Jesus Christ, is both a misuse of the Holy Name of God in the Anointed One of God, and an offense to the God who gives us every reason to love God back.  To declare that God's word in the Scriptures condones two Pastors suggesting that all LGBT people be killed by the government, is to spit in the face of the Jesus who is already crowned with thorns as he prepares to embrace the Cross on our behalf.  

The relationship of God's love through the Trinity knows that the physical love between two people of the same sex is holy, beautiful and wonderful.   That an individual who is born one gender and knows that she/he is a totally different gender, is blessed by God to live out the meaning of the resurrected Christ.  Women are to be shown respect and dignity with regards to their bodies, without making them second class citizens to men.  It is a love that seeks justice through compassion by individuals of all religious professions and practices, when any or all of us seeks the common good of every human person, without exception.

As we worship God today in this relationship of the Trinity, may we also honor the love that is given as we relate to one another.  May today be the opportunity for hospitality and reconciliation so that the healing presence of a loving God may be experienced because it is transparent.


Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us
your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the
power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep
us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to
see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with
the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, p. 228).

 O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things
both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you,
all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable
for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen. (Proper 4, Book of Common Prayer, p. 229).

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, Book of Common Prayer, p. 833).

 

---

Trinity Sunday: God's Relationship to God's Self and All Humankind.

I found this remarkable image of the Trinity on a web site for the Daily Office.

The following description was found beneath this image.

Douglas Blanchard: Trinity. It's startling, overly erotic perhaps, but the best art is always startling, so we can think. The Spirit as a woman, above the men? The Father as a young one with the stigmata of his Son? Is our God Michelangelo's old man, or is our God still young? Plus I love the flowers, the milk and honey; this artist is full of faith, presenting us Three who love each other perfectly. Forget the sexuality, notice the wounds on the Father's hands. We all bear the stigmata. We all get nailed to that Cross. And then we rise again.

Many classical theologians and artists have produced outstanding work that has brought us the good and the bad within the Christian religion. Through their contributions we have gotten many images and understandings of God.  God in the Bible, in art, music, in the doctrines and dogmas, the Catechism's of the Church and all the prayer books that have been passed on through the centuries, have in one way or another shaped our understanding and view of God.  

 

Many have chosen not to embrace the Christian religion.  The one reason that gets most of the publicity is how Christians behave towards each other, and towards other groups of people that do not fit their ideological interpretation of the Bible.  The interpretation of the Bible literally has led to many erroneous understandings of how God relates to God's Self and all of humankind.  In Forward Day by Day, the author of today's meditation offers the following thought.

When Jesus ended his earthly mission, he still had "many things to say" to his disciples which they were not then ready to receive. Yet such things need not become the lost words of Jesus if we permit the Spirit of truth to guide us into "all the truth."

Note what this means and what it does not mean. The New Testament writers were inspired and led by God, yet they never pretended to be infallible. Saint Paul admitted that not everything he wrote carried divine authority: "I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion...and I think I too have the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 7:25, 40).

Would that all Christians were so modest and so honest! No person or church can claim infallibility or a monopoly on divine truth. It is enough that God promises to reveal to those who humbly seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit all that they need to know of him and of his saving love.

 
May the whole church of Christ be led into a more humble and faithful surrender to God's will. (1951)

Last Sunday, the Church celebrated Pentecost.  One understanding the Church has been developing over the years is that the Holy Spirit represents the feminine nature of God.  The Church being dominated by a masculine understanding of God and humankind has resulted in limited understandings of how God relates to all of humankind.  The resistance to the notion that God relates to humankind by exercising female and male roles might tend to make men like myself a bit uncomfortable.  Except that, I am not a "privileged" man.  I am a gay man.  I am married to another gay man.  I may be "privileged" to be a Caucasian, male, because of how society and many even in the Church regard those who are not Caucasian or men, but because I am not heterosexual, I am by many other people's standards not a "typical, ordinary" man.  Our understanding of how God relates to humankind, not only severely limits our relationship to God, but also how we relate to others who are different than ourselves.

On this Trinity Sunday, we are presented with some extraordinary Biblical texts to talk about how God relates to Humankind through those three Persons of the Trinity.  While no one can adequately explain how the Trinity, we can say some important things to help deepen our relationship to God the Holy Trinity.  The three persons of the Holy Trinity show us how God relates to God's Self and all of humankind.  Our Bible texts for this Sunday and those who have commented on them in Out in Scripture want to help us be open to new ways of thinking about how God relates to all of humankind through the three Persons of the Trinity.

Just as bold as Pentecost's rushing wind in Acts 2, "wisdom," or "Woman Wisdom" (as translated from her Hebrew name Hochma), takes to the streets with a loud voice in the book of Proverbs. Most of the book is an edited version of various collections of proverbs. Woman Wisdom's speech in Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, however, is part of a group of instructions and wisdom poems found in chapters 1-9.

The setting of the book of Proverbs is the patriarchal family in which the father instructs the son, passing on the wisdom of the sages encapsulated in the form of proverbs. Hochma represents wisdom, which has broken loose from this traditional setting of court and family. Instead she can be found in public spaces such as the street and the city gates. Her knowledge is relational, not based on the memorization of a fixed body of knowledge.

Woman Wisdom's presence at creation, her delight in humanity and God's delight in her evoke strong connections with the Spirit. In fact many scholars have understood hochma to be a female personification of God's creative and saving actions in the world.

In the New Testament, Jesus is identified with the hochma (sophia in Greek) of God. In 1 Corinthians 1:24, Paul calls Christ the wisdom (sophia) of God. The connection is also especially present in the gospel of John. Like hochma, Jesus exists with God from the beginning of creation (John 1:1-5). He speaks in the same fashion as hochma: with a loud voice to the masses (John 7:28, 37) and in long discourses (chapters 14-17). The passage assigned in the lectionary for today, John 16:12-15, is part of what is often called Jesus' farewell discourse found in John14:1-17:26. Jesus is preparing his disciples for his physical departure, but promises the comfort and guidance of the Wisdom/Spirit of God. The loud and clear voice of the Spirit will continue in the community of faith, and, like hochma in Proverbs, "will guide in all truth" (16:13).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wants to present his understanding of a life of faith to a congregation he has not met yet. After stating the theme of his letter in 1:16-17 ("The righteous will live by faith") he goes on in Romans 5:1-5 to claim that the Spirit will sustain believers who have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This particular section of Paul's letter lifts up the theme of hope. Even in the midst of suffering, the Spirit engenders hope in the person of faith, reminding all who suffer of God's love so freely given. 

Often the "historical mediation" of the Spirit is lost when coupled with the Trinitarian concept of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit." One reason for this is the devaluation of the female identity of Spirit in a traditionally patriarchal construct of "Father and Son." But like hochma, the Spirit speaks with a loud voice in these passages for today. Elizabeth Johnson has indicated that the Spirit manifests in history anytime a "community resists its own destruction or works for its own renewal; when structural changes serve the liberation of oppressed peoples; when law subverts sexism, racism, poverty and militarism … wherever diversity is sustained in koinonia; wherever justice and peace and freedom gain a transformative foothold" (She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, p. 126).  

As we with the commentators consider the relationship of God with humankind in both female and male characteristics, how does it help us as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Christians and those who support us find room for full inclusion in the Church and society?  One matter that can be made very clear is that Transgendered persons who are often looked upon by many in both secular and religious communities, as the T at the end of LGBT and therefore are to be treated like the lost tail.  When we attach stereotypes to gender and how a particular gender is suppose to behave, dress or be perceived, what results is excuse upon excuse for prejudice and violence of the most detestable kind.   We may have a Bible full of gender specific pronouns for God and all of the three Persons, even with the great developments of the New Revised Standard Version, but that does not mean that violence, subordination and prejudice toward women, or men who behave like women, or women who behave like men, women who become men, or men who become women is in any way, shape or form acceptable.  The numbers of transgendered people who are murdered, harassed or beaten cannot be justifiable.  Just as the violence aimed at lesbian and gay people often by Christians, cannot be justified.  

Today at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the sermon was given by retired Bishop Christopher Senyonjo from West Buganda, Uganda.   The current Anglican Archbishop of Uganda who is sadly very much supports the "kill the gays" bill in Uganda, has expelled Bishop Christopher from all services in Uganda, because he has spoken out against what Uganda is doing to LGBT individuals there.  Not only has Bishop Christopher been expelled from all service, he has also lost his retirement pension.  Yet, when Bishop Christopher spoke today, he did not talk of any bitterness towards the present Anglican Archbishop.  Instead, he spoke of how the Holy Spirit of God, desires to lead us into all truth, by everyone opening their hearts and minds to the fact that many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals are God loving people.  Bishop Christopher mentioned that most LGBT people oppose the idea of pedophilia, lewd personal and sexual conduct and instead just want to be able to embrace God and the people we love, as we are, children of God.  

As we meditate upon God relating to God's Self and all of humankind through the mystery known as the Trinity, we need to ask God to lead us by the Holy Spirit into all truth, as Jesus promised is disciples.  Being led into all truth, means being open to the possibility that no one of us has a complete understanding of God and others around us, any better or worse than anyone else.  God is so mysterious and so beyond our knowledge or comprehension, that it is very likely that we are all missing the mark.  No Pope, Bishop, Priest, Deacon, minister, lay or ordained has any claims to total and unparalleled truth than anyone else.  Just because something is written in the Bible does not mean that is how it is understood, or means that is what we must all do.  The Bible is as open to many possible interpretations as why the earth is round or the ocean is blue.  Is it any more or less true that the earth is round and the ocean blue?  Is it any more or less true that in the Bible absolutely everything that is written there word for word is totally infallible and/or even inerrant?  No.  

What we can know for certain thanks to what is written and understood in the Bible and has been taught from the beginning of Church history to this present day, is that God desires to relate to all humankind through God's unconditional love.  There is no person on this earth that God the Father, Mother, or God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit the feminine nature of God, does not love and has not given God's all for.  God reaches out to all of God's creation in extravagant, unconditional and all inclusive love.  God weeps when God's children experience poverty, sickness, sadness, discrimination, violence for any reason.  God does not always stop what goes on, but God does care and God makes use of those things that happen to do wonderful and incredible things in and through our lives. God relates to all of humankind, because God loves all of humankind.  When will all humankind in society and the Church get that through our thick minds and stubborn hearts?

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for Trinity Sunday, Book of Common Prayer, Page 228).

Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen. (Prayer for the Church, Book of Common Prayer, Page 816).