Trinity Sunday 2014

Matthew 28:16-20
Trinitarian Lives
For anyone who thinks she knows what God is doing in her or his life for all who
feel that they ha!e "ore answers than #uestions a$out God%s work in the world this Sunday is your
&han&e to shine' Today is Trinity Sunday( it is the only day on the &hur&h &alendar that is na"ed for a
do&trine of the &hur&h and as )ro!iden&e or the sense of hu"or of the &hur&h fathers would ha!e it it
is the one that least ad"its an answer: how &an we talk a$out a God who is one and yet is three as we
do in the west or in the east a God who $egins in three and yet is one* +nd if we dare to gi!e u) the
whole thing we are likely to feel like ,udas $efore the authorities who wants to e-&hange thirty )ie&es
of &ertainty for the "ystery unfolding around hi"' See to it yourself we are told: we ha!e enough
"ysteries in our li!es without ha!ing to talk a$out the one that is so white-hot with what we &annot say
a$out it that we are afraid to tou&h it' +nd so we sit on the edge $etween $elief and dou$t ho)ing
"ost days that if we don%t think a$out it too "u&h we won%t ha!e to resol!e it for oursel!es( we won%t
ha!e to risk too "u&h $y re)eating it in our &reeds along with e!eryone in this roo" and those all
a&ross the .hristian world' +nd $elie!e "e it is all the "ore inti"idating to $e saying this in a )la&e
whose na"e day is the sa"e as this do&trine whose life and identity are $ound-u) as "u&h in "ystery
as in all the wonderful "inistries that ha!e taken )la&e here o!er 1/0 years'
0e&ause that is e-a&tly what we are u) against this "orning we and the dis&i)les in
the days after the 1esurre&tion' 2e are with ,esus in Galilee where we were told we would see hi"
and as 3 would e-)e&t we would find in this )la&e or any other on a Sunday "orning all worshi)ed $ut
so"e dou$ted es)e&ially as ,esus tells the" all to "ake dis&i)les $y $a)ti4ing those they "eet in the
na"e of the Father and the Son and the 5oly S)irit' 2e are so used to hearing this for"ula at $a)tis"s
like the ones we had at 6ente&ost last week that we forget how hard it is to "ake sense out of it to hear
it with the ears of the first dis&i)les that "orning with their des&endants who endured wars and
)erse&ution o!er it' +nd so we retreat into for"ulas that tell us of the &reator redee"er and sustainer
the one in who" we li!e and "o!e and ha!e our $eing 73%" as guilty of this as anyone8' 0ut it is the
wrestling with the for"ula ,esus gi!es us this "orning that stret&hes us that kee)s us fro" thinking we
&an kee) God like an inde- &ard in our $a&k )o&ket'
+nd so they worshi)ed hi" $ut so"e dou$ted' + fa!orite )rea&her 3 know talks a$out
our )rayer life in ter"s of a 9en koan a #uestion that has no answers $ut tea&hes us to think in a
different way' :ne of "y fa!orites goes so"ething like this: what was the a))earan&e of your fa&e
$efore your )arents were $orn* They are the kind of #uestions designed to tie you in knots if you
a))roa&h the" in a )urely rational way' They re"ind us that faith $egins in dou$t es)e&ially if dou$t
"eans a&&e)ting that we &annot know God in a way that we know anything else in our li!es' God &an
a))ear to us as a she)herd a whirlwind in the $rightness of the $ook of 1e!elation and in the suffering
ser!ant of 3saiah' +t the sa"e ti"e we &annot se)arate God into &ategories: the ;udging God of the
5e$rew S&ri)tures and the lo!ing God of the <ew Testa"ent the God that heals and the silent God of
the &ross' 2e &an $e thrown $a&k on our own i"ages like +ugustine%s %"e"ory will and reason% that
fun&tion se)arately and work in unity or the lo!e that is the 5oly S)irit flowing $etween the Father and
Son $ut the )ro$le" of understanding so"ething that is really not "eant to $e understood is
&o")letely our own'
The issue then $e&o"es how we are going to live in the fa&e of this "ystery to refle&t
the lo!e within God in our li!es and relationshi)s the =one and eternal glory> in whi&h we long to
)arti&i)ate' Treating God "ore like a #uestion one without a real answer no "atter how hard we gro)e
for it we $e&o"e "ore o)en to the infinite )ossi$ilities of God in our own e-)erien&e' 3f we are a$le to
ask how our uni#ue sel!es &an add so"ething to the &o""unal effort of doing the works of God if we
$egin to li!e Trinitarian li!es rather than seeing the nature of God as a )ro$le" to $e sol!ed we $egin
to see why this Sunday &a"e a$out: it is not ;ust to torture )rea&hers $ut to tea&h us so"ething a$out
the di!ine life we ought to $e li!ing' Seeing the Trinity as less an a&ade"i& e-er&ise and "ore like that
di!ine life in whi&h we are a$le to share we "ay ha!e a $etter idea of what it is su))osed to "ean than
if we s)ent our ti"e doing $attle with +#uinas and +ugustine wonderful as they are' 3f you dou$t "e
sto) in at 0road Street Ministries so"e afternoon at 6hila$undan&e on a Saturday "orning or with the
fresh-fa&ed )eo)le at 5a$itat for 5u"anity'
Trinitarian li!ing is as 1owan 2illia"s )uts it God?s life in &o""union: =to $e
engaged in what the wisdo" of God )ur)oses''' the )oly)hony of di!erse &reated !oi&es''' refle&ting
$a&k God%s generous out)ouring>' +t our $est when we engage in the work we ha!e $een gi!en we
$egin to understand the Trinity in a different way: we $egin to "irror the &o""unal life of God' 2e
refle&t the lo!e of God in our own !oi&e adding our song to the &ountless !oi&es that ha!e &o"e $efore
us knowing that it is not our work $ut the lo!e of God that we e&ho $a&k into the world' 5owe!er
uni#ue we are we were &reated for &o""unity and it is in the inter)lay of our uni#ue sel!es the
dire&tion gi!en to us $y God and the &o"$ining of our gifts that we &an "ost see what the Trinity is in
a "eaningful way'
3f any of this sounds &onfusing 3 think it is "eant to $e $e&ause God is not
so"ething to $e known $ut a "ystery to $e e-)erien&ed' The generous out)ouring of God is not lo&ked
in a do&trinal for"ula $ut li!ed-out e!ery day $y anyone who has the &ourage to look into a &hild%s
eyes to lend a hand in a .enter .ity "inistry to )ray for the suffering on our streets in +fri&a and the
Middle @ast' 3t is a$out a God who has indeed known our fa&e $efore our )arents were $orn' :ur
identities are not e"$edded in do&trine $ut how fier&ely we lo!e how dee)ly we refle&t the lo!e of
God in all we do' +fter all our dis&i)leshi) de)ends on it this God who lo!es us in and through our
own lo!e and in&o")rehension to who" we gi!e our &onfusion and ;oy and re&ei!e $a&k the li!es and
"ission for whi&h we were &reated'