- John 16:12-15
12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 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. 14 He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
SERMON: This is Our Day. What Will We Do With It?
Today, the Sunday after Pentecost, on the church calendar, is Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday has a double-meaning for us here at Trinity Presbyterian Church (USA). Because not only are we celebrating the mystery of THE Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - Not only the idea that God is One but God is also Three, Three-in-one -- Not only are we wrestling that super-heavyweight religious concept -- Not only all that.
Today, we get to celebrate being TRINITY Presbyterian Church. Isn't it great that they named this special day after us? There is no "First Presbyterian" Sunday. There's no "Glorious Holiness Church of God in America" Sunday. There could be. No reason not to celebrate them, too.
But by the providence of God, there IS a Trinity Sunday. And wouldn't we like to think they all are? You've gotta toot your own horn when you can. Cause nobody else gonna toot it for you. Can I get an "Amen" from y'all Trinitarians? Nice try.
Trinity Church - This is OUR Day. Our Sunday. Our glorious moment in the spotlight of the Almighty. This is OUR day. WHAT will we do with it? What WILL we do with it? What will we DO with this one, special Trinity day?
--
Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Or, as some say, Holy Ghost. Or as they have also been called, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. Or, Mother, Child, and Breath of God. These are the things theologians and seminary students and church members with too much time on their hands like to argue about. These are things centuries of church-goers have tried to define and explain because -- well, because the ONE thing churches love more than Jesus is: Being right. Our definition of Trinity's better than your definition of Trinity, so Jesus loves us, but he's not so sure about you.
Trinity - the word, Trinity, isn't in the Bible. The components of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit are absolutely present in the Bible. But the mechanics of how the parts fit together came later. Today's scripture is one of the places where all three are referenced in sentences close to one another that we can pull out on Trinity Sunday. But the three-in-one, one-in-three mathematical formula never crossed the gospel-writer's mind. My guess is they were too busy feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick -- and staying ALIVE -- to spend a lot of time on it.
Which is not to say -- at all -- that the Trinity's not important. It's a good tool for teaching and understanding. Having the right tool makes the job easier. And we at Trinity Presbyterian Church should rightfully be proud of bearing the name.
When you think about it, that's a lot of pressure on us. There are Churches of God. There are Churches of Christ. There's the Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Gulf Beach Highway, and it's beautiful. But here at TRINITY we've got to be the church of all THREE. That's three times the responsibility of those other churches. No wonder these new kids have names like, "Echo," and "Encounter," and "Jubilee." Smart.
Representing the whole Trinity -- in name and in deed -- is a big responsibility. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are watching. But in my opinion, the person of God, the form of God, cares a whole lot more about whether we Love God, Love Neighbor, Make Disciples, and Make a Difference -- I think God cares way more about those things than whatever we do or don't call ourselves.
The question is not: This is our day, how big of a sign are we going to paint over our building? Or how many billboards can we put up? Or how many followers can we get online? The question is: This is our day, Trinity Presbyterian Church -- What are we going to do with it?
--
I love the sanctuary banners at Trinity. Last week's Pentecost paraments, with the streaming colors that blew in the breeze were themselves a lesson in faith. Look over at the banner on your left. See the three rings? That's a symbol of the Trinity. They're separate, but also interlocking. Just as God is One, but also three. St. Patrick used the three-leaf clover in the same way. Three separate branches, joined as one.
Some of the earliest explanations of the Trinity imagined the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit holding hands and dancing, in a circle. You may have seen paintings like that. I like that one. Because it thinks of Trinity not as a church doctrine, but as a living, moving, breathing being. When you're dancing, you're participating with partners. You're alive, with a beat, a heartbeat, a rhythm driving you. You're not thinking as much as you're doing, you're being -- alive with so much joy you just can't stand still. God isn't seated on a throne. God is on the move. Walking through a garden. Sparkling like stars. Crashing over us like an ocean wave. Lifting us, moving us, like a tide. Dancing. Alive.
The idea of the Trinity also means that God is not one-size-fits all. Some people relate to God as a heavenly father. Some as a teaching, talking, walking Jesus. Others think of God as a mysterious spirit that you know is there, but you can't explain in words. Who's right? They all are. Which means, you and I might disagree on the qualities of God. But we're still worshiping the same God. God is bigger than the human mind will ever understand.
--
Psalm 8 is like the harmony to the words of the Gospel.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
One of the many reasons I love living in Pensacola is I'm fifteen minutes and two bridges from the sea. I have to be careful not to call it the ocean. I've been corrected several times. "It's the GULF." I'm catching on. Whatever its name, it's near.
I try, every day after work, to go to the beach and walk the shoreline at sunset. I've tried going at sunrise, but they schedule it so darn early. Jesus liked walking along the sea. I understand why. The Holy Spirit splashes over your toes. God's waters and dry land sing a pulsing song, high and low, high and low. Some evenings, the Trinity of it all sets me free of whatever else occupies my mind.
A week ago Saturday, I got to hang out beneath the iconic water tower. I got to hang with the E-triple-A, the Escambia Amateur Astronomers Association. Thank you, Dr. Wooten. We gazed up at the heavens, the work of God's fingers, the moon and the stars. And we got to be with other humans and share the wonder. The Creator's hand, the Savior's grace, and the Community of the Spirit. All beneath this twirling celestial dance above.
It was a good day.
--
The three-part God is inviting you to join the dance. God invites us all to join in, together. To be separate, yet one. Like a church. Like the Trinity. Trinity Presbyterian Church (USA), this is YOUR day. They named it after you. As far as you know. How are you going to spend it? How are you going to be with God and what part will be yours?
And, I'm asking these questions, not personally. I mean, yes. We all have to figure this out. But I'm asking you, I'm asking Y'ALL in the very best Southern sense. This is Y'ALL'S day. What are Y'ALL going to do with it? Are you going to contemplate, going to discuss, the God who gathers us up? The God who lifts and twirls? Who tells the dark powers of chaos to hush? Who extends a hand to someone who can't stand on her own?
It's Y'all's day. It's y'all's choice. Not just some, but all y'all. What one thing can you do to let the God of Trinity know the church of Trinity is joining in?
--
What are you supposed to say on Trinity Sunday?
There's Merry Christmas. There's Happy Easter. Happy Halloween, or Spooky Halloween. What's the appropriate greeting for Trinity Sunday at Trinity Presbyterian Church? Happy... us? Happy Our day? Happy hypostatic doctrinal definition day? (That's how Jean and I greet each other. Seminary's good for something.)
Or do we just take a moment to maintain a little eye contact? To ask how you doing as more than a throw-away? Can we take a moment to reflect in prayer on the mystery of a God that's way too big for one person, one mind, one solitary human to contemplate on their own?
I don't know.
But I'm glad for Trinity Church.
I'm glad for this Sunday.
I'm glad you're here to share it together.
And may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
The love of God,
And the Communion, the common-union, the community of the Holy Spirit
Be with us all. Amen.
Let's pray:
Holy God—
Three in One, One in Three—
You are near to us, closer than our breath,
and yet You are beyond what our minds can grasp.
You hold galaxies in Your hand,
and still, You dwell with us in kindness and love.
We thank You for Trinity Presbyterian Church,
for this community of faith that bears Your name.
Thank You for the laughter we share,
the tears we carry together,
and the hope that binds us in Christ.
Make us one, even as You are One.
Help us to live in the unity of Your Spirit,
to grow in love,
to serve with joy,
and to bear witness to Your beauty and truth.
In the name of the Triune God—
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—
we pray. Amen.
