WEBVTT 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:16.559 Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and blessed be God's family now and forever. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:17.519 Amen. 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:19.440 Let's pray together. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:27.839 Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:40.640 Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name through Christ our Lord. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:41.600 Amen. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:42.000 Let us pray. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:58.079 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. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:10.879 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 forever and ever. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:12.080 Amen. 00:02:12.560 --> 00:02:14.879 A prayer from Memorial Day. 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:27.360 O Judge of the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the women and men of our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now enjoy. 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:36.479 Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its disciplines. 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:40.159 This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:41.199 Amen. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:25.599 Each had six wings, and two with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:34.080 And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:41.360 The pivots on the threshold shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:50.000 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. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:54.159 Yet my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:02.000 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken up from the altar with a pair of tongs. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:12.719 And 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. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:18.079 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:20.079 And who will go for us? 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:22.959 And I said, Here I am. 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:24.639 Send me. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:29.360 Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.959 Psalter for today is Psalm twenty-nine. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.040 I ascribe to the Lord you God. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:52.720 Ascribe to the Lord the glory, do his holy do the holy name. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.879 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.199 The glory of God thunders. 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:07.279 The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.680 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:20.000 The Lord makes Lebanon skip like a calf. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.920 The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire. 00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.800 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.519 The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:41.120 And in the temple of the Lord all are crying. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:45.680 The Lord sits enthroned above the flood. 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.959 The Lord shall give three strength to the chosen people. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.040 The Lord shall give the people. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:55.920 When we cry, Ahba Father, it is that very spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:07:08.319 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. 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.879 Hear what the Spirit is saying to God's people. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:50.399 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish people. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:08:01.759 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. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:09.040 Jesus answered him, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:14.639 Nicodemus said to him, How can anyone be born after having grown old? 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:18.639 Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born? 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:26.000 Jesus answered, Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit. 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.480 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the spirit is spirit. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:34.480 Do not be astonished that I said to you, You must be born from above. 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:41.519 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. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:45.120 So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:49.200 Nicodemus said to Jesus, How can these things be? 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:55.200 Jesus answered him, Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:03.039 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we've seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:10.879 If I've told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:16.720 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:26.000 And just as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:36.480 For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:37.759 Indeed. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:45.200 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:48.720 The gospel of the Lord. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:03.919 Please be seated. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:12.159 Well, once a year we get to come together to explore the holy mystery of the Trinity. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.960 We get it once a year for like 15 minutes. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:16.960 So buckle your seatbelts. 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:21.840 First thing to say is the history of where the Trinity comes from. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:32.240 Many of us don't know this, but according to most historians, the way we came up with the doctrine of the Trinity is people were baptizing people in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:33.759 That happened first. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.360 And then people had to figure out what it meant. 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:39.519 I know that sounds backward. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:40.720 This is the history. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.960 The way we say that in Latin is lex orandi, lex credendi. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:47.519 Sorry for my lisp here. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:53.360 What it means is that the things that are practiced are the things we give our heart to. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:03.200 Three generations after Jesus, people have been baptizing folk in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit without really any theology. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:09.840 So theologians had to, in the second century, start to try to make sense of what that might mean. 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:15.919 We struggle with it a little bit, quite honestly, because we're a little suspicious of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:24.960 And just to tell you why that is, the early Christian church spread rapidly because they believed in charismatic needs of power. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.600 You can read about these in Paul's epistles. 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.279 And what do I mean by that? 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:31.440 Speaking in different languages. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:41.679 Now, last week we talked about the disciples spoke their language, probably Aramaic, and other people heard in their own indigenous language what they were saying. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:44.799 This was not speaking in tongues as Paul writes about. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:49.200 People were speaking in heavenly languages that nobody else could understand. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:50.480 It was ecstatic. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.320 People were getting up in the middle of coming together and giving prophecies. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:05.279 I don't mean like your best numbers are 28 and be careful starting a new business venture. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.200 They were getting up and speaking words on God's behalf to the people gathered. 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.080 There were people doing faith healings. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.759 And by the way, that wasn't just in Christian communities, it happened in Judaism. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:30.480 Well, there were people like Honey the Circle Maker, who would draw a circle on the ground from which healing power came and according to the records would physically heal people. 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:34.159 The early church was enamored with these things. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:46.000 Until, as I told you last week, a guy called Montanus showed up in the middle or at the beginning of the fourth century and said, You know how Jesus was like God incarnate? 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:49.759 Well, I am the Holy Spirit incarnate. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:53.519 He apparently was a compelling guy, except he died. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:13:02.639 And when he died and didn't like come back to life, we've been a little suspicious of this charismatic Christianity business for a while. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:09.360 Add that to the fact that after the Nicene Creed was written, we decided there needed to be order. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:14.960 And there is nothing more disorderly than someone interrupting my brilliant sermons. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:18.320 You know, so I hope you get that was a joke. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:21.519 So this is part of why we say we've chosen order. 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:34.559 Now, I don't know if you realize this, but charismatic Christianity really only showed up fewer than a hundred years ago, and many of us don't realize it is the only form of Christianity growing in the world today. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:35.840 The only one. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:38.559 Charismatic expressions of Christianity. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:41.440 And of course, you can understand why that is. 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:54.960 People want to demonstrably know that God is involved in our everyday lives, is not just intervening in the world, but is fully present in deeds of power. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:14:00.559 We have a hard time with this, like I mentioned, because we've chosen order. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:05.120 Now, by the way, I'm not a charismatic Christian, I should tell you. 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:11.120 But what I want you to hear is that the Holy Spirit is a complicator for us in the doctrine of the Trinity. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:24.559 And there's a couple other things that have come to us with the doctrine of the Trinity, because quite honestly, Trinity was really embarrassing for the Christian church back when Islam spread across North Africa and into Europe. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:30.320 Muslims said, look, we believe in one God, and you Christians, you're polytheist. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:32.639 You've got Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.840 That's three. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.399 And he was only partially correct. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:40.240 I don't know if you know the language of the Nicene Council. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:42.480 Here's what they said about the Trinity. 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:48.559 God is no more one than God is three. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:53.279 And if that makes sense to you, please explain it to me after the service. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:55.120 But this is what we've chosen. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:59.039 God is no more one than three. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:20.000 I can't tell you why it is what it is, but I do want to offer to you some reflections about what the Trinity might mean for our faith life, for the way that we follow and grow spiritually, for the ways we find God in one another in the world. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.080 So that's what I'm going to try to do. 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:28.559 I'm going to show you the classic diagram that many of you walked through part of on your way in. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:30.559 This is the diagram that St. 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:36.639 Augustine of Hippo came up with in the early 5th century. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:43.039 What you see out there in the narthex is just the pink part, the triangular part. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:48.159 Now, you don't have to be a mathematician to understand this. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:50.559 It's a Venn diagram, right? 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:59.360 We often forget this part of the diagram, and I want to tell you, I think that's the most important part of the Trinity. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.279 You've probably heard me say this before, but it bears repeating. 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:05.279 I only get to say it once a year. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:07.519 Here's how Venn diagrams work. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:15.840 This circle is Jesus, and this circle is the Holy Spirit, and this circle is God, the Father, right? 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:20.799 Where all three circles overlap is what they all have in common. 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:25.840 I want you to take this diagram seriously, because this is what Augustine drew. 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:35.440 This part of the circle, that's what Jesus and the Holy Spirit have in common that they don't have in common with God the Father. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:43.679 This part of the circle is what God the Father and Jesus have in common that they don't have in common with the Holy Spirit. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:50.159 This part of the circle is what God the Father and the Spirit have in common that they don't share with Jesus. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:53.519 And notice how big this part of the circle is. 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:58.240 This is what Jesus has that neither the Father nor the Spirit have. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:05.599 This is going to sound heretical, but please notice the circles do not just overlay one another. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:13.920 The mystery of the Trinity is that there are parts of Jesus that neither the Father nor the Spirit shares. 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:19.279 What are those parts? 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:21.039 I don't know. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:24.720 Maybe Jesus likes techno. 00:17:25.440 --> 00:17:32.000 And maybe the Holy Spirit is into gangster rap music, and the father and the son don't care for that, you know. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:43.440 Maybe the father has long hair, and Jesus has a crew cut, or maybe the Holy Spirit has earrings. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:44.319 I don't know. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:49.519 Take it wherever you want to, but here's the amazing part of the Trinity as a doctrine. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:51.119 They're not the same. 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:58.160 Now, as a kid, the way I grew up is the Trinity is like Neapolitan ice cream, which was something we enjoyed in the 80s. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:17:59.920 I don't think it's around anymore. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:04.400 You know, it's chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, but to be honest, they all taste the same. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.640 They're just slightly different colors. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:13.440 And they're not even different colors if you buy it in Texas, because by the time you get it home, it's all melted and it refreezes, right? 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:18.960 So the Trinity is just sort of like somewhat colorific, but it's all the same. 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:24.480 That's usually how we rest, but I want you to hear in this diagram that is not the case at all. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:32.640 Part of the mystery, and frankly, the holiness of the Trinity, is that you don't have to be uniform to be unified. 00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:43.119 I know I said that last week, but I want you to hear it again because this is good Trinitarian theology, even though it might be a little bit mind-blowing. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.440 They're not the same. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:56.240 And that differentiation, don't you see, is not just who God is. 00:18:56.400 --> 00:18:58.319 That's how God made us. 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:04.160 If God wanted us to all be the same, God wouldn't have made us so different. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:09.599 And the good news is when we live into the Trinity, you don't have to sacrifice who you are. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:16.960 In fact, if you did that, you'd be a heretic. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:25.039 When we hear Isaiah's call today in the temple, he says, Here I am, send me. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:27.920 In Hebrew, he says something a little bit different. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:33.680 In Hebrew, there's this word called Hine, and it's the particle of entreaty or enunciation. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:35.200 It could mean a lot of things. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:37.279 It doesn't usually mean here I am. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:40.640 It usually means something like boom, shakalaka. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.160 It's really how you translate it. 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.440 BAM! Me. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.720 And this is what God wants us to do when we hear God's voice. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.079 We don't say, God, here I am. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:58.000 This part of me. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.559 We say, God, here I am. 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:04.880 All of me. 00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:08.160 You may not go jogging with your shirt off. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:12.319 I do, and I show up when I say, Here I am, God. 00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:14.640 Here I am. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.079 You may not like your hair. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:19.680 God does. 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:31.920 When you say, here I am, curly hair and all, warts and all, freckles, whatever you want to fill in the blank is, that's what Isaiah says. 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.559 He doesn't say, oh, God, just this little bit of me. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:39.440 He says, behold. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.880 BAM! Here I am, God. 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:47.599 That's what it means to live into the Trinity and to live into it together. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:54.559 Because at the end of the day, right, you get to keep your particularity and your differentiation, but we come together in mission and in unity. 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:58.559 And I'm going to sound controversial. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.599 The Trinity is not colorblind. 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:07.359 The Trinity is not colorblind. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:19.839 The Trinity is black, and it's white, and it's red, and it's yellow, and all of those things are who they are and they come together. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:23.359 The Trinity is not colorblind, it's interracial. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:30.559 The Trinity is not either or, the Trinity is and together. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.759 And that's a vision not only for who God is, but who God made us to be. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:42.240 And we live into Trinitarian theology when we show up, all of us, unabashed, unashamed. 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.160 Somebody gave me a Trinitarian gift. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:51.200 I was at their home visiting them, like I would like to do with all of you. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:56.960 And I had, as I often do, not scheduled my margins very well. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:59.440 I had allotted 90 minutes for this vision. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.359 It and 90 minutes into it, I said, I'm so sorry. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:04.079 I need to go. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:06.240 I'm supposed to go bless somebody's dog. 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:12.160 And I'm really so I'm really sorry that I didn't budget enough time. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:15.680 I don't like this part about myself. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:20.559 I rarely get time estimates right, and I tend to overbook my schedule. 00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:22.160 And she said, you know what? 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:25.920 I wish you would like that about yourself because I like that about you. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:28.720 Behold. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:30.799 Here I am. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:36.240 God invites you to be who you are. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:47.680 God invites you to appreciate the individuality and the distinctiveness of your neighbor and your coworker and the people that drive you nuts. 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:54.160 You may not like rap music, but it exists in the Godhead. 00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:57.920 Okay, here's another thought about the Trinity. 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:05.519 Sometimes we have these constraints of language and we don't even realize how constrained we are by it. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:13.599 So we've got these words that we understand really well because we have physical analogues and realities. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:18.079 We've got father-son, and then the really the cute, confusing ones, Holy Spirit, because what's that? 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:20.640 But we know what fathers and sons are like, right? 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:29.200 Sometimes what we forget is that that language is meant to point us at a reality instead of completely circumscribing it. 00:23:29.279 --> 00:23:34.720 So let me point out to you that the word father comes to us in Latin from poter familius. 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:42.319 A poter familius is somebody who is in charge of the entire family's welfare, education, and joy. 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:43.599 Please hear that. 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:47.519 It's a role, not a body. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:24:00.400 When we say our father, we're saying our poter familius, our collectively as human beings, the father who is in charge of our welfare and our joy and our advancement and our education. 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:02.720 By the way, in my house, that was my mom. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:05.839 I think that's true for many of you. 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:08.319 It was a role that was played. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:16.880 And sometimes we forget that the words of Scripture are meant to point us at God's care for us, not God's physicality. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:21.119 When we say the word son, this shows up in the tree, in the creed. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:21.920 You're gonna see it. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.000 For our sake became man, is how we translate it into English. 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:27.759 It's a terrible translation. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:34.160 Greek has a word for man, like male body, and Greek has a word for human beings. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:37.839 The human being is the anthropos. 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:42.720 The man, the gendered male, is the word anair. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:47.920 The creed uses the word anthropos. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:53.920 The creed says, for our sake, God became a human being. 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:58.720 And I put to you, what's more important, that God was a man or that God was a human being? 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:06.000 Sometimes we forget that Scripture is pointing us to something bigger than the words themselves. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:10.160 When we settle down on these words, and friends, it's a mistake. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.559 Sometimes we try to correct it. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:13.519 And that's good. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:15.279 It's good to remind us to push out. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:24.720 So many of you have heard this gender-neutral version of the Trinity: the creator, the sustainer, and the redeemer. 00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:25.680 Right? 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:30.480 To be honest, Father, Son, and Spirit are trying to point us at that as well. 00:25:30.880 --> 00:25:38.960 When I was in seminary, I was in a class, and the final project, you didn't have to write a paper, you could do artwork. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:40.960 That's really scary for me. 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:43.200 I'm much better at just writing a paper. 00:25:43.359 --> 00:25:47.920 But somebody in class took this up seriously and she made a feminine sculpture of the Trinity. 00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:53.279 It was a mother giving birth to a child, and there was a midwife facilitating the birth. 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:57.839 Creator, sustainer, redeemer, father, son, spirit. 00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:03.440 This feminine image was better for me than either the other two because it fit. 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:04.000 Right? 00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:04.960 It fit. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:10.240 Just a new creation constantly being born and the midwife facilitating it. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:17.519 And of course, all of that's trying to do is point us to the reality of who God is and who we're called to be. 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:19.839 I'm not trying to replace your titles. 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:25.680 I'm trying to say the reason we have titles is to point us to who God is, not to settle into a label. 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:40.559 Turns out when we came up with the doctrine of the Trinity at Nicaea, the classical heresy, which is like bad thinking, remember, is that the Trinity is what we call an education, he is a scaffolding. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:43.920 It's a tool that we use to understand God. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:47.279 This is not good thinking, says the council. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:51.279 The council says the Trinity is not about modalism. 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:58.079 Modalism is like modes of God's being that we've just chosen the name, but it's all just a choice. 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:03.359 Modes, like creator, sustainer, redeemer. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.559 Those are like jobs. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:08.000 And we divide God into job categories. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:12.559 Instead of modes, let's just talk about role playing for a second, right? 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:20.960 The problem with role playing and with some of this language when we talk about Trinity is that sometimes we get told to know our role. 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:22.319 You ever been told that? 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:24.400 You better know your role. 00:27:24.640 --> 00:27:27.039 I've been told to know my role. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:30.720 I'm young. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:33.119 Know your role. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:37.200 I went to a liberal divinity school. 00:27:38.960 --> 00:27:40.480 I didn't, by the way. 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:42.319 Know your role. 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:48.319 Because all that theological talk you're doing, that's not who we are. 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:49.759 That's just what you learned. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:52.000 Know your role. 00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:57.359 Now I don't have to know a lot of roles, because I'm a white man. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:13.279 But I'm pretty sure people in this room know what it's like to be told to know your role because of the color of your skin, because of your gender, because of your sexual preference, because you choose to go running in the neighborhood in which you live and you're a priest, and you also do not wear a shirt when you do that. 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:15.039 Know your role. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.480 The Trinity says, know your role. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.480 Be who you are and show up, and show up unified in mission. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.160 Here's another thought about the Trinity. 00:28:27.759 --> 00:28:29.920 You've heard me say this before, perhaps. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:34.079 There's this really lovely diagram that is an equilateral triangle. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:45.440 And sometimes to our uh to our deficit, what we do is we say, look, there's God the Father in charge, and then God the Son, God the Spirit, and they're all God, but you know, God the Father's on top. 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:48.400 So let me help you in turn it kind of like that. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:53.279 In an equilateral triangle, actually, all the points are equidistant, right? 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.720 And so is what we call the orthocenter. 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.200 That's the middle, it's equidistant from each vertex. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:03.039 It also has to be perpendicular to each bisector. 00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:06.000 These are fun things you do when you teach geometry. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:07.839 I've probably already bored you. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:17.839 But what I want to talk to you about with this diagram are two really great ideas that I think are right there in the Trinity that offer to inform the way that we live. 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:22.400 First, this is a Greek Orthodox idea. 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:24.000 It's very old. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:28.799 It says, this point O, that's where you are. 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:39.680 A is God, B is other people, and C is the self God made you to be. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:45.279 We often find ourselves at distance from the selves God made us to be. 00:29:45.519 --> 00:29:49.599 We often find ourselves at some distance from our neighbor. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:56.160 And we usually experience distance from God, even though God isn't really distant from us, we experience that. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:02.640 The Orthodox diagram says actually you're always equidistant from those points. 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:11.359 What that means is if you think you've gotten closer to God and you're further away from neighbor, you were wrong. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:22.799 You cannot get closer to God unless you also draw closer to your neighbor and the self God made you to be. 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:29.680 Sometimes we like to think, well, really, we're supposed to live in this scaling triangle world. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:32.960 We're supposed to be really distanced from ourselves. 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:34.240 We don't want to be selfish. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:38.079 We're supposed to hate ourselves, and the more we hate ourselves, the closer we'll get to God. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:40.480 And the Orthodox diagram says no to that. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:47.359 The orthodox diagram says, if you don't love the self God made you to be, you can't possibly love anything else. 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:51.680 This is what Trinitarian living is all about. 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:58.079 And the reason I think that people are tired of the church is because people are really close to God and hate their neighbor. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:00.480 And that's called bankrupt living. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:06.960 The Trinity says, you want to get closer to God, you better love your neighbor. 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:12.559 You want to love your neighbor, get closer to God. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:17.759 And if you don't love yourself, you've got no hope of either thing. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:25.440 There's one other great thing about this diagram and about these triangles that I think we're called to live into. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:32.400 A lot of times we find ourselves in systems that are a little bit unhealthy. 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:36.160 Like maybe the pastor said something I didn't like. 00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:44.799 So what I'd like to do is go to my friend Jim and say, Jim, I'd like to get real close to you because we can both hate Mike. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:49.759 So let's have a conference on all the things we hate about Mike, and then our relationship will really be good. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:51.759 This is called triangulation. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:55.119 Of course, it's real unhealthy, right? 00:31:55.599 --> 00:32:00.480 It's usually what we settle for in churches, which is why people don't like coming to them, right? 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:04.799 Because nobody wants to be talked about in the parking lot after we all leave. 00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:07.680 So here's how the Trinity works. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:12.480 The Trinity says, oh, hey Jesus, you don't like that thing about God the Father? 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:15.440 Why don't you go tell it to God the Father? 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:17.519 If you want, I'll go with you. 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:21.599 Not to team up, but just so you don't have to go alone. 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:28.240 This is what Jesus says in Matthew 22 when he says, hey, if you got a problem with your brother or sister, go to them first. 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.880 Curious thing. 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:33.039 Direct communication. 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:35.279 I find that least often in church. 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:38.160 And I'm not just talking about y'all, I'm talking about me. 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:45.119 Going to people with whom I have a problem directly, boy, it's terrifying. 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:47.039 They might not listen. 00:32:49.119 --> 00:32:50.799 They may not take me seriously. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:52.079 They might be defensive. 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.880 They might even tell me to like shut up or something. 00:32:56.079 --> 00:33:03.920 So what I'll do is I'll just tell all my problems with Nancy to Jim, you know, and then we'll be really good friends at Nancy's expense. 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:07.359 And when we live like that, we've lived outside the Trinity. 00:33:07.519 --> 00:33:12.319 We've made the mistake that I can get closer with one neighbor at the expense of another. 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:15.519 And not only is it not Trinitarian, it's sinful. 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:21.119 So I want to put before you, I don't know why God is triune. 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:22.640 I don't know the answer to that. 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:27.440 But I know we're living in Trinity, I know how it makes a difference in how we live our lives. 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:30.000 And that's what we're invited to consider today. 00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:33.839 How do we live into God's Trinitarian identity? 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:41.680 And I got one more thought for you because as a kid, what I heard is that God made the world because God was lonely. 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:45.759 And friends, that's just not really a good way of doing stuff. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:51.039 You know, creating sentient beings because you're lonely, it could really boomerang on you. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:55.359 So I want to suggest to you that there's something different that the Trinity offers. 00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:00.880 The Trinity offers this idea that whether we like it or not, God is community. 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:04.240 God exists in community. 00:34:04.400 --> 00:34:09.360 And God didn't make the world because God was bored, God made the world out of community. 00:34:09.760 --> 00:34:23.519 You know, the way this works, a little bit, and I know this isn't everybody's story, but I loved my daughter before she was born because she was an icon, like a physical representation of my love for my wife. 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:28.320 And maybe that's why God loves you just like you are. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:35.599 Because when God looks at Jim or looks at Ned or looks at Laura, God the Father says, Oh, I see my love for the Holy Spirit right there. 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:37.039 That's why I love them. 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:41.760 God's not lonely. 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:45.840 And God's not beckoning to you from loneliness. 00:34:46.320 --> 00:35:00.880 God exists in a community that loves one another mutually, that appreciates difference, that isn't afraid for the Son to say, Here I am, Father, here I am, Spirit. 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:10.880 And our encouragement, this Trinity Sunday, is to pattern our lives after the way God has made us and the way that God is. 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:26.480 And that means, even when it vexes us the most, we don't just get to look at our neighbor that's driving us crazy and say, well, I guess God loves you. 00:35:27.280 --> 00:35:35.840 We get to look at our neighbor and see an icon of the Father's love for the Son and for the Spirit all wrapped in one. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.239 And you know you don't pray two icons, but you pray through them. 00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:43.440 So here's a spiritual discipline. 00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:47.440 The person that's driving you crazy, pray through them. 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:52.079 To the community of God that created a difference. 00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:58.400 Not only because God enjoys it, but because God thinks we'll enjoy it ourselves. 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:27.360 We believe in one God, Father the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. 00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:44.960 We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one being with the Father. 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:47.599 Through him all things were made. 00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:54.719 For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:36:55.039 --> 00:36:59.360 He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man. 00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:03.599 For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:06.159 He suffered death and was buried. 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:11.199 On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures. 00:37:11.519 --> 00:37:16.480 He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 00:37:16.800 --> 00:37:23.119 He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:31.199 We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. 00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:35.119 With the Father and the Son, he is worshipped and glorified. 00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:37.760 He has spoken through the prophets. 00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:42.239 We believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:46.320 We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:51.440 We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. 00:37:51.920 --> 00:37:52.559 Amen. 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:23.280 Grant that every member of the Church may truly and humbly serve you. 00:38:23.679 --> 00:38:26.719 That your name may be glorified by all people. 00:38:27.440 --> 00:38:36.639 We pray for Michael, our presiding bishop, for Andy, Hector, Jeff, and Kay, our bishops, in the diocesan cycle of prayer, St. 00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:39.199 Augustine of Hippo, Galveston, St. 00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:41.519 Christopher's League City, and St. 00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:43.599