Trinity Sunday
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
©Suzanne Grimmett
Change, it is said, is the only constant.
It can be so hard to hear that what you have known and loved will be changing irrevocably.
When we face such epochs in our lives, there is generally a lot of grief work to be done. This was so very true for the disciples, and we can only imagine what they experienced every time Jesus told them he would be leaving. Denial, of course, but I wonder what they thought would happen to their movement, still so small, and to the beloved community they had trusted in and through which they had begun such good work.
This small text from John’s Gospel today shows us the loving commitment of Jesus to assuring his disciples that though he is leaving, when the Spirit comes, they will know that he is right there with them still. It must have been a comfort to hear such words although they could not possibly comprehend Jesus leaving and sending another, but one who was still in some way their beloved teacher and friend. There is continuity- this is something I always remind family in my funeral homilies; our God is one who overcomes separation through the divine life of the Trinity where there is an unbroken continuity.
Jesus assures his disciples that the Father, by the Spirit “will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Here he is pointing to the mutual indwelling of God; the Father/ Creator, the Son/Word and the Spirit/Advocate; a divine dance of being where no person of this mutual indwelling nature has dominance over any other. If when you think of God you still conjure in your mind something like the painting on the ceiling the Sistine chapel where a white-bearded man is reaching from heaven to give life to Adam, please do your best to dispel it. There is nothing scriptural about such an image and neither is it orthodox in our ancient apostolic faith. The God of Christian faith is three in one, a mystery of diversity in unity.
Jesus is telling the disciples to trust in the continuity of his life with them and their life with him, because all are held in the divine relationship of Creator, Son and Spirit. He also makes clear that there is more to learn about their life together with new things to come, suggesting that there is that which they are not ready to bear knowing yet. It is true, is it not, that we cannot jump ahead many steps in life, but must always begin from where we are and grow and move from that place. There is a flow to life in the Spirit that does always mean change, in ourselves, our lives and our communities, but this does not mean disconnection.
Humanity through history has depended on king or state to provide security and protection against the winds of change. Across the globe today “strong man” populist leaders have arisen that seek to return to that kind of narrative where people are dependent subjects to an overlord protector. Often, as is the case now, the powerful overlord increases insecurity rather than bringing peace. A war between Israel and Iran is a terrible thing for their peoples, and a fearful thing for geopolitical tensions across the globe. We can but pray and support those like the Al-Ahli hospital who are doing courageous humanitarian work. There are also crises which are impacting us here and now. Jon Alexander in his book, “Citizens”, argues that we have moved from seeing ourselves as dependent subjects to self-sufficient agents of our own destiny in a consumer story. This story, he suggests, cannot help us respond to the problems of our time;
We cannot face ecological crisis from within a story that tells us happiness lies in ever-increasing material standards of living. We cannot face a crisis of inequality from within a story that tells us competing for status is human nature. We cannot face a crisis of loneliness and mental ill-health from within a story that tells us we are independent, isolated individuals who must stand alone.[1]
The Good News is that the consumer story has never been the Christian story. Trinity Sunday reminds us of the wisdom of the ages that truth is found not in individualism, self-sufficiency and competition, but in mutually indwelling love. Jesus’ words in John’s gospel remind us that the Spirit, the Advocate has been always with us and will always be with us, guiding us into the next new thing God is doing.
But we must remember that the next thing is never cut off from past moves of the Spirit in the church. It is why so often, when a new ministry is started, it is a bit like something that has happened here in this place 10, 20 or even 100 years ago. While there are times when we grieve what is past, we should remember that there is no separation between what is past and what is now- just the movement of the Spirit building on what has been before and helping us respond to the new challenges of our time.
We should not be surprised, either, when groups not associated with the Church also pick up on the energy of Spirit and life, acting for love and justice.
This is what I saw in my travels and what we can discover in so many books being written at the moment which remind us of the need for communities that honour human dignity and believe that everyone brings unique gifts to be shared for the good of all; a Pentecost vision indeed.
But there is much that might make us feel helpless and overwhelmed. How can even local issues be addressed when our society and our churches seem to be structured for times past with differing sets of needs? The anxiety of the church around shrinking numbers and depleting resources is palpable.
Here is the need for faith. Not faith in a god of power and might coming down from the clouds to save us, nor faith in a free market, but faith in the living Triune God who holds all life in being and invites us into divine relationship as partners in the ongoing creation of all. The Spirit continues to move in the church, and while that does mean change, there is equally continuity and the opportunity now to share this story of good news that is such a sharp contrast to both the dominant stories that reduce humankind to only subjects or consumers. The good news proclaimed and heard very clearly on Trinity Sunday is that God took up residence amongst us, accepting our fragile humanity and inviting us all to join the Spirit in reconciliation, justice and peace. The Church exists through God’s act of forgiveness and steadfast love which penetrates and permeates every aspect and act of the incarnation of the Son. To have faith now is to trust in God that we have enough and that we are enough together to respond in love and grace to the needs of our neighbours, inviting all into this joyful dance of Spirit.
Faith does not mean passivity, however- quite the opposite. While the call to follow is different in different seasons of our lives, the Spirit always causes movement. What passes as a movement today tends to be having thousands of followers on Instagram. But if Trinity Sunday is to teach us anything, it should be about showing up for real and embodying in our own capacity, the way of Christ in the world. It should teach us that we are to continue the incarnation, not shy of living out the presence of the Divine in our lives, just as the Son, through the loving indwelling with Creator and Spirit, embodied the Triune God so vulnerably and completely that he could say, “All that the Father has is mine.”
What might we do in this time if we really believe God is calling us into Divine life and to be the incarnation of Christ in this place and time? Where might we see the Spirit already at work, both within and without the Church? What might you do, if you have the faith to see that your unique gifts are needed in bringing God’s kingdom on earth through a community of love and justice, forgiveness and peace?
What might we do and where might we go together if we can let the Spirit know we are ready to move?
+Amen
[1] Jon Alexander with Ariane Conrad, Citizens: How the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us, Canbury Press, 2023, 20.