Holy, Holy Holy

Some reflections for Trinity Sunday May 30th 2010

John 16:12-15

16:12 Jesus said to his disciples "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

16:13 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.

16:14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

16:15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

It is sometimes said that according to Genesis "God created man in his own image and then humanity duly repaid the compliment by making God in our image"
There is more than a grain of truth in this!

Archbishop William Temple suggested that we need a doctrine of the Holy Trinity-that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit-
because otherwise our doctrine of God would be too small.
At its very crudest our God is idolatrously small!

We create an image, an idea or a program and call it God.
But that "image" can be an idea, or a philosophy
or a conception (eg....that God is simply a powerful example of a superman)
and is deceptively simplistic.
Even our ideas of Jesus can get fundamentally distorted.
We often seem to talk as if Jesus is only a pretend human
that he just seems human, but is really God disguised.
Or that he is pretend God,
he is really just a man who gets as close to being godly as you can.
Both of these ideas are false,
they do not agree with what Jesus says about himself
or with what the Scriptures say.

We need to take care that we are not just fitting God into our own little box
and making God what we want God to be
rather than seeking to encounter God as God really is.

There would seem to be little point in doing anything less.

This week reflect on:
What do I think of God? What is my experience of God? Do the two match up?
In what ways is my idea of God too small?
Ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your understanding of God

Describing the un (in?)describable!

The Feast of Pentecost May 23rd 2010

John 14:8-17, (25-27)

14:8 Philip said to Jesus "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."

14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

14:12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14:14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.

14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you.

14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

We are not very good at accurately stating the way Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to each other
And it is fraught with doctrinal minefields.
But we can note a couple of things.
First it is about relationship
Although it would be innacurate to say that God is only Father, Son and/or Holy Spirit
These words do highlight that we use the language of relating to talk about God, and not just the language of function.
If we are to understand what God is like, then he is like a Father, he is like a Son.
This language is rich and powerful and meets us more than half way in understanding.
But it is not the only language.
We also use the word Spirit...when we talk about the Spirit of a relationship
or understanding the Spirit of an idea, person or thing;
this also meets us half way.
It is about what is at the core.
What is important, what is essential.

We could (and should) also note that God is not just these things.
There is, for example, and in particular a whole stream of feminine imagery
Mother, Wisdom, Birthgiver
which is used in the Bible
to help us understand what God is like.
These are also relational words.

Our God is a God who relates.

Perhaps we are best helped to understand this by the title that is sometimes given
to God's Holy Spirit in the New Testament:
where the Spirit is referred to as
The Spirit of Jesus.

We will encounter this Spirit

• in the person of Jesus himself
• as we exercise the gifts that God gives us
• as we encounter Christ in the community of the Body of Christ.

The Spirit enables us to discern Christ in the lives of others,
Jesus himself points out that when we see in the poor and weak
those who should be served we are encountering Christ himself.

Like a relationship this is not just a static one-off experience
but rather a growing emerging encounter.

The Spirit draws us into this relationship
in order that we may encounter the risen Christ
in our lives
in others
in the world and in the Church

This week

• Where do I see Christ in my life today?

• What is the Spirit inviting me to understand about God through the relationships in which I see Christ?

• Pray for renewal in my life through these dynamic encounters with God.

Readings for Trinity Sunday, 7th June 2009 can include Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:12-17;John 3:1-17;Psalm 29

Perhaps the most ‘doctrinal’ Sunday of the year we celebrate the Christian mystery that God is Trinity.
But we misunderstand Trinity if we think it is highly theoretical or speculative.
At the core of the Trinity is the idea that our God is the God with whom we are in relationship.
The language, Father Son and Spirit
is the language of close relationships like a parent and a child
like those with a deep spiritual connection
it is not impersonal or abstract

So this week
Take a little time to nurture your personal relationship.
Listening and talking is the way to do this

The second dimension that we encounter today
is that each member of the Trinity is there as an agent of Love.
The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, the Spirit is there to enable the love to deepen and grow.
This relationship or rather these relationships
are there to serve each other.
This is the nature of the Godhead
the mystery oif the Trinity
each person is there for the welfare of others
The Father loves the world so much
that he gives his Son
the Son loves the world so much
that he gives his life
the Spirit so loves us that we are filled with love for the Father and the Son.
The idea of Trinity
is that we are fulfilled in community
in so far as we give our life for others.

When Isaiah get his glimmer of God’s glory
he is reacting as Godly people have done throughout the generations
“How,” we ask “are others to hear about God?”
“Who will speak? Who will tell?”
The answer is that Trinity life...God-life is about living for others
“Here am I send me!”
the challenge

THIS WEEK
Where does God call me to live my life for others?
Is there someone who I am called specially to be here for this week?

As part of my call to be a worshipper of the Holy Trinity God I commit myself to this in this coming week.

The centre of faith

Trinity Sunday May 18, 2008 Genesis 1:1-2:4a Psalm 8 II Corinthians 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20 in the APBA lectionary Exodus 34:1-8 can also be used

In the embarrassment of riches that this season affords
we move from the great story of Easter, Ascension
and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentectost
to today being invited to put all this into context
with a focus on the community of God
The community that we call the Trinity.
In an idea that I quite like Archbishop William Temple
says that we need the doctrine of the Holy Trinity
it helps us not fall into the trap of having an idea of God
that is too small.

While we often think that this doctrine is hard to understand
At the heart of it is the idea that God is love
that love is about community
and that God is constantly seeking to embrace us
and bring us into this community of love

So the language that is used to talk about God
is relational
We talk (after St Augustine) of a Father, a Son
and of a Spirit which flows out from them
their relationship being so profound
that the Spirit issues as a different persona
empowering us and always seeking to draw us into the circle of life
(the circle, or three interlocking circles is often used to symbolise the Trinity)
This idea is not without difficulty
but it does serve to give us the sense
that God is relational
that God is community
that God is love.

It is the same God who is the Father of Jesus
who declares himself to be our Father
It is the same God who is the Son of the Father
who says to us you too are the sons and daughters of my Father
you are my sisters and brothers
It is the same God who is the Holy Spirit
who says my love for you is so real
that I am always drawing you into community with me.

God is calling to be part of the same community
That Father-Son and -Spirit share
It is not a closed shop
Our fulness of life
comes from being in communion with God.
God is sharing his life with us
God is sharing his love with us.

Does this make a difference?
The Trinity initiates us into the idea
that God is actually in relationship with us
that God loves us
and that we are invited into community with God.
When Jesus speaks to his disciples (as we read today)
and suggests that they should spread the Good News
he is saying that all people can be drawn into the life of God
and this will liberate and enliven them

"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."

The invitation is to be drawn into the life of God
the responsibility is to live in the Spirit of God's life
and the promise is that God will be with us for ever

We might go on to say that the expectation is that this will change our life
We are after all being drawn into the circle if God's life
So transforming is this experience
that we will want to share it with others.

This is NOT some difficult doctrine
this is the centre of our faith experience

If you want your life changed, enriched, transformed
then it is done by allowing yourself to become a daughter, a son
a sister and a brother
In relationship with God.
Our Christian understanding is that the Trinity is always
seeking to draw us into closer and more personal relationship.
This is perhaps rather different from Judaism and Islam.

This week

1. Pray each day to be aware that God wants me to be drawn into the community of love and service which is the Holy Trinity
2. Dedicate yourself each day to seek to more fervently to be close to God
3. Is there one person who you can tell this week that God desires them to be close to their life also? Why not tell them or discuss this with them?

O Holy Trinity
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Your love for me overflows
and draws me in
I seek to be in the circle of love
may I share this love with others too.
O Gracious Holy Trinity

Calling the roll

The Solemnity of ALL SAINTS falls on November 1st and/or is kept on the Sunday afterwards. Selected readings for that feast include: Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

One of the Anglican funeral prayers (1) says "Help us to live as those who believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to eternal life"

These are good words and indeed important words but a bit religious and I often use the explanation of them to lock into what are the important themes of a Christian funeral: Community, Forgiveness and Life.

And indeed not only of a funeral, but of the Christian life. For indeed the mystery of faith is that we are God's in death as in life. If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord's (Romans 14:8) We see a continuity that the grave does not breach.

Community

Although we habitually use the word 'communion' to talk about the saints, we could just as well talk about the community of saints. People who are united in their common pursuit of the gospel of Jesus. Christian life is lived out in community, always has been and always will be. Even the key idea that we have about God, The Trinity, reveals to us that the essence of God is community...Father, Son and Spirit...the community of love.

Into that community life is drawn a community of people who God chooses to belong as God's chosen people. This chosen people is not an exclusive group, it is an open community with a constant invitation to people to join.

As we look at this community, or communion, of saints certain big names are set before us...Francis, Mary, Peter, Luther, John XXIII, Dietrich Bonhoeffer...and you can no doubt think of more (see some thoughts here and here for example).

This very mixed group reminds us that we are not meant to be soldiers in an army, or chocolate duplicates of each other but that we are as diverse as they come. Our unity comes out of our relationship with Jesus.

This is an important thing to remember. Particularly when we are talking about bringing new people to faith, or in deepening the faith of others. We are not cloning, we are bringing people into relationship with Jesus, and with the other members of the Jesus community.

People want community not committee. They want relationship not rules.

Help us to live as the communion of saints. In honest, open, forgiving relationships. Seeking the good of others, and the welfare of all.

In all things remembering that this is the abundant and eternal life that God promises us in Christ.

We sometimes get fixated on that part of the community that is beyond the grave. They are there to guard, inspire and encourage us. But we also are to commit to community now, struggling with all that it means to share this common life together. The promise is that in the unfolding of this commitment, eternal and abundant life are given to be lived now. As Saints.

This week
Pray for help to live as saints in community.
Where do I need to challenge my own tendency to be a loner, to reject the discipline of community?
Where can I be encouraging and forgiving?
Where do I need to forgive?
Invite all the saints, living and dead, who have been influential in forming you to join with you in praying for a deeper commitment

You Tube presentation

(1)(see introduction to the Funeral in An Australian Prayer Book 1978 (AAPB))

Holy! Holy! Holy!

Trinity Sunday June 3rd 2007

John 16:12-15

16:12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

16:13 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.

16:14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

16:15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

It is sometimes said that according to Genesis "God created man in his own image and then humanity duly repaid the compliment by making God in humanity's image"
There is more than a grain of truth in this!

Archbishop William Temple suggested that we need a doctrine of the Holy Trinity-that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit-
because otherwise our doctrine of God would be too small.
At its very crudest our God is idolatrously small
when we make an image and call it God.
But that "image" can be an idea, or a philosophy
or a conception (eg....that God is simply a powerful example of a superman)
and is deceptively simplistic.
Even our ideas of Jesus can get fundamentally distorted.
We often seem to talk as if Jesus is only a pretend human
that he just seems human, but is really God disguised.
Or that he is pretend God,
he is really just a man who gets as close to being godly as you can.
Both of these ideas are false,
they do not agree with what Jesus says about himself
or with what the Scriptures say.

We need to take care that we are not just fitting God into our own little box
and making God what we want God to be
rather than seeking to encounter God as God really is.

There would seem to be little point in doing anything less.

This week reflect on:
What do I think of God? What is my experience of God? Do the two match up?
In what ways is my idea of God too small?
Ask the Holy Spirit to deepen your understanding of God

The Spirit of Jesus

The Feast of Pentecost May 27th 2007

John 14:8-17, (25-27)

14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."

14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.

14:12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14:14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.

14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.

14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you.

14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

We are not very good at accurately stating the way Father, Son and Holy Spirit relate to each other
And it is fraught with doctrinal minefields.
But we can note a couple of things.
First it is about relationship
Although it would be innacurate to say that God is only Father, Son and/or Holy Spirit
These words do highlight that we use the language of relating to talk about God, and not just the language of function.
If we are to understand what God is like, then he is like a Father, he is like a Son.
This language is rich and powerful and meets us more than half way in understanding.
But it is not the only language.
We also use the word Spirit...when we talk about the Spirit of a relationship
or understanding the Spirit of an idea, person or thing;
this also meets us half way.
It is about what is at the core.
What is important, what is essential.

We could (and should) also note that God is not just these things.
There is, for example, and in particular a whole stream of feminine imagery
Mother, Wisdom, Birthgiver
which is used in the Bible
to help us understand what God is like.
These are also relational words.

Our God is a God who relates.

Perhaps we are best helped to undersdtand this the title that is sometimes given
the God's Holy Spirit in the New Testament:
where the Spirit is referred to as
The Spirit of Jesus.

We will encounter this Spirit
in the person of Jesus himself
as we exercise the gifts that God gives us
as we encounter Christ in the community of the Body of Christ.
The Spirit enables us to discern Christ in the lives of others,
Jesus himself points out that when we see in the poor and weak
those who should be served we are encountering Christ himself.

Like a relationship this is not just a static one-off experience
but rather a grwoing emerging encounter.

The Spirit draws us into this relationship
in order that we may encounter the risen Christ
in our lives
in others
in the world and in the Church

This week

Where do I see Christ in my life today?
What is the Spirit inviting me to understand about God
through the relationships in which I see Christ?
Pray for renewal in my life through these dynamic encounters with God.