“CHANGE”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, on Sunday, June 28, 2009
Proper 8: Deuteronomy 15:7–11; Psalm 112; II Corinthians 8:1–9,13–15; Mark 5:22–24, 35b–43
The French have a wonderful saying, “Plus ça change, plus le même chose.” Or, translated, this means, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Is that our attitude toward life? “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Or, put another way, “Give it up! This/that (situation/problem) will never change.”
Today’s gospel account is all about change. Or, more accurately put, about changing human attitudes concerning what God can do, versus what we humans can do.
So, with this thought in mind, let’s turn to today’s text….
We see that one of the rulers of the local synagogue, named Jairus, approaches Jesus, asking that her little daughter might be healed. As Jesus makes His way to the little girl, word comes that she has died. (One is reminded of the similarities to the account of the raising of Lazarus (see John chapter 11), who died as Jesus was on His way to go to Lazarus.)
Mark then tells us that, “There came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’”
If I were writing a paraphrase of this event, I’d characterize the response of those who said “Your daughter is dead, why trouble the Teacher any further” this way: I’d write, “Give it up! It’s over. Your daughter is dead, and there’s nothing anyone can do to change that.”
But, you see, these folk are seeing the situation from a human point-of-view, not from God’s point-of-view….Their experience tells them that, once a person has died, “It’s over! There’s no more hope for change or improvement in the situation.”
Our experience tells us the same thing, or tries to, anyway.
Allow me to explain.
We live in a world where our experience, as we make our way through life, tells us what to expect in the situations we encounter. We need this experience in order to live, it’s a basic tool that our God-given reason needs in order to survive, and even to thrive.
But this wonderful reasoning power, combined with our life’s experience, can also blind us to an ability to see things as God sees them, not as we might see them.
For, you see, God has the power to change things, power that we don’t have.
That’s the point of today’s gospel account….When all hope is gone, when the little girl is dead, we are right to say, “All hope for change/improvement is gone.” That’s what our life’s experience tells us.
But Jesus comes into the situation, and demonstrates God’s power over the forces of life and of death. Jesus raises the little girl to life again, saying (in Aramaic) “Talitha, cum,” “Little girl, arise.”
For us, as 21st century believers, God’s hands, God’s mind, God’s heart in this world, how can our senses, our ability to reason and to make rational sense out of the world with respect to what is possible and what is impossible be transformed in order to see things as God sees them?
After all, the dead aren’t being raised these days, are they?
Or, are they?
The answer is that, “Yes” the dead are being raised. Perhaps not quite in the way that Jesus raised the 12 year old girl in today’s gospel, but in every case where divine intervention has brought delivery from a fatal disease or condition where human efforts had done all they could do to improve the situation. Situations when the doctors throw up their hands and say, “We’ve done all we know how to do.”
Perhaps you know of a situation like that. I do.
The dead are being raised to new life again whenever medical science and the skilled hands of doctors, nurses and medical technicians use God-given abilities to solve health issues that only a few years ago would have led to inevitable death. Yes, the dead are being raised these days.
And, the dead come back to life whenever intractable, seemingly unsolvable problems or differences between human beings are resolved, when ancient hurts and hatreds succumb to the power of God’s love to heal and to reconcile.
New life is found when a person who seemed beyond hope and redemption finds God and is found by Him. (We spoke last week of the situation with my father, whose addictions seemed beyond the power of human agency to redeem…..Just when all seemed lost, and we human beings were tempted to say, “Give it up! This situation will never change,” God stepped into the situation, and redeemed my father, reclaiming him from the destructive powers that seek to estrange us from God and from each other.)
You see, we are called to “see things as God sees them”, not as our experience dictates that they should be seen.
That transformation in our sight and in our insight begins in the heart, the mind and the soul. It requires giving up the sense that we human beings are totally in control of every situation, and that our strength, our efforts will dictate what situations we can change, and those that we can’t, for nothing is outside of God’s ability to redeem, either in this life, or in the life of the world to come.
AMEN.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
3 Pentecost, Year B
"SAVED FROM DESTRUCTION"
A sermon by the Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mount Vernon, IL, Sunday, June 21, 2009
LECTIONARY - Job 38:1–11, 16–18; Psalm 107:1-3, 23–32; II Corinthians 5:14–21; Mark 4:35 – 5:20
At first glance when I read today’s gospel reading for the first time early this past week, the question came to my mind, “What do these two events have in common with each other, the calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee and the deliverance of the Gerasene demonic?”
It turns out, these two events have a lot in common with each other, including these threads:
A sermon by the Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mount Vernon, IL, Sunday, June 21, 2009
LECTIONARY - Job 38:1–11, 16–18; Psalm 107:1-3, 23–32; II Corinthians 5:14–21; Mark 4:35 – 5:20
At first glance when I read today’s gospel reading for the first time early this past week, the question came to my mind, “What do these two events have in common with each other, the calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee and the deliverance of the Gerasene demonic?”
It turns out, these two events have a lot in common with each other, including these threads:
- Deliverance from destruction,
- God, through Jesus Christ, demonstrates His control over the forces of destruction,
- Water is the agent of threatened destruction (the boat in the stormy sea), and water is the agent of actual destruction (the herd of pigs who are drowned).
(Both events take place on or around the Sea of Galilee, that beautiful lake in the northern part of the Holy Land. When you see the Sea of Galilee, it’s easy to believe that it is a beautiful mountain lake, since it’s surrounded by hills and mountains on all sides. But in actuality, despite those hills and mountains, the lake itself is actually about 600 feet below sea level.)
In the first incident, the disciples see Jesus’ power in calming the storm. Jesus displays the same power of the chaotic forces of nature that God displayed in creating the world.
In the second incident, Jesus destroys the forces of evil which threaten the Gerasene man.
Let’s concentrate today on the second incident, which takes place on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, in a region called the Decapolis (which was a federation of 10 Greek cities), and whose major city was called Gerasa in biblical times.
As we look at this event, let’s concentrate on the destructive situation the man was in, and then let’s also consider Jesus’ power over the forces of destruction.
We begin with a look at the destructive situation of the Gerasene man:
Living among the tombs: The Greek words here suggest that the tombs the man was living among were caves or tombs dug into the hillside, not markers or mausoleums. The man was living in these hollowed out places in the hillside. In so doing, the man is living in an unclean place, a place where people would avoid.
Human power had failed to control him: The occupying forces had overpowered all the steps that human beings had taken to control him. Mark tells us that the man had “often been bound with fetters and with chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the fetters he broke in pieces.”
Reasoned discourse had ceased: We read that the man “cried out” day and night. Actually, the Greek word is much stronger, for it suggests that the man was “shrieking”.
Self destruction had set in: The man was “bruising himself with stones”. Actually, here too, the Greek word is stronger, for the Greek suggests he was “mangling” himself.
The description of the man’s situation is desperate….He is cut off from family, from all human relationships. He cannot carry on a reasoned conversation, but “shrieks” constantly. He is unclothed, and is gradually destroying himself.
Now, the encounter with Jesus is striking: Notice that Mark tells us that “immediately” as Jesus gets out of the boat, the man runs to meet Him. Here again, the English translation fails us a bit, for the Greek has the sense that the man “accosts” Jesus.
At this point in the encounter, things get a bit confusing: we ask ourselves, “Who is speaking? Is it the man, demon who represents all the other demons, or all the demons themselves?”
Look at the text:
- We first that the man “runs and worships” Jesus.
- Jesus is identified as the “Son of the Most High God”. The lead demon has correctly identified Jesus, just as He had been correctly identified in the first exorcism that Mark records (in chapter one, verses 23 – 24).
- Next, the lead demon seems to speak for all the others, as Jesus asks the demon’s name: “My name is Legion, for we are many,” the demon says in reply.
- Finally, in the last exchange between Jesus and the demon(s), Mark tells us that “He begged Jesus eagerly not to send them out of the country.
Perhaps the point here is that possession by the powers of evil masks the identity of the individual, as evil eradicates markers of an individual’s personality, self-worth and relationships. As I look at the text, that’s what comes to mind: that evil seeks not only to destroy us, but to erase the line between the person and evil as evil takes over.
Now, let’s turn from the text to our situation as Christian believers today…..
Fortunately, not many of us will ever encounter a person who is demon-possessed. That condition is rare, although I hasten to add that the phenomenon is real, and exists today. I know a priest who has taken part in an exorcism. When I was told what the demon-possessed man was doing, I agreed that it was a case of genuine demon possession. We should not discount the reality of this spiritual condition, even as we should not rush to conclusions about the existence of demon possession whenever we question what’s going on with an individual we might encounter.
But the reality of daily life is that evil influence is far more common. The influence of evil is present in the world we live in, in the lives of people we meet and interact with, and even in our own lives, as Christians. We live in a world that is under the influence of evil, an influence that cannot be escaped, even as we remember that Jesus is still in charge, still able to overpower and push back the forces of evil, just as He did on the eastern hillside of the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago.
How might we see the effects of evil influence in the world about us? I think the main points of today’s incident point to the ways we can see evil at work in the world we live in, so we return to those points, made earlier, to begin our consideration of evil’s presence and effects today. And as we consider these points, we’ll use the illustration of drug use to highlight each point:
Living among the tombs: No, not literally, but figuratively….For evil seeks to isolate us from others, to cause us to live in places where others don’t want to share our predicament. Often a drug addict will seek to withdraw into an isolated, unclean world of addiction, into a place where no one wants to venture.
Human power has failed: Often, the effects of evil seem to be too powerful, to be absolutely unconquerable to all the human measures we might apply to control the situation. A good example of the equation of human power vs. the power of evil can be seen in drug addiction, which often stymies all attempts to wean a person off of the addiction.
Reasoned discourse has failed: Along with the isolation that living among the tombs of life brings, comes the isolation from others that the lack of reasoned conversation also brings. Again, we return to the matter of drug addictions, where exchanges between family members and the addicted person turn into shrieks of anger and venom.
Self destruction has set in: All around us are examples of self-destructive behavior. Again, using our example, consider the destructive effects of using meth, for example. Do you remember the billboard that was on our roadsides not long ago that showed a young woman in four stages of decay from using meth? It was a vivid illustration of the self-destructive effects of drug use.
In such seemingly hopeless situations, we might feel that God is absent, much as the disciples might have felt as Jesus slept in the back of the boat that night on the Sea of Galilee. Their cry might be ours, too: “Don’t you care if we perish?”
But God, working through Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, has the power to calm the chaotic waters of life.
God, working through Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit, has the power to drive out the influences of evil which seek to submerge our own unique human identity under their own corrosive powers.
I know, for I’ve seen God redeem my father from the addiction to alcohol. You see, my father lived in isolation, seeing the world from the inside of a bottle. My father’s human relationships were being destroyed. Reasoned discourse with him about this problem had ceased. He was bent on a course of self-destruction. All human efforts to stop this runaway train had failed.
But my mother never lost hope, and never stopped praying. For 35 years, she prayed faithfully. Then, one day, from a hospital bed in Eugene, Oregon, in the wee hours of the morning, my father ran and knelt at Jesus’ feet, and the forces of addiction were driven out.
My father emerged from his near-death experience a changed man…like the Geresene demoniac, he was sitting up, clothed in his right mind, free of the addiction that had fettered him, and he was restored to right relationship with God and with his family.
You see, it works. I know it does.
God’s power overcame everything we human members of my dad’s family couldn’t overcome.
That’s the God we serve, the God who loves us, who wants to restore us to life, to health, to right relationship with each other and with Him.
AMEN.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
2 Pentecost, Year B
"SOIL FOR GOD'S PLANTING"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL on Sunday, June 14, 2009
Ezekiel 31: 1 – 6, 10 – 14; Psalm 92: 1 – 4, 11 – 14; II Corinthians 5: 1 – 10; Mark 4: 26 – 34
Put on your thinking caps…..
We have before us two very brief parables of our Lord today. Both use agricultural images (which were quite common in His teaching): One outlines the mysterious beginnings of the kingdom of God, while the other notes the small beginnings of the Kingdom as it grows into a big and glorious planting.
Both parables have as unstated ingredient the soil into which the seeds are planted.
So, here’s the question (and the reason you need your thinking caps):
“What/who/where is the soil into which the kingdom is planted?”
What would your answer be?
Would the soil be:
All of those are possible answers. (There may be more!)
But given the overall thrust of Holy Scripture, we’d have to say that the soil into which the seeds of the kingdom are planted is the human heart and the human mind.
It’s in this way that Jesus could answer the woman at the well in Samaria, who, in response to her question about the proper place to worship, said, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming, and now is, when neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father…But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” (John 4: 21, 23)
For, you see, the Kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom…Jesus affirms this as He stands before Pilate, saying, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 19: 36)
No, God’s kingdom is a kingdom of the spirit, and of the heart, and of the soul, and of the mind.
The Kingdom of God isn’t concerned with buildings, monuments, military victories, or the exercise of power. It isn’t concerned with balance sheets, with levels of taxation and expenditure. It isn’t concerned with passing laws, or with preserving itself. Those qualities mark the kingdoms of this world.
So, if you identified the soil that is the place of God’s planting as being the human heart and the human mind, then we could end this sermon right here and now. We’d agree that the kingdom that God has in mind, and the kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim, and to usher in, is a kingdom whose ultimate realm is in the human heart and the human mind. From these places, as the kingdom is sown in each individual’s heart, the Kingdom of God seeks to change the kingdoms of this world, and even to change everyday life itself.
But to be fair to the text before us today, let’s look a little deeper at the implications of the images Jesus uses today. Let’s draw out the various meanings that we can conclude are part of Jesus’ intent as we look at the images of seed and soil.
And as we do so, we would do well to keep this maxim in mind: “The kingdom of God isn’t all about us…..but it is all about us!”
And so we begin:
Initiative: Notice that God is the one who plants. The initiative is God’s. That is surely so in the sending of Jesus Christ to proclaim and to usher in the kingdom. God has acted in Jesus Christ!
Our role: We, as the soil into which God plants, are indispensible to the process of growing the kingdom. For some odd reason or another, God chooses to use us as His chosen soil, to harbor the seed of the kingdom, and to provide nutrients for its growth from the richness of God’s grace that has been ours to this point in our lives.
Guaranteed growth: The two parables before us today seem to guarantee that growth, tremendous growth, will take place. As I consider this point, I recall the words of Isaiah (55: 10 – 11), which read, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The mystery of the coming of the kingdom: Surely the mysterious beginning of the kingdom is the central point of Jesus’ first parable. Oftentimes, growth in spiritual things is only noticed as we look back to see its presence in a person’s life. Think back on your own experience….is there a time (or times) when you said, “Now I understand, now I believe!”? Perhaps so.
One final comment is in order: I said a little while ago that the kingdom isn’t all about us…but it is! That’s my firm belief. You see, God seeks us out, prepares the soil of our hearts and minds, makes it fertile, weeds out the presence of evil, and works with the soil we present to him to enable it to receive the seed of His word. So, in a sense, it is all about us! But in another sense, what God is doing isn’t only for our benefit, but for the benefit of others who will receive the seeds that come from the fields of our hearts. In that sense, it’s all about God and all about others who will receive the seed in due time.
AMEN.
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL on Sunday, June 14, 2009
Ezekiel 31: 1 – 6, 10 – 14; Psalm 92: 1 – 4, 11 – 14; II Corinthians 5: 1 – 10; Mark 4: 26 – 34
Put on your thinking caps…..
We have before us two very brief parables of our Lord today. Both use agricultural images (which were quite common in His teaching): One outlines the mysterious beginnings of the kingdom of God, while the other notes the small beginnings of the Kingdom as it grows into a big and glorious planting.
Both parables have as unstated ingredient the soil into which the seeds are planted.
So, here’s the question (and the reason you need your thinking caps):
“What/who/where is the soil into which the kingdom is planted?”
What would your answer be?
Would the soil be:
- The world?
- The nation of Israel?
- Society in general?
- The human mind?
- The human heart?
All of those are possible answers. (There may be more!)
But given the overall thrust of Holy Scripture, we’d have to say that the soil into which the seeds of the kingdom are planted is the human heart and the human mind.
It’s in this way that Jesus could answer the woman at the well in Samaria, who, in response to her question about the proper place to worship, said, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming, and now is, when neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father…But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” (John 4: 21, 23)
For, you see, the Kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom…Jesus affirms this as He stands before Pilate, saying, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 19: 36)
No, God’s kingdom is a kingdom of the spirit, and of the heart, and of the soul, and of the mind.
The Kingdom of God isn’t concerned with buildings, monuments, military victories, or the exercise of power. It isn’t concerned with balance sheets, with levels of taxation and expenditure. It isn’t concerned with passing laws, or with preserving itself. Those qualities mark the kingdoms of this world.
So, if you identified the soil that is the place of God’s planting as being the human heart and the human mind, then we could end this sermon right here and now. We’d agree that the kingdom that God has in mind, and the kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim, and to usher in, is a kingdom whose ultimate realm is in the human heart and the human mind. From these places, as the kingdom is sown in each individual’s heart, the Kingdom of God seeks to change the kingdoms of this world, and even to change everyday life itself.
But to be fair to the text before us today, let’s look a little deeper at the implications of the images Jesus uses today. Let’s draw out the various meanings that we can conclude are part of Jesus’ intent as we look at the images of seed and soil.
And as we do so, we would do well to keep this maxim in mind: “The kingdom of God isn’t all about us…..but it is all about us!”
And so we begin:
Initiative: Notice that God is the one who plants. The initiative is God’s. That is surely so in the sending of Jesus Christ to proclaim and to usher in the kingdom. God has acted in Jesus Christ!
Our role: We, as the soil into which God plants, are indispensible to the process of growing the kingdom. For some odd reason or another, God chooses to use us as His chosen soil, to harbor the seed of the kingdom, and to provide nutrients for its growth from the richness of God’s grace that has been ours to this point in our lives.
Guaranteed growth: The two parables before us today seem to guarantee that growth, tremendous growth, will take place. As I consider this point, I recall the words of Isaiah (55: 10 – 11), which read, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither, but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The mystery of the coming of the kingdom: Surely the mysterious beginning of the kingdom is the central point of Jesus’ first parable. Oftentimes, growth in spiritual things is only noticed as we look back to see its presence in a person’s life. Think back on your own experience….is there a time (or times) when you said, “Now I understand, now I believe!”? Perhaps so.
One final comment is in order: I said a little while ago that the kingdom isn’t all about us…but it is! That’s my firm belief. You see, God seeks us out, prepares the soil of our hearts and minds, makes it fertile, weeds out the presence of evil, and works with the soil we present to him to enable it to receive the seed of His word. So, in a sense, it is all about us! But in another sense, what God is doing isn’t only for our benefit, but for the benefit of others who will receive the seeds that come from the fields of our hearts. In that sense, it’s all about God and all about others who will receive the seed in due time.
AMEN.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Trinity Sunday, Year B
“THE HOLY TRINITY: THE MYSTERY OF THE GOD WHO CREATES, WHO SAVES, WHO SUSTAINS”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, June 7, 2009
Exodus 3: 1 -6; Canticle 13; Romans 8: 12 – 17; John 3: 1 – 16
“Trying to learn to sing is like trying to grab hold of a cloud,” we used to say back in my singing days.
Trying to learn about the Holy Trinity is a lot like singing: it’s like trying to grab hold of a cloud.
Today, which is technically known as the First Sunday after Pentecost, is more commonly known as Trinity Sunday.
In the scheme of the Church Year, devoting this Sunday to a contemplation of the nature of God, as He is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is quite appropriate, for our Church Year to this point has considered the birth, manifestation, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and it has celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit at the great Feast of Pentecost (last Sunday). Now, with all of that done, it’s time to take a moment to catch our breath and remember that the God we serve, the God who loves us and who created us, the God who redeemed us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the God who sustains us by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, is one God, in unity of being and in Trinity of persons.
Now, we have to be honest: The entire topic, the entire idea of a Godhead who is three-in-one sets our minds to spinning, doesn’t it?
How can that be, that God is One God, but who is known as an undivided Trinity of persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Yes, the concept, as well as our grasp of it, is difficult.
Many preachers shy away from trying to grapple with the subject. (In churches where there is more than one clergy on the staff, the Rector will often assign an assisting priest to tackle the sermon for this day, thereby sidestepping the hard issues and the difficult questions that are associated with the Holy Trinity.)
And, as a word of caution, I recall a seminary professor who, on the occasion of our study of the Holy Trinity, stated that “it was an easy matter to wander off into heresy when we are talking about the Trinity.”
Well, perhaps we’d want to shy away from the topic, too, given these warnings, and given the track record of the many preachers who’d simply rather not tackle the mystery of God as we know Him to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But as your preacher today, I would have to say that our willingness to “ask the hard questions” and to “deal with the difficult mysteries of God” would leave us as impoverished Christians, I believe, if we simply ignore or sidestep this key part of our Christian faith..
We’ve simply got to take up the challenge and do the best we can with the hard work before us today.
So, let’s begin.
We will start with the Biblical foundations which would support the concept of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We find that there are two specific references which support the concept. They are:
But the New Testament witness to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as being interconnected is solid. There are many texts which refer to this unity, even if it is only understood, but not outrightyly stated.. Here, I make a summary of just one thread as we find it in the Fourth Gospel:
We begin with the question, “What prompted the Apostles and the early Church to reconsider the nature of God as He had been known and worshipped in the Jewish community?”
Notice that I used the word “reconsider”. For that’s what the Church did, it reconsidered who God is in the wake of Jesus Christ’s coming.
This reconsideration came as the outgrowth of what theologians call the “Christ Event”. This is language which wraps up everything having to do with Jesus Christ, His birth, life, teachings, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
For, you see, the things Jesus said and the things that He did cast a new light on the One who had sent Him, whom He called “Father”. And, in turn, the instructions given to the disciples about the nature and work of the Holy Spirit, who was given directly by Jesus on Easter Sunday evening (see John 20: 22, above) was the causative event which prompted the Church to reflect on the nature of the Holy Spirit as being fully God, fully one with the Father and the Son.
As part of our discussion, we need to consider the term “Trinity” itself. Many who question the existence of the Trinity, or who cannot find scriptural support for the understanding, often point out that the word “trinity” is not to be found in the pages of sacred scripture. They are right.
The term “trinity” is coined by a third century theologian named Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD).
As part of its reflection, the Church formulated the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles’ Creed stems from the second century, and the Nicene Creed comes to us from the fourth century. Both were formulated in response to incorrect, heretical teachings. Both are formulated in the three-fold understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Along the way, some understandings of the three-fold nature of the Trinity were rejected. One of those understandings is important for us to remember here, for it is known as Modalism. Essentially, this understanding maintained that God the Father was present in the beginning, in creation, and was present until the coming of Jesus Christ. With the coming of Jesus Christ, God came as the Son. When the Son’s work was finished, God then came in the person of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Thus, our human experience of God was seen in terms of a chronological manifestation of the three persons, each coming at a specific time in history.
A form of modalism exists today, and we will consider it as we draw some conclusions from our study together (see below).
Now, we would do well to consider some aspects of the Holy Trinity, as they relate to our everyday life with God. We might draw out the following points to guide our beliefs and our lives:
The heart of the matter: unity and distinction: At the heart of much of the historical consideration of the nature of God as Christians understand Him is the issue of unity and diversity. This part of the concept of the Holy Trinity is the most difficult to grasp. For example, if we put this part of our understanding in the form of a question, we might ask, “How important is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and how important are the distinctions between these three persons of the Trinity?”
Essentially, the Modalists (discussed above) were trying to preserve the unity of God, even as they acknowledged the distinctiveness of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was – in retrospect – a misguided attempt, to be sure.
Traditionally, the western Church has emphasized the unity of the Godhead, while the eastern Church has done just the opposite.
How should this question affect our understanding? I think the answer might be, “It’s best to hold the mystery of God always in our minds, even as we know we can understand part of that mystery, though not all of it.”
The full experience of God: Here we come to a very practical part of living the Christian life….
We are called to realize and to remember that the three persons of the Trinity are always present, all the time. Though we may emphasize one person over the other (considering Jesus’ teachings, life, or work, e.g.), we need to remember that the Father was also present whenever Jesus spoke, or performed miracles, etc. Likewise, the Holy Spirit was also present, working with the Father and the Son to enable the power of Jesus’ words and work to be known and understood.
So that, whenever we pray, we are addressing the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all three.
Whenever we invoke the Holy Spirit’s presence, we are also calling on the Father and the Son to be present, and so forth.
If we are able to remember the omnipresence of all three persons of the Godhead, we can avoid a version of modalism (discussed above).
Are we comfortable living with the mystery of God, the three-in-one? After all, in this life, we can say with St. Paul, “Now I know in part, then I shall understand fully.” (I Corinthians 13: 12b) Eventually, the mysteries will be wiped away, and our knowledge and experience of God will be full, complete, and satisfying.
Living with the mysteries of the spiritual life in the meantime is essential to further and fuller understanding. Saints down through the ages have affirmed this key insight into the life of God. With them we can say, “I believe in order to know, and I know in order to believe.” Faith in God – believing – allows fuller insight and knowledge God. Fuller insight and knowledge permit greater and deeper faith.
So may it be with us, dear Lord. May we be enabled to believe in the mysteries of the divine life, so that we may know more about those mysteries.
AMEN.
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, June 7, 2009
Exodus 3: 1 -6; Canticle 13; Romans 8: 12 – 17; John 3: 1 – 16
“Trying to learn to sing is like trying to grab hold of a cloud,” we used to say back in my singing days.
Trying to learn about the Holy Trinity is a lot like singing: it’s like trying to grab hold of a cloud.
Today, which is technically known as the First Sunday after Pentecost, is more commonly known as Trinity Sunday.
In the scheme of the Church Year, devoting this Sunday to a contemplation of the nature of God, as He is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is quite appropriate, for our Church Year to this point has considered the birth, manifestation, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, and it has celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit at the great Feast of Pentecost (last Sunday). Now, with all of that done, it’s time to take a moment to catch our breath and remember that the God we serve, the God who loves us and who created us, the God who redeemed us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the God who sustains us by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, is one God, in unity of being and in Trinity of persons.
Now, we have to be honest: The entire topic, the entire idea of a Godhead who is three-in-one sets our minds to spinning, doesn’t it?
How can that be, that God is One God, but who is known as an undivided Trinity of persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Yes, the concept, as well as our grasp of it, is difficult.
Many preachers shy away from trying to grapple with the subject. (In churches where there is more than one clergy on the staff, the Rector will often assign an assisting priest to tackle the sermon for this day, thereby sidestepping the hard issues and the difficult questions that are associated with the Holy Trinity.)
And, as a word of caution, I recall a seminary professor who, on the occasion of our study of the Holy Trinity, stated that “it was an easy matter to wander off into heresy when we are talking about the Trinity.”
Well, perhaps we’d want to shy away from the topic, too, given these warnings, and given the track record of the many preachers who’d simply rather not tackle the mystery of God as we know Him to be Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But as your preacher today, I would have to say that our willingness to “ask the hard questions” and to “deal with the difficult mysteries of God” would leave us as impoverished Christians, I believe, if we simply ignore or sidestep this key part of our Christian faith..
We’ve simply got to take up the challenge and do the best we can with the hard work before us today.
So, let’s begin.
We will start with the Biblical foundations which would support the concept of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We find that there are two specific references which support the concept. They are:
Matthew 28: 19: “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….”That’s as close as we come, in terms of specific references to all three persons of the Trinity.
II Corinthians 13: 14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
But the New Testament witness to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as being interconnected is solid. There are many texts which refer to this unity, even if it is only understood, but not outrightyly stated.. Here, I make a summary of just one thread as we find it in the Fourth Gospel:
The unity of the Father and the Son: Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”Now, let’s turn our attention to the Church’s reflection on the nature of God, and to the formulation of the theological concept of the Trinity itself.
(John 10: 30)
The interconnectedness of the Son and the Holy Spirit: “Jesus breathed on them (the disciples) and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’…” (John 20: 22)
We begin with the question, “What prompted the Apostles and the early Church to reconsider the nature of God as He had been known and worshipped in the Jewish community?”
Notice that I used the word “reconsider”. For that’s what the Church did, it reconsidered who God is in the wake of Jesus Christ’s coming.
This reconsideration came as the outgrowth of what theologians call the “Christ Event”. This is language which wraps up everything having to do with Jesus Christ, His birth, life, teachings, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
For, you see, the things Jesus said and the things that He did cast a new light on the One who had sent Him, whom He called “Father”. And, in turn, the instructions given to the disciples about the nature and work of the Holy Spirit, who was given directly by Jesus on Easter Sunday evening (see John 20: 22, above) was the causative event which prompted the Church to reflect on the nature of the Holy Spirit as being fully God, fully one with the Father and the Son.
As part of our discussion, we need to consider the term “Trinity” itself. Many who question the existence of the Trinity, or who cannot find scriptural support for the understanding, often point out that the word “trinity” is not to be found in the pages of sacred scripture. They are right.
The term “trinity” is coined by a third century theologian named Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD).
As part of its reflection, the Church formulated the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Apostles’ Creed stems from the second century, and the Nicene Creed comes to us from the fourth century. Both were formulated in response to incorrect, heretical teachings. Both are formulated in the three-fold understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Along the way, some understandings of the three-fold nature of the Trinity were rejected. One of those understandings is important for us to remember here, for it is known as Modalism. Essentially, this understanding maintained that God the Father was present in the beginning, in creation, and was present until the coming of Jesus Christ. With the coming of Jesus Christ, God came as the Son. When the Son’s work was finished, God then came in the person of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Thus, our human experience of God was seen in terms of a chronological manifestation of the three persons, each coming at a specific time in history.
A form of modalism exists today, and we will consider it as we draw some conclusions from our study together (see below).
Now, we would do well to consider some aspects of the Holy Trinity, as they relate to our everyday life with God. We might draw out the following points to guide our beliefs and our lives:
The heart of the matter: unity and distinction: At the heart of much of the historical consideration of the nature of God as Christians understand Him is the issue of unity and diversity. This part of the concept of the Holy Trinity is the most difficult to grasp. For example, if we put this part of our understanding in the form of a question, we might ask, “How important is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and how important are the distinctions between these three persons of the Trinity?”
Essentially, the Modalists (discussed above) were trying to preserve the unity of God, even as they acknowledged the distinctiveness of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was – in retrospect – a misguided attempt, to be sure.
Traditionally, the western Church has emphasized the unity of the Godhead, while the eastern Church has done just the opposite.
How should this question affect our understanding? I think the answer might be, “It’s best to hold the mystery of God always in our minds, even as we know we can understand part of that mystery, though not all of it.”
The full experience of God: Here we come to a very practical part of living the Christian life….
We are called to realize and to remember that the three persons of the Trinity are always present, all the time. Though we may emphasize one person over the other (considering Jesus’ teachings, life, or work, e.g.), we need to remember that the Father was also present whenever Jesus spoke, or performed miracles, etc. Likewise, the Holy Spirit was also present, working with the Father and the Son to enable the power of Jesus’ words and work to be known and understood.
So that, whenever we pray, we are addressing the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all three.
Whenever we invoke the Holy Spirit’s presence, we are also calling on the Father and the Son to be present, and so forth.
If we are able to remember the omnipresence of all three persons of the Godhead, we can avoid a version of modalism (discussed above).
Are we comfortable living with the mystery of God, the three-in-one? After all, in this life, we can say with St. Paul, “Now I know in part, then I shall understand fully.” (I Corinthians 13: 12b) Eventually, the mysteries will be wiped away, and our knowledge and experience of God will be full, complete, and satisfying.
Living with the mysteries of the spiritual life in the meantime is essential to further and fuller understanding. Saints down through the ages have affirmed this key insight into the life of God. With them we can say, “I believe in order to know, and I know in order to believe.” Faith in God – believing – allows fuller insight and knowledge God. Fuller insight and knowledge permit greater and deeper faith.
So may it be with us, dear Lord. May we be enabled to believe in the mysteries of the divine life, so that we may know more about those mysteries.
AMEN.
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