Trinity Sunday sermon

         This is Trinity Sunday - an exciting day, but you might be wondering why we have a day set aside just for the Trinity - don't we celebrate it every day?

         Well, yes. But we can look into history, about a thousand years back to Thomas a Beckett, who had his episcopal consecration the Sunday after Whitsunday (or Pentecost) - and how his primary focus was on the Trinity, the importance of the three in one and one in three. Especially after Beckett was martyred, the tradition continued of dedicating this Sunday in particular to the recognition of the Trinity.

         Now: trying to articulate the Trinity is NOT easy. There is a long history of analogies that kinda almost get it, but never quite do. 

         Modalism is the heresy that God is only revealing in different forms, not as three distinct persons: like water as ice, liquid, or vapour; or a man as brother, husband, father.

         Arianism (the sun is a star, which also provides light and heat) is also a heresy as it suggests that Jesus and the Spirit are not entities of their own without the Father.

         Partialism, like the apple (seed, flesh, and peel) identifies all three as parts of a whole, but do not make up the whole itself. Same goes for the egg, or Patrick's allegorical shamrock. It suggests that each person of the Trinity is only one-third of God.

         There is a more modern descriptor, and that is a hologram: it's a projected 3-dimensional image - it's quite complex, but a simple example is the 3-D reflective piece on our credit cards - that's a simple hologram. Now, if we were to break up that reflective piece (and I don't recommend it) - the image would still be there - because every aspect of a hologram is present in every piece of a hologram.  The clarity decreases the smaller you go, but the whole thing is there, in every piece, all the time.

It's fascinating. But it's still too human, too limited - we can't diminish or enhance God by human means.

         So we STILL can't convey the mystery and majesty of the Trinity.

         The Trinity is beyond us; we only embrace it by faith. St Athanasias does perhaps the best job of describing it. We all know St Athanasias, right? The third canonical creed is attributed to him. (For those of you who aren't up on your Anglican tradition, there are three creeds: the Apostle's, written in about the first century, very short, often used in matins and evensong, and at funerals; there's the Nicene, written in the 4th century, ish, a bit longer and more detailed, we use it every Sunday; and the Athaniasian, found at the back of the Book of Common Prayer, early mediaeval authorship, a lot more detail and GREAT Trinitarian theology and Christology, and about 4 pages long. We don't use it often outside of confirmation classes or Anglican 101.)

         Athanasias describes the Trinity thus: "The Father is God, The Son is God, The Holy Spirit is God; God is the Father, God is the Son, God is the Holy Spirit; The Father is not the Son, The Son is not the Father, The Father is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Father, The Son is not the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit is not the Son." We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity, neither dividing the persons nor confusing the substance. Each person is equal in One, co-Equal in majesty.

         So - everyone's experts on Trinitarian theology now, right?

         Well. Obviously not. Because we can never be experts in Trinitarian theology. Because as much as we might like to fully understand it, we never will. We were not created to understand it. We are, however, created to delight in it.

Let's think about the readings.

         In Isaiah - the Lord is present, God the Father in Heaven; the one who redeems is present as sins are forgiven - who we now understand to be the Christ. And the Spirit of the Lord is present, inspiring the prophet's response to the call to ministry.

         In Romans, Paul is very clear as he speaks of the three persons of the Trinity - Father to us as children, heirs with Christ, and the Spirit who leads us all towards righteousness.

         Even Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus - a guy who likes facts, not faith. Even there Jesus addresses the mystery of our one God's three persons: distinct, yet unified. The Son shares good news of forgiveness, The Father's Kingdom is assured to be attainable, the Spirit is the bringer of the newness of being.

         This is what the Trinity is to us then. Here, now, yet still inexplicable. And that's just fine. It is good, we are assured, to dwell in the mystery; to dance with the unknown, to embrace the undefinable.

         We don't need to be able to categorise the Trinity: we're smart enough to know that we never can. We are fortunate to be the creatures God chose to reveal the Trinity to! So we know that it exists - and that it wants to know us and be known to us.

         So I pray that we have the emotional and Spiritual intelligence to accept that the Trinity is bigger than any of us: and that's okay: but we celebrate that the Trinity is the accessible gift to all of us; and that is cause for thankful hearts.

         And may we recognise the blessings that the Triune God: the creator, the redeemer, and the sustainer - pours upon us every day.

Taking Love to the World: A Pentecost Sermon

         Did anyone watch the Royal wedding yesterday? Beautiful.

         Thoughts on Michael Curry's sermon? WHOOSH! Am I right? What joy and passion that man has when he speaks about the power of God - the power of love - and the possibility for love in the world.

         Now, I've seen PB Curry preach a few times, and have had conversations with him. Based on my experiences, I can tell you: he was actually a bit subdued yesterday. Michael Curry LOVES God. He loves ministry. He lives in the reality of the power of the Spirit!

         And his sermon reflected that love. He was animated, he was passionate, his commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is undeniable.

         And... no one shrugged off his message, or his person, as though he were drunk.

Because they knew he was not. They knew that this man was speaking truth. And they knew that he was not the only one in that beautiful space who is full of that passion.

         Though that passion may look differently for each of us, depending on our traditions, our history, our expectations - yesterday highlighted that we are called to a shared ministry, a unity in diversity.

         We saw the choristers of St George's sing alongside a gospel choir: different tones, different styles, different hymns: but full of the same desire to praise God.

         We saw people praying: eyes open or closed, standing and sitting, aloud or silent: but full of the same desire to praise God.

         We saw people wearing a variety of outfits: the royals, formal in fabulous hats, the assembled crowds adorned with bunting and streamers; the classical cellist wearing funky socks. Closer to home I'd guess I'm not the only one who watched wearing PJs. Yet: in the midst of celebration, we, around the world, were all full of the same desire to praise God.

         The analogies are numerous: the message is the same: in the midst of difference, there is a unified desire to praise God!

         And that desire is fuelled by the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit does not want us to be uniform: we're not all meant to be doing the same things, the same ways, in the same voice. Instead, the Spirit blows among us all to empower us to find and know OUR voice. OUR ministry. OUR engagement with God's world.

         This is the Spirit that comes to us: as a dove, as a flame, as a violent rushing wind form heaven. This is the Spirit that fills all of our dwelling places and invites us to go into the world to fulfill our desire to praise God.

         This is the Spirit that we know of form the prophets - which will be poured upon us all! Giving us prophesies, and visions, and dreams. These are not the dreams of the nighttime: those moments where we wake up truly believing we've been paddling a spaghetti canoe with Napoleon. These are not the ballerina hippos of Disney. No - these dreams are the waking passions and the ideas that we implement to make them a reality: "I had a dream," said Martin Luther King. "Imagine a world remade by love," preached Michael Curry.

         My prayer is this: imagine what is possible to bring love and light and joy into the world today. Imagine what YOU can do to make the presence of the Spirit known and embraced in your world, today. Imagine - dream - delight! - in how the Spirit will move you further into love of God and love of neighbour: if you'll let yourself be moved.

         Because the Spirit moves. I believe it's intentional that we perceive the movement of the Spirit in ways of profound change: a violent wind rushing from heaven. A wind that can clear the dust, or stir it up, that can take away, that can dump something unexpectedly in front of us. A fire, the tongues burning away the chaff, the waste, providing heat and light.

         With earthly wind and fire, we realise that they can change the landscape, that can re-arrange how the world looks, they can severely alter that space at that time. We do our best to control them: but there are times when they are overwhelming - and things may not go as we expect or are prepared for.

         The Spirit is like this. When she blows, it can be a gentle breeze to offer refreshment to those who need it, or it can be a staggering gust that will knock things down for those called to re-imagine a place. She can burn bringing warmth like a fireplace on a cool evening, or like a house engulfed, which necessitates new building.

         The Spirit will be where the Spirit will be - she will move where she will move. We cannot control where or when the Spirit is moving to and through us; but we can ready our hearts and minds to receive this power, this presence. There's a southern saying that a good wind will "blow the stink off you!" - and that's what the Spirit does for us.

         With Holy compassion, when we let her, the Spirit blows away our complacency, our apathy, our indifference - and she blows in new possibilities, new joys, new imaginings.

         She burns off our anger, our intolerance, our selfishness; and she fires up our passions, our desire for justice, our love.

         So I pray that the Spirit will come. Come, Holy Spirit, COME! Come to each of us; that we will receive you! Prepare our hearts to embrace the Spirit as we feel it's power in our lives.

         May we speak in the beautiful tongue that God gave us! Speak in the language of your peers. Speak in the way that God has empowered you to share the good news: whatever that looks like! For some, it is leading prayers, for others through music ministry, for others in the creation of dignity kits or serving at the Homeless breakfast.

         So. How do YOU speak of God? What is your language of divine love? How does your life show the world the power of the Spirit within you?

         Use your voice: it's the medium that God gave you to praise God.

         Bring to fruition your dream: it's the way God is calling you into the world in service.

         Delight in the power of the Spirit: she's upon you - upon all of us - moving us ever-closer to the source of the power of love.

         May God bless you with the gift of the Holy Spirit: the life-changing spirit that blows us into action, that fires us up for ministry, that gives us the words and way to proclaim the Good News. May God overwhelm us with love, and may we take that love into the world.

God of Celebration! Easter 7 sermon

Acts 1.15-17,21-26; Ps 1; 1Jn 5.9-13; Jn 17.6-19

         Well it's certainly a busy day for celebrations, isn't it?

         The Ascension, a Great Feast in the church, was this past Thursday, the 40th day after the Resurrection!  It is at this time that we commemorate that the resurrected Jesus left the physical reality of the earth and ascended into the full presence of God.

         It's still Easter! YAY! We keep that in our hearts and our minds. While this is the 7th and final Sunday of Easter - it's still Easter!

         In the calendar of saints, we anticipate tomorrow's Holy Day for St. Matthias the Apostle, the man who became the twelfth apostle after the ... departure of Judas Iscariot. We heard all about that process in the first reading today.

         This weekend, the Church further commemorates Julian of Norwich, a medieval spiritual teacher, and Florence Nightingale, a nurse and social reformer from just a century ago.

         And in our national church, today we celebrate Jerusalem Sunday - an annual celebration of companionship in God's mission with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, this year with emphasis on the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children, as it ministers with a wide variety of support services.

         Continuing our celebratory theme, society reminds us of Mother's Day! We give thanks to God for all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, step-mothers, and anyone who carries out a mothering ministry and role in life.

         On a smaller scale, somewhere, today, someone is having a birthday. Somewhere, couples have their wedding anniversaries.  In some home, a family gathering and meal is being planned. It's a busy day!

         There are numerous other things to celebrate. According to the "National Day Calendar,"[1] apparently yesterday was national "archery" day (thankfully no one brought bow and arrow this morning!), and today is "international hummus" day - who doesn't love puréed chickpeas. Tomorrow is national "dance like a chicken" day, which promises to make parish council even more fun than normal.

         So as we can see, from the ridiculous to the sublime, today is a busy day, as the day invites us to celebrate.

         And celebrate we shall! But we are being reminded, as people of faith, that temporary earthly happiness is not the entirety of what we seek. The psalm today is great to remind us of this - people whose delight is in God are like trees, bearing fruit through their ministries. Celebrate and be happy: wonderful! but our Godly celebrations truly move us from the ridiculous to the sublime.

         The ridiculous - hummus day? Dance like a chicken day? These are silly, and fun, and easily forgotten, as they haven't made a huge impact on our lives.

         Our other, secular celebrations - birthdays and Mother's Day - are meant also to bring us happiness and to share love, and we use them for that. And we remember that these days are earthly celebrations, there may be balloons and cake and flowers. What beautiful ways to annually acknowledge and respect the relationships that we have with one another here in this life.  Mmmm, cake!

         Even farther from the ridiculous, the holy days and church commemorations continually remind us of our true journey; people whose example serves to bring us along in our own spiritual journey and faith formation. We bring them to mind, so that their teachings may inspire and direct our own theology (or understanding of God) - Julian, for example, helped articulate the protection of God's love and joy in times of turmoil. Matthias, knowing the probable earthly cost of apostleship, chose to live in the truth of the Resurrection and be chosen by the Spirit as an Apostle. These are great celebrations, indeed!

         Moving onward toward the sublime: this word which conveys "great excellence or beauty" and is rooted in the spiritual, it's medieval meaning to "[e]levate to a high degree of moral or spiritual purity or excellence."[2]

         It is this spiritual excellence that we find in the Ascension, and throughout the Easter season. This excellence comes from God, to whom we strive towards through all we do: in our worship, in our ministries, in our celebrations. We aspire to be subliminal as we live our lives as Easter people.

         That means celebrating: celebrating the joy of the Resurrection and the hope to eternal life every moment of every day. During our good days when there's cake and flowers, and during our difficult days when there's loneliness and sorrow. Celebrating Easter means living our faith, infusing our lives with the presence of Christ, engaging in ministry with all those whom God loves. Being an Easter people does not mean that God will magically make this life all hunky-dorey, it means is that we are empowered to engage with the world as the Body of Christ, to joyfully engage in kingdom work.

         Being an Easter people, living an Easter life, means we are here for God, not for ourselves. Easter life means that we are the church: not a Sunday social club, not a community centre. God's people in God's world, working to see the divine presence in our lives, and helping those we encounter to also see the light of Christ - that paschal truth - shining brightly for all.

         And that is something to celebrate.

         So it does us good to remember and distinguish those things which are earthly and those things which are heavenly. Our earthly celebrations are good, but they are earthly: anyone can participate in them, any time. They're lovely to participate in - the bigger the gathering, the bigger the cake, right? And that's OK.

         The heavenly celebrations, however, are even better. They're more difficult to understand, because they run deeper, and so the joy they bring is greater. They're based in an intentionality that goes beyond the secular, one that transcends the limitations of this life. These celebrations are rooted in the testimony of the Divine! Testimony: a declaration of proof, of evidence. This is what John writes about, that the evidence of God is profoundly greater than anything any human can ever come up with, and "[t]hose who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts."[3] It is this evidence-based belief in God which brings us eternal life.

         Just as Jesus, in today's gospel passage, directs his prayer to keep all things on God, we too are reminded to keep our celebrations focused first and foremost on GOD.

         God, who created the entirety of the cosmos.

         God, who breathed life into all things.

         God, who dances through eternity.

         God, who embeds love and grace into all reality.

         God, who is not limited by our experience or imagination.

         God, whose words have been gifted to us.

         God, whose protection is eternal.

         God, who chose to take human form to bring us better understanding.

         God, who has named and claimed us in baptism, and made us heirs of the kingdom.

         God, whose word is given freely to direct us to the truth.

         God, who is made known to us by those who have gone before.

         God, who laughs and loves and delights in all levels of celebration.

         God, who is present in feasts of hummus and birthday cake and the heavenly banquet of the Eucharist.

         May we celebrate God, who has done all of this and more, and who continues to journey with us. May our hearts be so full with this truth and love and peace that our lives are always busy with the celebration of God.

---

[1] https://nationaldaycalendar.com

[2] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sublime Accessed 10 may 2018

[3] 1John 5.10

ABIDE - a wordy sermon for Easter 6

Acts 10.44-48; Ps 98; 1 Jn 5.1-6; Jn 15.9-17

ABIDE. Quite a word, isn't it? Not really something we often hear about.

One of the very few modern uses of that word is in the context of that famous hymn Abide with Me. And if we were asked to define it, I think we may think that it means something like Live. Dwell. BE. Live, be with me, fast falls the eventide. Beautiful.

Another time we hear "abide" is in an informal and negative context: "The one thing I cannot abide by is gossip!"

And, here again the definition as live or BE kinda fits. I cannot live with gossip. But it can also, in this context mean toleration - I cannot tolerate gossip.

These are not wrong, but they are passive. They are statements of existence, not really statements of action. Dwell with me, fast falls the eventide. Nice. I can't tolerate gossip so I'll just ignore it. Again, nice - but a tad neutral.

However, there's also a more nuanced, more evocative meaning of "abide" - and that is to accept something, or to act in accordance with it.

Those sound comforting, and a bit more engaged. I cannot accept gossip - therefore I will do something about it. Or in the hymn, Act in accordance with me - act, and for the love of God, not benefit of self.

This takes the word abide in a whole new direction - as we are called to engage with it, and with one another, in the world. Subtle, and nuanced, but important. Abide with Jesus, we're invited. Nice. But: act in accordance with Jesus. That's definitely an invitation that's up to us to act upon - nothing passive there!

And it is this active context and nuance of "abide" that we see throughout the gospel is saying. So let's re-hear the opening sentences of today's gospel passage:

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; accept and act in accordance with my love. If you keep my commandments, you will accept and act in accordance with my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and accept and act in accordance with his love.

With this more accurate and nuanced definition of "abide", we very quickly note that this gospel passage is not, in any circumstance, passive. Jesus is not saying "exist pleasantly with my love and God's love." Though, of course, he wants us to live in that peace and felicity.

But it's more than that. Accept the love of Jesus. Hold it dearly within yourself. Act accordingly in the world because of the grace of God that has been so lavishly bestowed. Live fully, do not merely exist.

Act in accordance with my love. That's not a small task; it's not an easy ministry to undertake. Yet it is what Jesus wants us to do. And it's as though he can anticipate the very normal reaction to such a statement. Act accordingly to your live? How do I do THAT?

"If you keep my commandments, you will accept my love and act in accordance with my love.

And it's wonderful that Jesus has nicely summed up God's commandments, too. He doesn't revert back to the 613 Judaic laws, he doesn't even go for the first summary of these that we find in the Ten Commandments. Instead, he's condensed it into 2 direct commandments.

Love God. -and- Love your neighbour.

Again, we can see how these commandments, if we take them seriously, call us into action.

As we're called to love God, it's not meant to be a passing thought or a casual affection: To love God takes intentionality with all that we are and all that we do: Love God: With all your heart and soul and mind and strength. SO in all things, at all times, in every possible way, find a way to show the world that you love God.

As we're called to love our neighbour, we again are challenged to live into the fullness of love for that neighbour. This is not a call for mere politeness or niceties, it is a challenge for deep and radical compassion. It is a call to love neighbour as yourself. Love the person next to you as much as you want to be loved, and in fact as much as you have accepted the love of God. Remember these statements of Jesus come right after what we heard last week, that we love because God first loved us. So knowing that we have been blessed with love, we are now being told to bless others with that love.

This is hard - because love is hard. And the love of neighbour that Jesus is talking about references the old testament laws - where the emphasis on community is profound: It required the sharing of your crops for those who have none - either by failure or folly. It defined business etiquette to be ethical. It meant finding ways to help one another, avoiding gossip or rumour-mongering or lies or grudge-holding or acting in anger. It meant finding ways to work together so that the community as a whole could flourish and be healthy, even if that meant not getting your own way. It was a system where honesty and integrity were both requisite and celebrated - because all benefitted from the purposeful commitment to being community, in the healthiest and holiest way possible.

Love God. Love your neighbours. Be proactive, be reactive, be active. Love fully.

There were other unspoken suggestions in these commandments, too: when someone didn't want to love outwardly anymore because they felt there was an imbalance in the give-and-take of loving. If someone should feel that they were only on the receiving end of love, then they knew that it was time to get more active in the act of loving. And, should they find themselves feeling entirely unloved, then there was even more of an opportunity to carefully and prayerfully discern how to live the love of God into the world. For we all receive love: and if we feel that we are not receiving love of God and love of neighbour, then we have in some way closed off the parts of ourselves that accept and act in accordance with that love. Should we feel unloved, it is because some part of us has refused to abide in the love of God.

And that's not a happy place.

And here's the other thing about that abiding in the love and grace of God: God doesn't keep score. God doesn't limit the love and grace that God pours upon us based on how much we love in return. Rather, God keeps loving. God keeps pouring. God keeps giving. We are literally and figuratively doused and drowned in grace and love. Jesus is very clear about that: and wants us to celebrate and accept and act accordingly as a result of that love.

What beautiful opportunity then. And what great reward: for when we do that we are filled with the joy of the Lord, which - as Jesus says - causes our joy to be complete.

Complete joy. Not just happiness, which I think is an earthly and temporary emotion. But a deep-rooted, undeniable, unquashable joy. The joy of the Lord - the grace of God - the abundance of love - complete within us.

Really - could it be any better? And to know that this is what God, through Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, wants for us. God WANTS for us to accept this love, and to be changed by this love, and to be so completely joy-filled that we cannot help but to act accordingly. Abide in the love of God. Dwell in the presence of God's grace. Delight in the friendship of Jesus. And, in the fullness of receiving life and love, model our lives to demonstrate that joy that is within us.

It is, after all, what Jesus invites us to do - to abide in his love, and to love one another. May love abide in all we think and say and do, may love abide in our hearts and minds and souls. May our lives reflect that we have chosen to respond and animate that love in the world.

Or, as our beloved bishop Michael says as a blessing: "Live with Courage. Act with Justice. Choose with Love."