Holy Trinity

So last Sunday was HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY!!!!  

Yay!!!!

I ask  you dear reader... (all both of you) to bring to mind all those well-intentioned people in your lives who taught you about the Holy Trinity
            - who took the time to explain to you what this doctrine is about, in the best way they could grasp it themselves...  
                   and at this point I'll make two bets with you... and WIN them!
                         
I bet that what they taught you is 

                HERESY!!!!








Don't worry - on a few counts.

The first is, cries of "heresy!" and "heretic" are not met with the same fear and trembling as they once were (doncha just miss the old days?).   
Used to be, if one was called a heretic, it was met with a scream - 
          "AAAHHH!!!!"   What are they going to do to me?? How 
             painful will me death be?!?!?!    

Today, if one is called a heretic, it elicits in us not too much more than a...     "Meh..."
        Oh well...   wadda ya gonna do?  

And on the second count... these instructors who unwittingly led us down the dangerous path of heresy... were for sure well-intentioned.  
     (Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions!)  

But see, here's the thing... they weren't wolves in sheep's clothing, tricking us away from God!   These people were indeed faithful - faith-filled - people, trying to make sense of a pretty difficult thing to wrap their minds around.  

Okay, some examples of the more commonly used metaphors for Holy Trinity (that are indeed Heresy!)  
God is like...
         A shamrock - you know, three leaves that form part of the 
                               same plant
         An egg - made up of three parts (white, yoke, and shell), that 
                            together form the whole egg
         Water - (H2O) - comes in three different states (or forms), but 
                          each one is composed of the same H2O molecule!

In the heresy of "modalism", the ONE God is seen in three different ways, or "modes"... God as seen in the solid form (like ice), or the vapor form (like steam)... but really it's the same one God... the same H2O molecule.     Yeeaahhhh... NO.  

That's NOT the doctrine of the Trinity.

And neither is the view that "God" is made up of three equal thirds... that come together to form a "whole" God - like the Shamrock example.  

And neither does the doctrine of the Trinity express the concept that God is made up of three different (not necessarily equal in this case) -- but each important --  "parts"... like in the egg example.    

The doctrine DOES NOT teach that God is made up of parts - or thirds (whether equal or not).  

The doctrine DOES NOT teach that God is one being, but somehow seen in three different "modes" (or forms) either.  

The Doctrine of the Holy Trinity teaches that there are three individual, distinct, "persons".  

"But...  if God is not made up of three (equal or not) parts, AND if God is not ONE God seen in three different ways...   AND if there are three individual and distinct 'persons' then... mightn't that mean there are... dare I say it... Three Gods?!?!?!"  

Aha - The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a razor-thin edge.    You had just climbed over one side of that heretical blade's edge, and now you have fallen over into the other heretical edge of the Trinity blade.    
The official doctrine DOES NOT teach that there are THREE GODS either!


"So, let me get this straight... 'Trinity' implies THREE"

Indeed.   A pupil using the skills of higher logic!   
 Go on...           

"... But...  it's NOT    'three parts make up one whole'"

Well done...    

"And..."

Yes... go on...   

" ...It's NOT one being behind three different ways of seeing that ONE God?"

Oh, I'm so excited... 

"And...    it IS that there are THREE different 'persons'"

Yes!

"But... it's also NOT three Gods either??"

By George... I think he's got it!

"But...   But... so what you're saying...."  

No, no...   What YOU'RE saying... 

"I don't understa...   WHAT?!?!?!    What AM I saying????"

Okay here's the rest of it...    Three distinct individual "persons"...   that TOGETHER - in unity - form the God-head!        

"Uuuhhhh....."

I think I've lost you ---

"Uuuuhhhhh......"

I did lose you...    

Okay, something you need to know -
The Jewish tradition (generally speaking) said this about God:
            "You wanna know about G-d... what can I say?    There IS 
                a G-d!    G-d IS real!    G-d has acted through the ages.   
               And we know some attributes of G-d; compassionate, 
              merciful, just, righteous, etc.   We know G-d shows up in 
               different ways!   Beyond that... what can I tell you?   
               Sorry, we're not allowed to have any "images" of G-d... 
                and we're pretty reluctant to even have any theological 
                ones!"    

The early church tradition... heavily influenced by Hellenic (Greek) traditions of logic, and philosophy (meaning explaining and intellectualizing) said this about God:
            "Hmmm.... God....    God...   What is this God like?   Let's 
              try and figure this out.   Let's try and understand - and 
               explain - who this God might be for us."  
And off they went!

Were they wrong in trying to make sense of God?  
Was it a bad thing to do this?  

Well, doesn't really matter now, does it, cuz they did anyway.  

At best, they were really trying to make sense of this God as revealed through scripture and the experience of the early church with Jesus.   They were honestly wanting to make sense of this.  
And they saw "God" as revealed in these various expressions.    And yet.... and yet... they were indeed strictly monotheists!    (They indeed believed in one God)

So... what's a poor early church theologian to do?   Well, a poor early church theologian heavily influenced by Greek thought and customs tried to explain... to intellectualize...    not to make things more confusing (uh, thanks... I think), but to really try and understand better.

So, there we are.     
Their desire for answers not-withstanding, we are all today left with a tremendous sense of gratitude for this theological clarity, n'est-ce pas?     

Yeah - no!        

Well, that's the Christian tradition we've inherited. 




Having said all that... 

You know what?    
You already have a connection to God!
You already pray, 
You probably have some kind of working model for God...
And    ---probably---   
      this whole intellectual concept of THE TRINITY would 
               probably get in the way of you engaging 
                 as you already do with this real and alive God in your life...

So... pick a heresy... and move on!

     



Normally I would say all this on Holy Trinity Sunday...  
 
But not this time.  


I believe there's a God!    I have no doubt.   I've seen too much, heard too much, experienced too much to have a doubt about God.  

But I have to admit something... I've been struggling with.   I can see all this heady "doctrine of the Holy Trinity" stuff, and see I haven't been spending enough time with the actual God this doctrine is supposedly speaking of.

I haven't had a good practice of actually BEING with God.   I realized recently I haven't been spending enough time with God.   and I need to get back to the basics!
Doing - helping - managing - assisting - all good things I'm sure...   but doing a lot of that and not getting back to the basics on a regular basis, you end up losing your center.

I feel like I'm always running around, doing this, going there, whether it's actually physically, or mentally, I find much of me is not in the same place at the same time.    My body may be in one place, but my mind is often in another.  

I wonder how many of you - dear readers (all two of you) - feel the same way?    And then when you're done running around... you'll decide to park yourself in front of a screen and vegge-out.  

My computer produces a torrent of messages daily
My office is a mess
my home needs to be ordered
my schedule changes weekly... daily...

I'm not saying my life is out of control - it's really not, it's managable...
So much as what I'm saying is
      tending to my relationship with God
            through prayer
            through listening
            through just BEING with God...

    is really being sacrificed at the altar of the very demanding god of "busy suburban life"

And I don't like that!

There is something fundamentally missing.      and I feel I have to get back to basics.


And maybe we do that as communities of faith as well as individuals - churches do this too
For many churches, the basic drive has defacto turned into "We need more money!"

Now, the truth is, there are  -there really are- some basic financial obligations that individuals and also congregations do indeed have.  No-one is disputing this.  

What I am commenting on is the propensity of that "basic financial obligation" to subsume the even more basic human (and also communal) desire to connect with God!

Q:  Why do we need money?
      A:  So we can maintain our church building and pay bills.
Q:  But why have a church building?
      A:  Because that's what churches do... have church buildings.  
           ...  But they require money to maintain.
Q:  But why do we need the building?
      A:  To raise money.
Q:  But why do we need money?
      A:  To pay bills and maintain the building

And so goes the circular reasoning...    Sound familiar?
And in the middle of this...   God...   the very one calling us together in the first place...    is sort of left behind,  forgotten,     ignored.  


 The question I asked the congregational council the last time we met was
         Why are we here?    Why does this congregation exist?   
                                               
                                                 Meaning... what's its purpose for being alive?

And this past Sunday, I asked the congregation  
     Why do we come together on Sunday morning?  
  
            We all could have been in any number of other places that morning...
                              well, sleeping in for one
                                    or relaxing at home - it was (another) rainy morning
                              or going for a run,
                              or going to a movie,
                               or at some kids sports event
                              or who knows where else???

God is always there with us where ever we are!    
            Even in church!

But there is NO guarantee we'll be open enough to witness the presence of God with us!
         Even in church!

The question is -
      are we open enough
      have we settle enough
      are we together in mind and body and spirit
                   to be in the same place at the same time

         so we can be with God and with each other
               in honest and true and open friendship and love?



Why am I here?
   
           There is no other place in my week where I would deliberately, consciously,
                              make      open     space     and      time

            to be with the community of God
                             
                                                                       and

                                                                                         God

         for no other reason than
                             
                   just     because     it's      the         right         thing        to         do!


We get to see each other at church
         - share words of friendship
                - the warmth of welcome

                         There is a social aspect to this for sure...

But we   are together       as friends    
     learning what it means to be true friends
             as we open space up to God      together!


I think church communities are called to be there because it's the right thing to do!
Now, it's true not all churches are places open to God all the time... and maybe some not even most of the time...

             ...but when the space and the gathered community ARE open to be present with God....  

                               some miracles happen!



For me, now...   I have to get back to basics!    I have to get back to focusing on just being with God as best as I can.

And I'll be asking the basic questions at my church...
     Why are we here?    What's our main purpose?       What are we here to do?  
            Are we listening enough to God, and what is God telling us?    

And -
      How can we be more honestly and deliberately
                             present with each other
                                                  and with God
                                                                   when we gather?


Doctrine of the Holy Trinity????...
          Hang on...  Slow down!!!

                                         I haven't even gotten the    "Be With God"   part down yet!