Gospel text for Sunday 18 September 2022

John 16.16-20        “A little while, and you all will not see me, and another little while, and you all will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me; and ‘Because I am going to the Creator’?” They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you all discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you all will see me’? Very truly, I tell you all that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you all will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has pain because her time has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the tribulation because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you all have pain now; but I will see you all again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” 

Reflection        Once again Jesus’ disciples are beside them selves and say to one another, “What does this mean that (Jesus) is saying to us, ‘A little while, and you all will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me…?”  They act as if this is the first time they heard the message of going and coming. The thing is, throughout much of the gospel according to John, Jesus has been preparing the disciples for his going away and coming again. 

Let us take a deep dive into the text. The disciples are reclining after their final Passover Supper with Jesus. Realizing his imminent departure and betrayal, the air is foul with foreboding as we listen to Jesus reassure the disciples. “Do not let your hearts be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you… And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am there you may be also.” (14.1-3)  There it is. The going and the coming. 

Jesus continues to assure the disciples and us that even though he is going we will not be abandoned. “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of Truth.” (14.16-17) “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 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.” (14.25-26) leaving

Jesus’ counsel is unambiguous.  “I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you… “  Going and coming belong together.  Going creates the spaciousness into which the Spirit comes. “When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth… he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (16.7, 13.14)  In other words, nothing will be lost to the disciples when Jesus physically departs because they will participate in the mediating agency of the Spirit, the same Spirit of truth that informs Jesus, the same Spirit that informs all of us.  

One of the concerns of the unidentified writer of the Gospel according to John is conveying  the Trinitarian nature of God. There is every chance this is an effort to distinguish the new Christian teachings from the teachings of the Synagogue. The gospel explicitly names the disciples and all of us as participants in the Holy Trinity, effectual members of the Community of God.  Jesus puts it this way,  “I and the Father are one…(10.30)  The one who believes will also do the works that I do, and, in fact, will do greater works than these.(14.12) ) because the Advocate, the Spirit of truth… abides with you and he will be in you.” (14.17) Immediately before being betrayed and arrested Jesus prays for the disciples, “As you Father are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…” (17.20) Trinity.

We are intimate participants in the Community of Trinity, the Community of God. When we no longer see one another in the physical realm we remain connected by the Spirit’s mediating action of coming and going. It is in and of, with and through community in Trinity that the will, the ways and the works of God are embodied and expressed. The strength and creativity of Father Mother God moves through the agency of the mediating Spirit in intimate and compassionate relationship with all of us “to do even greater works” than Jesus has done. 

This is why Jesus advises the disciples and us,  “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own...  because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.(16.7, 13-15) We are full participants in the Trinity.

The physical presence of Jesus must go away for the mediating agency of the Spirit to be experienced by us. All the good, grace and generosity we witness in the physical life and ministry of Jesus takes root and residence within us through the agency of the Spirit. Let me be crystal clear. This in no way intends to privilege the spiritual over the physical. The very fact of incarnation, the living Spirit of God embodied in human flesh, sets that misapprehension to rest. Jesus reveals to us the way of being fully human, of consenting to the  living, breathing, healing and redeeming agency of the Spirit made revealed through him in the Community of Trinity. Through the agency of the same Spirit we are meant to be likewise.

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Gospel Text for Trinity Sunday 12 June 2022

Matthew 28.16-20         Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus sent them. And when they saw him, they bowed down worshipping him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came and said to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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. Now look, I am with you always, to the end of the age. “

Reflection        One plus One plus One equals One. You may accuse me of being a terrible mathematician but instead you might ask, “One what? What three ones add up to One?”   

The Ones are names for God, words we use to describe the experience of our “with God” life. Since God is more than a transcendent philosophical concept, more than a teacher, guide and friend,  and more than the generative breath of creation no one word  makes whole the holiness of One God. Which I believe is why in the mid second century the Christian writer Tertulllian offered the first argument for the Trinity of God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit even though it does not appear anywhere in the Hebrew or Christian Testaments.

Imagine three persons sitting at a table. The figure on the right represents God, known as Father in relationship with the figure in the center, Son. Father and Son are known by their relationship. Theirs is a dance of mutual indwelling. Jesus explains, “The father is in me as I am in the father.”(John 14.11)  “For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.” (John 12.49) The Father and the Son are intimately interconnected; the Father pouring himself out to the Son, the Son emptying himself to receive the Father. Theirs is a mutual in-dwelling, an interpenetration.

The third person at the table represents the Spirit, meant to arouse relationship among the Father, the Son and Humanity.  The gospel of John explains,  “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.” (John 14.26)  The Spirit, the Advocate, the Third Person of the Trinity comes to indwell humanity and thereby fulfill Jesus’ inconceivable promise that concludes Matthew’s text, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28.20)

The self, love is poured out and received. This is the dance, the eternal movement or aliveness among the Three Persons of the Trinity. God pours God’s self out to be incarnate in the Son revealing to us that God is both transcendent and immanent, which is to say, God is both beyond all things and within all things.  By this same interpenetrating love, Jesus gives himself away to everyone he encounters. Then, to insure the succession of the dance, the Holy Spirit breathes in each of us so that we too participate in receiving and giving ourselves away for the love of others. Taking our place in the dance of the Trinity we too have a place at the table.

For those of us drawn to the philosophical, transcendent, all powerful image of God as father our desire for safety and security in the care of a protector is satisfied and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Father. For others God as father evokes fear of judgement or misused authority. For us, the doorway into the Trinity marked Father is odious.

For those of us grounded in the visible and persuaded by matter the incarnate image of God as son satisfies our desire for a teacher, guide  or friend and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Son. For others the image of God as Son may be exclusionary and un-relatable and the doorway into the Trinity marked Son is impassable.

For those of us compelled by the unborn, undying breath of creation the mysterious image of God as spirit informs and inspires us and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Spirit. For others the image of God as Spirit is frivolous and frustrating. And for us the doorway marked Spirit is beyond all reason.

Thanks be to the One plus One plus One equals One God, not only are there more than one doorway through which we may enter and dance in our “with God” life but the Community of God, the Trinity, refuses to be limited by the names ascribed to it more than eighteen hundred years ago.

Intending to invite everyone into the Community of the Trinity, The Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church  offers even more doorways through which we may enter and dance our “with God” life.

Sovereign, Savior, Shelter

Author, Word, Translator

Parent, Partner, Friend

Majesty, Mercy, Mystery

Creator, Christ, Compassion

Potter, Vessel, Holy Fire

Life, Liberation, Love* 

One plus One plus One equals One with room for us, One more.

How we see and what we say about God matters for how we live our lives.

If we see God as Father, a towering figure judging and demanding sacrifice, we may live in fear. If we see God as the only Son living an idealized life we may justify excluding others and deny accountability whining, “We are only human.” If we see God as fickle Spirit, by turns breathing blessing and demanding death we may withhold our breath and refuse to speak of God.  

If there are words that keep you from dancing with the One plus One plus One equals One God, replace them. If there are words that invite you to dance, keep them because relationship is the essence and substance of God. It is the dance in which we are meant to participate. One plus One plus One equals One God, unbound by names and abundant with doorways through which we may enter. Shall we dance?

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* Gafney, WIlda C.  A Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (New York: Church Publishing, 2021) 205.

Gospel Text for Sunday 2 June 2019

John 17:20-26        Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said. "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Reflection        Given the bitterly divided state of our current social, political and religious worlds how can we possibly aspire to becoming ‘completely one’ as Jesus prays? Jesus is not praying for uniformity of custom, singularity of theology, nor homogeneity of political perspectives. Jesus prays for unity, not uniformity. Jesus prays that we experience that which draws us together and is greater than anything can divide. 

When we claim our place in the intimate relationship of humanity with divinity we are participating in something deeper than any possible divisions, we are affirming something wider than the myriad ways we disagree. You see, when we claim our place in the intimate relationship of humanity with divinity we are raised up  with Jesus and experience the glorious unity that is evinced in the love of Jesus with the Father. 

This interpenetrating love, this oneness in relationship with God, is the heart of unity. It is this love, this oneness,  that enables us to bury our hatchets and listen to those with whom we disagree. It is this love, this oneness, that gives us the courage to tare down walls that separate us from those whom we call other. Don’t you see, Jesus is not praying for uniformity of social, political or religious opinion. Jesus is inviting us to claim our place in the life of the Trinity.

What does that mean, life in the Trinity? For help explaining I turn to one of my favorite German theologians, who if still living is nearing one hundred years old. Jürgen Moltmann understands the Trinity as fundamentally social. The three persons of the the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are defined by their relationships. Although there are three distinctive individual expressions of being they are understood by their relationships with one another. Relationship is the defining quality.  Trinity is the unparalleled model for our human relationships.

As humans created in the image and likeness of God, we are distinctive individual expressions of being and we are defined by our relationships. We live and breath and find our meaning in our interconnected, interpenetrating relationships. Because the Spirt of God lives and breathes and moves within us, all of us, we participate in what Moltmann calls, the Social Trinity. 

How does that translate to life among us humans? I believe it looks like each one of us and all of us together bringing our core values to bear on the institutions and culture around us. It means questioning our purity codes (who is in and who is out) and stretching the borders of our hearts and minds to make room for everyone. Where ever hatred, hostility or sorrow thrive we are meant to deliver kindness, good will and joyfulness. Where bitterness and resentment abound we are meant to tender friendship and affection.

Through our selfless expressions of love people will be drawn to the source of our love, the love that we experience in the love of God and Jesus the Christ, the love that we share with confidence because we know we are loved and we desire nothing less than to draw all people into the intimate relationship we share with God, into the life of the Social Trinity. 

Listen to Fr. Thomas Keating speak on "Living Ordinary Life with Extraordinary Love," by clicking on top right image.

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Hebrew Testament Text for Trinity Sunday 27 May 2018

Isaiah 6:1-8        In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; 

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Reflection     “The whole earth is full of God’s glory” in spite of the shameful state of affairs erupting throughout the nation twenty-six hundred years ago and today.  And, God needs someone to speak to the people and remind them that God is present and active no matter how terrible things appear. No doubt caught by a knot twisting in his belly, Isaiah pleads that he is not fit for the task of speaking on behalf of God, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” Whereupon a seraph, a Spirit of God,”holds a live coal that had been taken from the altar” to Isaiah’s lips, a ritual act to illustrate the inner cleansing of Isaiah’s heart and mind. Herewith Isaiah experiences God’s invitation, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” He responds, “Here am I; send me!” and proceeds through the course of his life to preach and counsel three different kings and die a martyr’s death.

Isaiah puts his faith in his experience of Divine Presence that invites his incarnate response inspired by the Spirit. Benevolent Father calls to faithful Son through the effectual action of the Spirit.  God is made known in the relationships of the transcendent, incarnate and demonstrative.

Leaping forward six hundred years, might Jesus have heard rumors of the prophet John the Baptizer shouting in the wilderness? “People, listen up. Your world is in a shameful state. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. If you keep doing the same thing you can expect the same response. So repent, turn around, change your minds your hearts and the way you live. Now, as an outward and visible sign of your intention to do just that, come down to the river and I will baptize you with water.”

And did Jesus go to the river, saying “Here I am,” and allow John to immerse him in the cool river waters? Was it in that act of faithful acquiescence that Jesus consciously experienced the Spirit of God with him and came to claim his identity with God? Of course, this is all speculation, but when it comes to God what else can we do? 

For me the Trinity is nothing if not the community of God. Putting our faith in the benevolence of Divine Presence,  responding by imitating Jesus’ life and ministry, empowered by the effectual Holy Spirit, we live and breath and find the courage to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”

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John 20.19-31        When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Reflection       Today I find myself in the locked and stuffy upstairs room with the disciples. Hiding, afraid, reviewing the countless times I have turned away from Jesus, how I leap to judge others and fail to love and care for my neighbor because I am more concerned with procuring my own safety, security, esteem, power and control. My faith is fickle. I am weak, a coward and a hypocrite.

How about you…. Are you in the upper room too? When have you turned away from Jesus? Hidden your eyes? Closed your ears? Crossed your fingers?....said yes… but? 

Yet, even as we hide, stew and wait for the axe to fall, something extraordinary happens. In the depths of our darkest moment Jesus comes and whispers to our heart, “Peace be with you.”

Peace be with us? How can we be peaceful? The world outside hates us, persecutes us?   It is exploding in violence and every dis-ease. Fear is mongered at every corner. And inside we feel awful, despicable. No matter how many times we say we want to follow Jesus, we turn away and follow our own self interest.

Still, Jesus is relentless and says to us again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathes the Holy Spirit into us. We are not condemned, rebuked or turned away. In spite of our guilt and fear, in spite of being immersed in a world erupting in violence, vitriol and hatefulness, Jesus breathes on us and we are made one with Jesus and the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are made to participate in the  Divine life of the Trinity, which is why Jesus says, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We unapologetically  participate in the divine life of the Trinity to continue Jesus’ mission bringing peace to all the earth, being peace in all situations. Jesus says to us again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” full of peace in the power of the Holy Spirit. Go now into the world, live without fear and be the peace you seek.   

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Gospel text for Trinity Sunday, 22 May 2016

John 16:12-15        Jesus said to the disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 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. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 

Reflection       During the course of most of our lifetimes we stumble across varied images of God. God the old man, the heavenly boss, the judge, the cop or cosmic bell-hop. God the distant, absent, present. God the killjoy, God the puppeteer. God the friend, God the forgotten, God the healer, God the hope. God the unreliable or impersonal director. God just waiting to drop the other shoe or waiting to scoop us out of disaster. With time and experience we may come to know God as teacher or guide only to discover that even those images are not sufficient to convey our experience of God. What then? What are we to make of God that refuses to be constrained by a singular image to the exclusion of all others?

The theological  response to our quandary is this, God the Trinity, the Three in One. Since the fourth century C.E.  the image of Trinity is generally accepted as a way to understand the presence and action of God in the world.  The image of One God in Three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; or, Transcendent, Immanent and Spiritual Presence,  is the central image of God in Christianity.  However, for many, the concept of Trinity stirs up confusion rather than understanding. It did for me until one November evening when witnessing the return of the sandhill cranes to El Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. 

A kind of hush susshes the crowd as the first trilled ‘r’ of the trumpeting cranes echoes in the distant skies. All eyes are turned in the same direction to catch the premiere glimpse of the wintering cranes returning to the Rio Grande wetlands. Much as an approaching train a screaming grey cloud of thousands of corpulent cranes glaze the sunset then settle a mere stone’s throw from our feet. It takes a few minutes to realize that every single one of the pointed billed, red headed creatures is  standing wing to wing and facing the same direction. After feeding all day in nearby fields this mass of ten thousand exquisite creatures whose wings span five to seven feet  have pulled themselves in and reunited for the night. In the dimming light they stand as one body, calling the night out from heaven.

In this glorious spectacle I experienced of God not bound by images; the One as many and the many as One, the Trinity. Each of the ten thousand cranes a unique and significant individual standing in its place amidst the other cranes and at the same the single body of cranes, united and turned in the same direction. 

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Gospel text for Pentecost 15 May 2016

John 14:8-17, 25-27        Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 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'? 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. 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. 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. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 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."

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

 Reflection       “We and God are bound in the task of giving birth to the Word.” These words of the 13th century German theologian, philosopher and mystic Meister Eckhardt raise important questions as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

What are the implications of me, of us, being bound to God and God being bound to us? To be bound is to be joined, united and connected. Rather like being partnered or married being bound implies responsibility and accountability to one another. Alright. Though I frequently fail I intend to be faithful to God and God is faithful to me. I can get with being bound with God. 

What about being bound with God in a task? That suggests there is a mutuality or  exchange in which the relationship between God and us contributes to achieving a shared goal. This premise is a bit more wobbly. There is no doubt that I or we rely on God to achieve, well, everything. But Eckhardt’s words aver a mutuality of dependence. God also depends on us? Our mutual efforts are required to give birth to the Word? This suggest partnership, reciprocity and unity.   

Which brings us to Jesus explaining to Philip, who is still seeking external evidence of Jesus’ relationship with God the Father, “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” Jesus is speaking of mutual indwelling, God in humanity, humanity in God; intrinsic, dynamic, interpenetration, being bound together to accomplish a task. Jesus is of course the first and perfect revelation of the interdependent interrelationship of humanity and divinity. And, Jesus passes on the essence of his beingness, the Word made flesh, by sending the Spirit to fill all of us with grace and with truth.

Returning to Meister Eckhardt’s words, “We are bound with God in the task of giving birth to the Word.” Which begs the question, “How are we doing?” My experience suggests, many of us are reticent when it comes to engaging in conversations about our faith. Here are a few conversation starters, and remember, as Jesus did always begin with prayer. Mine goes something like this. “OK God, you want me to do this you better show up because there is no way I can do this without you. Thank you. Amen.  Then we might ask a friend, “Do you  have any kind of spiritual beliefs or practices? How was spirituality or religion part of your upbringing? What gives meaning and purpose to your life? If you died today, what do you believe would happen?”  Once you have asked someone these or similar questions there is every chance they may say, “What about you? What do you believe?”

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Gospel text for Trinity Sunday, 15 June 2014

Matthew 28.16-20        Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.’

     

Reflection        Love poured out, love received. This is the dance among the Three Persons of the Trinity. The dance step, or action of love being poured out, is kenosis, from the greek kenóō which means ‘to empty.’ God emptied God’s self to be incarnate in the Son.  By this same self-emptying love, Jesus poured himself out, gave himself away to everyone he encountered. And then, to insure the continuation of the dance, God the Father in Jesus the Christ sent the Holy Spirit to live and breathe in each of us so that we too can participate in the divine dance.

Which brings us to the empty place, the opening at the foreground of Rublev’s icon ( see above). This is where we enter the Trinity. We bring our gifts to the table  knowing that all that we are and all that we have is gift, poured out to us by the Father, with the Son, in the Holy Spirit. We come to God’s table and offer our selves, our souls and bodys  to participate in the holy dance of the Trinity.

This of course begs the question, how do we participate in the dance? I believe St. Francis of Assisi has the answer, “Pray ceaselessly, use words when necessary.” Now let me assure you, praying ceaselessly does not mean stopping everything and  dropping to our knees. Most of us are not heading for a convent or monastery. We, who are called to live in the world as teachers, bankers, custodians, gardeners, retirees, parents, health workers, care givers, scientists, CEOs, friends, the way we pray ceaselessy is by dignifying and caring for one another and all of creation. 

When we dignify and care for the weak, the disenfranchised, the sick, the migrant women and children left at bus stops in Tuscon with no means of support we are in the dance, the divine dance of the Trinity, we are participating in the aliveness of God. We continue the dance by pouring ourselves out to dignify and care for one another and all of creation. This is our true offering to God; to open ourselves to extend dignity and care to the broken, suffering body of Christ in the world. 

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Gospel text for Sunday 19 May, 2013 Petecost

John 14:8-17      Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 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'? 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. 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. 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. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Reflection     We have walked with Jesus’ disciples through Lent, Holy Week and Easter season. We remember that long evening meal in the upper room; the disciples reclining around a low wooden table, sharing bread and wine and olives, listening to their friend, their teacher Jesus go on and on about how he was going to leave, they were going to stay and he and the Father would send “another Advocate to be with them forever.” I imagine that if the disciples were anything like me they must have been baffled and fairly intimidated when they heard Jesus say, “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...” Really? How is this possible?

Now we arrive at the moment when Jesus’ promise is fulfilled and the revelation of the Holy Trinity is complete. On this Sunday we see tongues of fire settle on the disciples as they are filled with the Holy Spirit and “begin to speak in other languages,” in languages the astonished crowds  understand.  On this day we celebrate the satisfaction of Jesus’ promise made during that final meal with his friends, the promise that he would go to the Father and ask the Father to give them another Advocate...the Spirit of truth...to abide with them and be in them. 

Unlike the unsuspecting disciples we have the benefit of hindsight. We ‘hear’ Jesus’ words to his friends, “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. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me”  and we begin to understand that just as Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him, so is the Spirit of the Father and the Son in us, which means we also are in them. Well, maybe not really understand but something amazing is happening.

It is astonishing. By the presence of the Holy Spirit in us we participate in the Holy Trinity. By our participation in the Trinity we too come not to speak on our own, but  (by) the Spirit who lives in us and does God's works. We must believe that we are in the Father and the Spirit of the Father is in us. And when we believe, we also will do the works that Jesus did. Not because we are great or special. But because we give ourselves to be used up for the greater good. And the way to give ourselves up for the greater good is to ask in the name of Jesus our Christ and believe his words, “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...”

For a “Neuroscientific look at speaking in tongues” go to                                        http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/health/07brain.html?_r=0 

Gospel Text for Sunday, 19 June 2011

Matthew 28.16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountainto which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth had been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of allnations, baptizing them int he 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."

Reflection on John 17.20-26

Here is my reflection on John's text. I hope you will post your reflection by clicking on comments below. I look forward to seeing how this text engaged you. Debra

I observe Jesus praying. He is not only praying for his disciples but also for whoever in the future will believe the words of his disciples. And so I notice that even though these words are ancient I am immediately implicated because I believe.

I am attracted to Jesus’ inclusion of the disciples, then and now, in his relationship with God the Father. “The glory that you (God) have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one…” In some mysterious way when I, or anyone, choose to believe we participate in the relationship of Jesus and God the Father. Participating in Divine relationship we “may become completely one.” It excites me to imagine being part of the Holy Trinity, actually being one in the unity that is diversity.

I respond to Jesus' prayer with my own prayer. Holy God, Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for including me and all who believe in the unity of Your divine life. Even writing that sentence feels too glorious for me. I know that I constantly forget, that my belief is fickle as a leaf drifting on spring winds. Still, Jesus proclaimed that You loved him “before the foundation of the world.” And since we are all one You must love me the same. Please give me the grace to love as Jesus loved. Let me be an instrument of Your love, a revelation of Your love in the world today. Amen