a Homily for Trinity Sunday C

Listen to the audio here

Heresy

A mentor of mine had a tongue-in-cheek name for today: “Heresy Sunday.” All over the world, preachers will unintentionally slip into speaking things about GOD that are not “orthodox.” I am certain that you know these words if you are not necessarily comfortable defining them.

• Orthodox—literally “right belief” is our way of describing the accepted boundaries of our faith tradition.
• Heresy—we might describe as an honest attempt to describe the nature of GOD that is determined to be outside those boundaries.

The trouble we have, then, in describing GOD is that we fail, time and again to satisfyingly describe GOD in orthodox terms.

A second trouble we have is that describing GOD’s character doesn’t get us into trouble, really. We know GOD. We can relate to GOD’s actions. The problem is when we describe the substance of GOD. When we quantify GOD. Our post-Enlightenment minds think scientifically, so wrestling with the physics of GOD are essential for us. And it is there we get in trouble.

That is also the place people on the outside ask the question. People that don’t have a personal experience or relationship with GOD ask about the substance of GOD. They are not asking who GOD is, but what GOD is. Is GOD the wind? Is GOD like us? How might I scientifically observe GOD and test GOD’s existence?

 The Trinity

Today is the church’s attempt to deal with two things: what we know about GOD and what it means to know about GOD.

The doctrine of the trinity is an imperfect and unsatisfying answer to the mystery of GOD if you are a scientist. GOD can’t be three distinct persons and one singular person at the same time and still be the same. Physics doesn’t work that way.

But if we take the doctrine, not as science, or even logic, but as the imperfect expression of relationship, then we start to get somewhere.

Our tradition also gives us three tools to deal with the nature of GOD: scripture, tradition, and reason. I like a fourth: experience. In my own life, in my study of scripture, in my understanding of our tradition, I am able to recognize, not some metaphysical doctrine that we must all claim to believe, but an ongoing relationship between GOD and the people. A relationship that is merciful and forgiving. A relationship expressed, sometimes in big, showy, Pentecost-like events and in subtle, quiet, breeze-like moments.

This morning, I’d like us to turn to the person near us and talk about times we’ve noticed GOD in our lives. What was happening. How we felt. And what we think it says about GOD’s relationship with us. And if we dare, how that fits into the wider story of GOD’s relationship with humanity.