A Trinitarian Faith
On Sunday, the Church will celebrate the unfathomable mystery of God as Holy Trinity. Our celebration includes adoration and praise. We will affirm our confession of the Triune, a synthesis of God’s holy presence among us. “In the name of this triune God, we are baptized. As the baptized ones, we bear the name of the triune God in our being. Our discipleship is rooted in the mighty acts of this triune God, who is active in redeeming the world. The triune God is the basis of all our prayers — we pray to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit” (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.).
Our belief in the Trinity traces back to Creation when the Holy brought order out of chaos. Today we look for God among us as we continue to seek a way forward post COVID-19 and the pandemics of racism and injustice. One year after the murder of George Floyd, we remember the world's cry that enough is enough. Today 24 states have introduced legislation to increase accountability in policing. We are addressing Xenophobia by naming aloud that Asian hate must stop. Environmental injustice is called out, reminding us that we are stewards of the earth; we are pivoting by reversing our complicity in creating the conditions that cause natural disasters. The PC(U.S.A.) boldly names the Doctrine of Discovery as sinful, and efforts continue to dismantle this ideological impact in society. As the Church, we are called to tell the story of everything. To boldly proclaim what is of God and what is not God. As Israel and Palestine continue to fight their centuries-old battles, we grapple with our understandings of God’s favor. These issues always offend some, and the Church stands theologically on opposite sides of the problem. Our world is divided theologically and politically. Nonetheless, I believe as we live into what it means to be a Matthew 25 Synod, we will find ways to bridge the divides that continue to challenge our unity. The New Way Forward 2.0 includes objectives to reduce binary thinking. It supports third-way possibilities and equips leaders in managing multiple truths.
Amid the revisioning of Church and society, we watch faithfully for divine intervention into the mundane. Something is breaking forth. Call this birthing pangs and the evolution of something new. Lisa Sharon Harper states, “evidence of the presence of the [kindom] of God is thicken wherever and whenever people stand on the promise of God that there is more to this world—more to this life—than what we see. There is more than getting over, getting by, or getting mine. There is more than the brokenness, the destruction, and the despair that threaten to wash over us like the waters of the deep. When we see a vision of a world where God cuts through the chaos, where God speaks, and there is light. We can imagine a time where love is binding every relationship together.”
I believe our understanding of the Trinity as a “Mystery of Relationships” can help us move forward. Imagine our unity built not on uniformity but rather a reconciliation of differences. “The kingdom is about union and communion, which means that it is also about mercy, forgiveness, non-violence, letting go, solidarity, service, and lives of love, patience, and simplicity,” according to Richard Rohr. Our relationships should be subject to subject and never subject to object. Seeing each other in this way aligns us with the theology of the Trinity—oned in mutual purpose, seeking power with and not power over, and living into an infinity of trust and mutuality.
As Pentecost People, we are sent forth to transform worlds around us. We have the fresh anointing to address the present with gifts that heal, empower, and surprise the world. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to pray and then act. All of this is possible as we pray In Christ, with Christ, and through Christ. In the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt, one God forever. Amen
SanDawna