St. Aidan’s Sermons Winnipeg, Manitoba The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, May 30, 2010 Trinity Sunday: 8:30 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion “Living the Trinity” John 16:12-15
Opening Prayer:
Holy God, you have revealed yourself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, to grasp a fresh appreciation of you as our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Today is Trinity Sunday. Does that excite you? Do you anticipate Trinity Sunday in the same way as Christmas or Easter? Probably not. And, perhaps, somewhere in the back of your mind, you might wonder how Trinity Sunday could possibly relate to your day-to-day life as a Christian. I feel it does, and this morning I will try to explain why. In fact, I hope to show you that living the Trinity is essential to living the Christian life in all its fullness.
Do you relate to God as a Trinity or do you put more stress on God as Father or as Jesus or as the Holy Spirit? We are called to live the Trinity but many of us live out our relationship to God in only one or two of his persons. I will explain what I mean by looking at three different kinds of Christians in the first half of the sermon. (I am very grateful to Peter Adam in his Grove Booklet “Living the Trinity”[1] for the basic ideas that follow.) Then, in the second half, I will explore what it means to live out the Trinity.
Three Kinds of Christians
There are three different kinds of Christians I can see within the Church – “Father Christians,” “Jesus Christians,” and “Holy Spirit Christians.”
D “Father Christians”: Many of us are “Father Christians.” We relate to God as Creator and Supreme Being. We like a sense of continuity and tradition. Phrases like “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end” sit well with us. If we are older, we might prefer the traditional worship of the Book of Common Prayer and enjoy hymns such as “Immortal, invisible, God only wise,” “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation,” “All things bright and beautiful” and so on. We stress the majesty of God and his role as king over all creation. We are happy praying to “Almighty God,” or, if younger, “Creator God.”
We have probably been long-term church-goers with a faith that has grown up from childhood and might be suspicious of those who have had “crisis” experiences of faith and sudden changes in their lives. Infant baptism is the norm for us. We might look with longing or antagonism at other types of Christians who seem to be so sure of their faith. We might be uncomfortable when people speak so informally and frequently of “Jesus” or have exotic spiritual experiences. The word “evangelism” bothers us. We look to the church and tradition for our authority. We stress the Great Commandment: “Love your neighbour as yourself,” which some of us might express through concern for social justice and environmental issues. While we may not be seen by others as the most “zealous” of Christians, there is a stability and reliability to our lives. We see God primarily as Father – our Creator – and so we could be styled “Father Christians.”
D “Jesus Christians”: The second group of us would be “Jesus Christians.” We look to Jesus for our devotional life. We would primarily see God as Saviour and stress the cross rather than creation. We see a need for a clear differentiation between the ways of the world and the way of Christ and call for repentance from past sin. Phrases like “When did you become a Christian?” sit well with us. Depending on our background, we might prefer traditional or modern language liturgy and enjoy hymns such as “When I survey the wondrous cross,” “And can it be,” and “Just as I am.” We stress the love of God and his role as our saviour and rescuer in Jesus. We are happy praying to “Dear Jesus,” or “Lord Jesus.”
We might have been a long-term church-goer or not, but, in either case have probably responded to a call to invite Jesus into our lives and we speak about the “new birth.” We might be suspicious of those who have had not had a “crisis” experience of faith or clear moment of commitment. We sit uncomfortably with infant baptism. We might be threatened by challenges to the faith and are eager to demolish them. We look to the Bible for our authority and are keen to affirm right doctrine. We would be characterised as “eager” and activist Christians and have a strong desire to evangelize and bring others into the faith. We stress the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” We worship God primarily through Jesus – our Redeemer – and so we could be styled “Jesus Christians.”
D “Holy Spirit Christians”: The third group of us would be “Holy Spirit Christians.” We look to the activity of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We would stress God’s work in us at present as empowerer rather than at some time in the past. We expect the things the Bible talks about to take place now. Phrases like “Have you been baptized in the Spirit?” sit well with us. We probably prefer modern language liturgy or even better, non-liturgical worship with lots of “praise” songs such as “Lord, you are more precious than silver,” “I could sing of your love forever,” and “Mighty to save.” We stress the power of God and the intimacy with him brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit. Our prayers might be to the Father or to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit, and are characterised by a lack of set form and freedom of expression and emotion. We might even pray in tongues and receive direct messages from God in the form of words or pictures.
Like the “Jesus Christian” we might have been a long-term church-goer or not, but, in either case have experienced a “second blessing,” where we have encountered God and his power in a very deep way. We might be frustrated by or dismissive of those who have had not had such an intimate or demonstrative experience of God. The baptism we are interested in is that of the Spirit. We might look upon intellectual defences of the faith as unnecessary or superfluous and while looking to the Bible, would see authority as arising out of our present experience with God. We might be characterized as too inward looking and relying on feelings but we have a strong desire to see the power of God at work in healing and “signs and wonders.” We stress Jesus’ promise, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” We worship God primarily through the Holy Spirit – our Sustainer – and so could be styled “Holy Spirit Christians.”
Living the Trinity
By now, many of you might be saying, “Well, I’m a mixture of all of these.” If that is so, then, wonderful! This is what God wants.
But many others might have felt, “He’s caricaturing my position.” Well, you’re right; I have been painting broad strokes and no one person is quite like the individuals I have described. But it is helpful to see how different types of Christians approach the faith and why there might be stresses or tensions within the Christian community. It is interesting that the three types parallel three streams or emphases in the church: catholic, evangelical and charismatic.
There are two lessons we can learn from what I have described. The first is that we must be open to where each other is coming from spiritually. It is easy to dismiss another because they do not share your perspective, but that is so damaging to the cause of Christ. Not only do you miss out on what they have to offer, but you are harming the impact Christ wants to have through a united church. If we are calling people to be reconciled to their Creator, we have to show that reconciliation through how we handle different emphases within our congregations. What’s more, when people see the different ways we relate to God they receive a fuller picture of what God is like.
The second point is this: live the whole of the Trinity, experience God in all his fullness. When people are baptized or the blessing pronounced, it is in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not a neat religious phase to keep us theologically correct. It is a call to experience the whole of God. If we do not, then our faith will be lopsided, out of kilter. You see, if we focus on the Father without the Son, we may experience God as aloof and uncaring, unwilling to be involved with us. If our faith is centred primarily on the Son, that can leave us at the cross and not take us beyond to the empowering of the Spirit. Then, if we focus primarily on the Spirit, we can end up centring on our experience of God and not God himself. But even when our faith includes the Son and the Spirit, if it is without the Father, the result can be that we only see God for his value to us and not our value to him; he becomes primarily a Servant to our needs. However, if we fully embrace God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then we will be balanced in our walk of faith. The Trinity is call to enter into relationship with God at every person of his being.
When we do this we find that we experience God in front of us, beside us and within us.
D The Father – God in front of us: We experience God as Father as One who is in front of us to draw us out and affirm us. “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15). As a perfect earthly father should,[2] God as Father tells us who we are and gives us a sense of well-being; he regulates us from a centre outside ourselves; he pulls us towards wholeness; he accustoms us to obedience. The result of this is that we find security. God as Father is God in front of us.
D The Son – God beside us: We experience God as Son as One who walks alongside us so we can get to know him. In Jesus, we know God as self-giving love: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). Because he is a human being, we are able to draw near to God without feeling coerced or forced into belief – we are given the freedom to relate to him in faith and love. Not only that, we can get to know him as a friend and, as in any true friendship, his good points rub off on us – we become like him: “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). More than this, because he has become one of us, we know that he understands what we are going through: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Most of all, because he has identified with us, he has stood in our place on the cross, taking our sins: “For God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). God as Son is God beside us.
D The Holy Spirit – God within us: We experience God as Holy Spirit as One who lives within us. It is through him that we encounter God’s love: “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). He transforms our “heart of stone into a heart of flesh” giving us a new desire to live fully for God: “I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26, 27). He is the Spirit of life who makes effective all that Christ has won for us. As he indwells us, we receive freedom “from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2); we receive a new power to live the life God requires (Romans 8:5) which brings us life and peace (Romans 8:6). We experience a new intimacy with God through the Spirit “by whom we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). It is the Spirit within us who “helps us in our weakness and…intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26). It is he who produces fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22f) and through whom we are gifted in new and powerful ways to serve God through his church “To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). God as Holy Spirit is God within us.
In the Trinity, we experience God in front of us, beside us, and within us.
Conclusion
Where are you in your experience of living the Trinity? Are you humbled by the majesty of God? Are you amazed at his grace and his love for you? Are you experiencing his power and a deepening intimacy with him?
On a personal note, I came to faith from outside the church through “Jesus” Christians and was given a zeal for evangelism and the Scriptures. The depth of both traditional and liberal Anglicanism has broadened my concept of God’s majesty and his concern for the whole of creation. The dynamic encounters I have had with charismatic Christians have lead me into a growing experience of intimacy with God as I encounter his power to heal at the very depths of my being.
Where are you in your experience of living the Trinity? I invite you to encounter God in all his fullness: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that this holy faith may evermore be our defence against all adversities; who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.[3]
[1] Peter Adam, Living the Trinity. (Cambridge: Grove Books, 1982)
[2] For parallels with the role of our earthly fathers see Leanne Payne, Crisis in Masculinity. (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1979) and Restoring the Christian Soul Through Healing Prayer. (Wheaton IL: Crossway Books, 1991) and Thomas A. Smail, The Forgotten Father. ( London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1987), e.g. “…for me a father means somebody who is able to regulate the life of his children from a centre outside themselves, to pull them towards wholeness, to accustom them to obedience and so to offer them security”, pg. 12.
[3] Prayer Book Collect for Trinity Sunday, page 214
