St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Today is Trinity Sunday, the day when we celebrate the completeness of God, the unity of the Godhead, our understanding of God as being One yet three. The doctrine of the Trinity took hundreds of years to develop and, although we agreed on the doctrine and on its reflection in the wording of our creeds, today is also the day I believe we have to acknowledge that we still don’t fully understand, that we cannot fully describe or define God. God, after all is said and done, remains a mystery to us.
And what a gift that is. If I could fully describe God, God would be too small to be God. If I could fully understand God, God would not be intelligent enough to be God. If I could control God – by my prayers or any other way – God would not be powerful enough to be God.
There is something in each of us – Pascal referred to it as the “God-shaped vacuum” – that recognizes the existence of God, that yearns to connect to the divine. Even when people don’t know what to believe, or can’t bring themselves to believe in God as described by some person or organization, they still often describe a feeling that there’s something bigger than anything we can see or prove. Twelve-step programs refer to this as a “higher power.”
I was not here with you last Sunday because I was attending a clergy conference called CREDO. CREDO is an acronym for “Clergy Reflection, Education and Discernment Opportunity.” It was held at the Trinity Conference Center – owned by Trinity Church Wall Street, but located in the mountains of Connecticut. I wish you could have experienced it with me. The whole time I was there, I was very aware of God’s presence. I could even recognize the Trinity:
God, our magnificent creator, was evident:
- In the grounds
- In the animals
Jesus was evident:
- In the scriptures
- In the Eucharist
The Holy Spirit was evident:
- In people’s countenances
- In the relationships
I loved feeling God so close to me, but God felt present not because it was a clergy conference or because it was in the mountains of Connecticut, but because I was open to experience God. God is always present; the variable is me. Sometimes I’m simply more open to recognizing God than others. Being in a special place can facilitate my openness. Being in a special frame of mind is helpful, too.
In our lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures today, Moses took the flock of sheep to Mt. Horeb. Did he intentionally go to the mountain that people believed was holy? Or was he drawn there subconsciously, or arrive there accidentally? We don’t know. But we know he went to the holy mountain, and when he saw the bush burning without being consumed, he turned aside from what he was doing and paid attention to it. I think it’s notable that it was when he paid attention that God spoke to him.
God’s presence is all around us, but there are some places where, for whatever reason, we are more open to God. For the people of Israel in the Hebrew Scriptures, mountains and outdoor altars often served that purpose. During Jesus’ time, the Jerusalem temple was probably where many people went to feel closer to God. For some of us today it’s walking in a forest, or fishing on a river, or being at a retreat center. For many of us, St. Martin’s is one of the holy places where God is evident. We are so blessed to be part of this place, so blessed to be able to worship here.
Sometimes, often when I least expect it, I have special holy moments in this place. Sometimes they’re when I’m alone, standing in front of the altar, praying – and I realize I’m not really alone. I’ve also had some when we’ve all been here together and I’m behind the altar celebrating the Eucharist. As I sing or say part of the Eucharistic prayer, or as I raise the elements, I have an awareness that we are sharing sacred time, ageless holy liturgy, and I am filled with awe and gratitude. I remember one time when I was praying for the people whose cremains are in our columbarium, and all of a sudden knew how blessed I was to be in the midst of that “communion of saints,” that “cloud of witnesses.”
God is present here. This is holy ground. That’s the good news that we need to remember and teach our children and share with our neighbors. People hunger to find God, and we, my friends, are blessed to know one of the special places where it can be easier to open ourselves to the experience of the divine.
So this year on Trinity Sunday, rather than try to better understand the doctrine of the Trinity, I think we should simply bask in the wonder of God, who reveals Godself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; as Father, Mother, and Son; as creator, redeemer, and sustainer; as lover, the beloved, and love. Let’s sit in silence for a minute and feel the presence of the sacred, and say ‘thank you’ to God for being here with us today. Let’s not worry if we have the right words to describe the mystery that is God, but let’s be open to experience it. Let’s let it seep into our souls. Let’s join the apostle Paul and say, “Abba, Father,” and rest in the hope that if Nicodemus, a religious leader, didn’t have all the answers and couldn’t understand Jesus’ message at first, that it’s okay if we, too, still have doubts or questions. It’s not the intellectual answers that are important. It’s the experience of the holy, the realization of God’s unconditional love, that can increase our faith, aid our prayer life, and facilitate our spiritual growth. And it can give us joy, peace, and love so we can leave this place, fortified by the Eucharist, supported by the triune God, to do God’s will.
Amen.
Mary+
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- Kalamazoo, MI 49004-3200
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