the universe of space & time did not arrive by chance

but as the three, in love & hope, made room within the dance

A sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday

Isaiah, plucked up from obscurity and placed in the Holy of Holies, and there, found himself face to face with the glory of the Lord. Poor Isaiah, there in the presence of God, unable to do anything but mourn; after all, he was a man of unclean lips, living amongst an unclean people…

Then there was Paul. Paul, that bounty-hunter of the fledging Jesus-movement. Humiliated Paul, knocked from his high-horse by a wall of light, who, when he tried to get up, found that he couldn’t see a thing anymore…

And Nicodemus. Nicodemus, that Pharisee of some prominence, who was fascinated by this one some people called “messiah.” Bewildered Nicodemus, who went to the rabbi by night to question him, and left, even more in the dark, by what he heard that wandering Galilean preach…

They all, and perhaps you too, encountered “God.” Capital “g,” God. God, scriptures aptly describe as an “all-consuming fire.” God, the one we encounter, and have to pick ourselves up from the ground afterward, because we’ve been knocked flat by this God. God, the one Nicodemus, Paul, Isaiah, you, me, all mortals can only flee from in terror and amazement. God.

They say that’s why church folks never sit in the front pews, you know. 

They say we sit in the back pews because we’re attracted to this God. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? And yet, at the same time we are also terrified by this God, this God is too pure, too holy, and so we don’t dare get too close, either…

And of course that’s the problem with Holy Trinity Saturday/Sunday, isn’t it?

Trinity Saturday/Sunday, that day the church forces us to get as closer to this God than we would ever dare to…

Trinity Saturday/Sunday, that day folks like you, folks who don’t have enough sense in their head to heed from the example of poor Isaiah, lowly Paul or perplexed Nicodemus and try to get to a safe distance from this God.

There’s Isaiah. Isaiah who could only sob, “woe onto me, I am lost” in utter despair. Until, that is, until a seraph; that fearsome angle who ought to make us think twice about imagining angels as those cute little Precious Moments dolls; until that seraph took a smoldering coal and put it to Isaiah’s lips, and after that simply declared him clean; lips and all…

Don’t forget Paul. Paul, who was running up the ranks due to how successful he was as stamping out those miserable Christians. Until, that is, until a sudden flash laid him low. Then, as he realized he couldn’t see a thing, he heard a voice. Although he had never heard that voice before, he knew the one speaking was his Lord. So, he called back, “who are you,” and then, like some cruel punchline, the voice replied, “I am Jesus,” the Jesus, the one Paul had been persecuting…

And there’s Nicodemus. Nicodemus who could only bring himself to slink up to Jesus’ place by night while he tried to sort things out. Until, that is, until he trudged away worse for the wear, baffled by he heard from Jesus, assertions about this Spirit one must be born of, this Spirit that is completely undetectable and even worse, this Spirit that blows wherever it darn-well pleases…

And of course that’s the real problem with Holy Trinity Saturday/Sunday, isn’t it?

The problem with Trinity isn’t that we’re stuck in the middle, only able to run so far from God or only able to work ourselves to get so close to this God. No, the real problem with Trinity is the frightening promise it makes: that God refuses to leave us as close or as far as we dare.

That is what’s really unnerving about The Trinity, what it reveals about God: that God comes closer to us than we would ever dare to get, that God is out and about, that God who is on the loose, on prowl even, that God is about the business of cleansing, capturing and calling. 

That’s the problem with Holy Trinity Saturday/Sunday.

Holy Trinity; the bold theological assertion that God isn’t content to let folks like us work up the nerve to approach God, or the sense to run from him. Holy Trinity; the bold theological assertion that God isn’t content to stay up in the realm of perfection, but instead has determined to be revealed to the likes of us, right where we sit. 

That, sisters and brothers, is the real problem with Holy Trinity; that it’s an assertion, just ask Nicodemus. Holy Trinity asserts, it makes a claim, a claim that cannot be ignored.

After all, if the Holy Trinity were just some concept about God; we could take or leave it, like the concept that the earth is round. If the Trinity were just some  mystery, well then could solve it, like the rubix-cube. If the Trinity we’re just some theory, we could just teach it, like the theory of relativity.

But that isn’t what the Trinity is, is it? And that’s the problem…

The Trinity is the assertion about what God does. And even worse is than all that is the content of the assertion: that what God does is show up, show  up to us claiming, capturing, calling and captivating us. 

In other words, the trouble with theTrinity is that ready or not, here God comes…

Isaiah gives witness to this. Isaiah, who decidedly was not ready to gaze upon the glory of the Lord, but ready or not, God showed up. The rest, as they say is history, because Isaiah left the templed that day cleansed and transformed, sent to proclaim the restoration of Israel…

Paul gives witness to this, too. Paul, who, sure, was ready for a promotion, but completely unready to be adopted into the family of the folks he was harassing. 

Yet, ready or not, God showed up square in the middle of his road to righteousness, and after that Paul couldn’t help but take the Good News of this one he had once tormented to the ends of the earth…

And even Nicodemus gives witnesses to this. Although he left that night more confused than ever, he knew that rabbi asserted could not just be heard and then forgotten about. So ready or not, one day Nicodemus found himself defending this Jesus to the Sanhedrin; and then, on another night Nicodemus came to this Jesus again. This me with oils and spices to anoint Jesus’ corpse for its burial. Nicodemus, still unsure what to think, but certain that the assertions of this Jesus could not be silenced, not even by death… 

And that, finally, is actually problem with Holy Trinity Saturday/Sunday, isn’t it?

Not just that God shows up, but that God shows up for us, right where we are.

See, I don’t know about you, but when I look in the mirror, all I see are the defects. When I look at my bank statement, all I can see all the deficits. When I look at my family tree all I can see are the broken limbs, the tree striking under the weight of it all. 

In other words, when I look at the scales, I know we can’t pay the pound of flesh that’s demanded. I can barely bring ourselves to believe that God would show up at all, but to a broken person like myself, that’s too hard to believe.

But today, on Holy Trinity Sunday, the Church asserts that God does show up, and not just that, either. That God shows up, not just to you, but for you; to claim you, capture you, cleanse you. 

Holy Trinity is the assertion that these stories we read together aren’t stories about three different people, but one story about what God does. 

Holy Trinity, the work of God plucking up Isaiah, unclean though he was. Holy Trinity, the work of God bowling over Paul, self-righteous though he was. Holy Trinity, the work of God that haunting Nicodemus, uncertain though he was. 

Holy Trinity, the work of God getting to you; getting to you regardless of whether you’re sitting in the last pew or first, getting to you regardless of whether it’s your first time here in months or your last, getting to you regardless of whether you have your life together or if it’s in shambles. 

Holy Trinity, the insistence that when you stand face to face with God, like Isaiah did, you won’t have to cry out “woe unto me,” but, “whoa, it is true.” 

There is trouble with the Trinity, but for you, for those lead by the Spirit, it’s the power to cry out to God; capital “g,” God; God, scriptures aptly describe as an “all-consuming fire,” and cry out “Abba, father,” and hear in return, “daughter; son, welcome home."