TRINITY SUNDAY May 31, 2015

TRINITY SUNDAY    May 31, 2015

The concept of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, & God the Holy Spirit, can be puzzling enough to Christians;  but to those outside the Christian faith,  the Trinity is just totally confusing.  Some people, including those of a Jewish background,  believe that the Christian concept of the Trinity contradicts the First of the 10 commandments; which calls us to affirm and to and to worship  the ONE TRUE GOD.  PAUSE  J  J  J

J Once upon a time, in   the Upper West Side of NYC lived an assimilated Jewish man, who was now a very militant atheist. But he sent his son Morris to the private Trinity School.  Despite its denominational roots, it was a great school and completely secular.

After a month, the boy came home and said casually, "By the way, Dad, I learned what Trinity means! It means 'The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.'"

The father could barely control his rage. He seized his son by the shoulders and declared, "Morris, I'm going to tell you something now and I want you never to forget it. Forget this Trinity business. There is only one God... and we don't believe in him!"

Most of us have a pretty Good idea as to who God the Father & the creator & Lawgiver is. His chief activity covered most of human pre-history and history up until the time of Christ. Once Jesus, God the Son was born, Jesus was the public face of God until He died, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven.  Next, God the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples thereby establishing the one, universal, holy & apostolic church on earth.   Since then until now, the public face of God has been primarily expressed through God the Holy Spirit.

Last Sunday, we talked on how the Holy Spirit can empower us to become best friends with God.  Today, as I promised last week, we are going to reflect on other aspects of God the Spirit’s work on earth.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the coming of the Holy Spirit was that the immediately the disciples were transformed from being fearful and silent, into becoming men & women of courage, who boldly spoke the Good News of Jesus Christ. They went forth, like Philip in today’s first reading, to talk about Jesus’ love for all people.   

Through the sacrament of baptism, we all receive that same Holy Spirit; but for many of us, the Holy Spirit lies dormant.  It lies dormant because when it comes to telling others about Jesus Christ, most of us are not bold & articulate, but rather we are more timid and quiet.

Now, I am not talking about the way that former Bishop of Ct. Arthur Walmsley ONCE SPOKE about God….the same way that too many  people speak about God. Bishop Walmsley confessed at a Diocesan Convention that one day he was hammering a nail.  Well, he slipped, and smashed his thumb with the hammer. At that point, he confessed, quote, “I then uttered a theological statement— a theological statement, which was quite blasphemous—much to my shock & horror.” Of course, the bishop had not intended to use God’s name as a curse; whereas millions of Americans feel no guilt by using the Lord’s name in vain. So. I am not talking about that.

Nor am I referring to speech that occurs in our discussions about church business, or church gossips, or Episcopal Church politics, or anything like that.

What I am referring to are conversations, held outside this room, where we actually speak of God in a positive way, as we say these words: God, Jesus Christ.   Holy Spirit.  When we speak these words to affirm the goodness of God in conversations, then the Holy Spirit is working in us.

Such a practice goes against the norms of our culture.  Many of us have been taught, not by parents alone, but by society, not to talk about religion with people outside your church.

Our culture contends that only Jehovah Witnesses & other judgemental fundamentalists are the only ones who speak about God in public.

·       But it seems to me that we Episcopalians have over reacted, for fear of being grouped with those giving Xnty a bad name.  Most Episcopalians are so insecure, unsure & cautious about their faith, that we keep our personal beliefs totally hidden.  Therefore, our denomination is comprised of hundreds of thousands of closet Episcopalians who act as if Christianity is something to be ashamed of.

However, our resistance, our fears, and our objections are all overcome when one thing happens: and that’s when we become inspired.  After receiving the Holy Spirit on the first day of Pentecost, the apostles went out into the streets proclaiming the love of God in Christ.  The scripture says, “They spoke as the Spirit inspired them.”  What that means is that we can choose to speak and we will be inspired by God.

Have you ever personally been inspired before---when you been possessed with an idea, or a joy, or a dream, which seems too god to be true?

I see such inspiration from people in this parish, in this room. I see it in the lives of many of you—as it blazes & smokes and burns in your eyes, your speech, and your generosity.

For example—I see it within our Music Ministry, of which we are very proud.  Choir, please stand up.  As they sing & play their instruments, just look at their beaming faces!  JJ

I see it in our healing ministry.  Patti & Paul Doyle, please stand up.  Month after month, year after year, they offer spirit inspired prayer for one and all.  We thank you for inspiring us.

I see it each Sunday as I lift up the offering plate, filled with the pledge contributions and other donations. Over the past 4 years we have experienced growth in our cheerful giving, which we need to build on as we look to the future.  Meanwhile, we thank our 55 pledges and others who generously support this church.

Where does such inspiration come from? Jesus says, “Keep my word’—read & study my scriptures and learn from them that.” Grab one takeaway idea from one of the Sunday scripture readings or the sermon; and ponder that for 5 minutes.  Go talk to someone here whose faith & boldness you admire; and ask them how they came to be inspired.

Then, inspired by the Spirit, follow Jesus culminating message, which is, please repeat after me, SPEAK OF ME.”  Tell people in your world that “I am alive, that I care, and that there is hope through me.”

This is holy speech, profound significance.—because such speech is the basis of Christianity.   If no one speaks of Jesus, then there may be no Christian church after a couple of generations.  If those first disciples that had not been willing to tell anyone about Jesus rising from the dead—then Jesus might as well have stayed in the grave and not bothered.

However, once  those original disciples passed away, Christianity did not die like so many other shallow religions and cults .Rather, it flourished because women & men just like you and me told their friends, neighbors & families the Good News of God’s love through Jesus Christ.

What about us? Such holy speech is key to God’s activity in our day and time; for if you and I don’t talk about him—then God might as well be dead. God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit cannot be seen with the physical eye—so He is already out of sight.  And if we do not hear about Him then He will be out of mind, as well.

You see, there is a whole wide world of people out there, some of whom you know;  maybe whom you love: They need the hope , the comfort, the love and joy that we receive from Jesus. And if they do not hear about it from you, then they may not ever hear about it.  

We are not being asked to do anything which is not genuine.  There are many gentle, comforting ways that provide ample opportunity for you to make a positive comment or 2 about your faith.  For example:

·       If you know a people from a different denominations, you might ask them about their traditions and their congregations.

·       If you know someone who doesn’t go to church, then invite him or her to come of our Parish Picnic/Preach on the Beach on June 28; or to come to another service.  Make it fun by maybe taking that person out to breakfast or lunch.

·       If you know of someone in trouble, you might tell him or her that you will pray for them.  Do you know that even non-believers are comforted by prayer? Most of them do not know how to pray, and when you offer to do so, it is an encouragement.  I have seen this happen thousands of times. Try it. You got nothing to lose.

·       Also, we have some free encouragement cards for you to give away.  “They say,”O God, help me to remember that nothing will happen today that You and I cannot handle together.”  Pick up 2 or 3 from the baskets as you come up for communion.

·       Moving to twitter, Instagram, and Facebook--Repost an inspiring scripture themed message,..One which touched you.

·       Or, when amoral topic comes up, you might look at it from a faith perspective of the 10 commandments or other bible teachings.  When entering such discussions, remember this quote: “If Christianity is true, then every argument will, if pursued to the end, lead to Jesus.’

·       On a regular basis, say bedtime prayers with your family, or say grace at dinner; that way your family will know that your faith is important to you.

PAUSE

Now,  brief pause J  I know that some of you here today have doubts and uncertainties. So, please to turn to page______ Look back at today’s Gospel reading.  Some of the original disciples had doubts and uncertainties, too.  I believe that then in such circumstances, you can find one person with whom you can talk about your faith: a friend, a neighbor, a spouse, a priest, or our healing ministry.  Speak about God even in this way, and you might be surprised when you find some answers.

At this time, would you all please pass down those pencils and pens from the end of the pew?  Everyone have a pencil or pen?  Now, take out your bulletin and draw the smallest circle that you can draw.  Now, that is the size of a mustard seed.  Jesus said, “If you even have no more faith than the size of a mustard seed, then you can move mountains.”   Guess what?  The only mountain that Jesus wants you to remove is your resistance to talking about Him with others.

As we become more and more familiar with the Bible, you will find today’s message popping up all the time. So, please think about this and pray about this; and look for the opportunity to use your mouth to help build up the Kingdom of God on earth, to the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

--The Rev. John Donnelly