Trinity Sunday - Year A Homily

Trinity Sunday

June 19, 2011
St. Stephen Lutheran Church

Most theological textbooks on the Trinity distinguish between terms like ad intra and ad extra, processions and spirations, economic an imminent. Where’s a preacher on Trinity Sunday to begin? How is any of this relevant to our daily lives? I would suggest that its very relevant but only if we begin someplace other than theology text books. Let’s let the lectionary be our guide today and begin where it begins – “In the beginning.”

Today’s first lesson is the first of two creation accounts found in the Book of Genesis. Over the centuries the imaginations of Christians have been informed by artistic representations of this event, most notably by the Michelangelo version on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In the Michelangelo version, the creator God is pictured as a stern older man with silver hair and beard. Kind of like your grumpy grandpa or uncle, except that he obviously works out and has a personal trainer.

At the hay day of renaissance humanism, you could almost say that God had been created in the likeness of human beings, rather than the other way around. God is just like us, only better. The God of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is the epitome of the renaissance artistic genius, working alone to create his masterpiece, the prototype of the modern world’s rugged individual. The artist Michelangelo and created an artist God who could, unlike himself, stand up to anyone, including the pope.

Unfortunately, Michelangelo’s depiction doesn’t quite capture the nuances of the Genesis account. This is more a limitation of the medium, I suspect, than a critique of Michelangelo’s talent. How do you paint the power of a word? How do you draw the breath of God hovering over the pre creation chaos? God does not simply will creation into existence but, rather, speaks a powerful yet gentle creative word, followed by a further word of affirmation and affection. God’s breath, or spirit, encompasses the creation and becomes the life force of all that lives. Creation, then, is not the singular masterpiece of a ruggedly individual artist God, but a delicate and loving interplay of will, word, and breath (– what we Christians have come to understand as the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Spirit.
The Russian iconographer, Andrei Rublev, has given the world an artistic representation of the Christian Trinitarian God far different from that of Michelangelo. Will, word and breath are depicted as three individuals, each unique but at the same time, strangely the same. They gaze on one another, not as rivals, but almost as lovers. If in Michelangelo’s ceiling, creation was an act of power, in Rublev’s Trinity, creation is surely an act of love. And, beyond that, not a onetime act, but an ongoing expression of Trinitarian life.
There is no room for you and me on Michelangelo’s ceiling. Notice though that the icon not only has a place for us, its very structure invites us into the loving, creative, life of God. We have, by grace, been brought into the deepest heart of the Trinitarian mystery and have been made co-creators, with God, of the new creation. The Gospels call this new creation the kingdom of God.

Our triune God is at work in the world and by Baptism we have been made God’s coworkers. Using the word “work” in a Lutheran sermon is always dangerous. I‘m not suggesting that our role as divine coworkers is something of our own doing, nor would I want to suggest that it is a work we take on to advance our own salvation. No, our status as coworkers is totally God’s gift and the actual work we do a manifestation of divine grace.
Hopefully having scrupulously avoided the number one Lutheran heresy, I would dare to suggest that we are called, according to the measure of our gifts, to participate in the bringing about of the new creation, the coming of the Kingdom of God. Today’s Gospel lesson roots our understanding of the Trinity in baptism and in our common baptismal mission. The promises made in the Affirmation of Baptism, which is at the heart of the Lutheran confirmation rite and which all of us make from time to time during the church year, help us to understand just what our role is in the ongoing work of creation.



First, modeled on the Trinity itself, our work is communal. We commit ourselves to live among God’s holy people. We are not in this alone. The Christian life is rooted in a deep sense of community. Lone rangers are not the norm and our egos are made subject to the common good. Our human community is not only modeled on, but fully participates in, the community of divine life.
It may sound a bit silly, but the Trinity is actually what we might call a “mutual admiration society”. Father, Son and Spirit are engaged in a constant communication of mutual love and worship. Rather than creating a cacophony of noise, this exchange of affection and praise within the Trinity creates an exquisite harmony. In the Affirmation of Baptism we promise to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper. Whenever we come together in worship, we enter into that divine song. I suggest that we think of this dialog of intercession and praise taking place within the trinity as something akin to electricity. Our human acts of prayer and worship are the way in which we plug into a reality far larger than what we could ever manage on our own.
This Trinitarian life of love and worship in which we live by grace is not for us alone. Others are invited. Rublev’s icon of the Trinity reminds us that there is room at the table for everyone. This invitation must, however, be extended. Our Affirmation of Baptism reminds us that we have an obligation to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed.
The new creation is made present in the world through humble service. We commit ourselves to serve all people, following the example of Jesus. Not only is there a place at the table for all, there is a bountiful share of all the goods of creation for each person. Our human economies are based on scarcity – the law of supply and demand. We are co-creators when we do what we can to make the Trinitarian economy of abundance concrete in the lives of the victims of scarcity.
Finally, our Affirmation of Baptism would have us strive for justice and peace in all the earth. Justice and peace are the building blocks of the new heaven and the earth promised by God. No single political theory or party, no one form of government, no individual leader, has a market on peace and justice. We do ourselves and our world a terrible disservice, however, when we try to separate politics, government, and civic leadership from the work of Kingdom building. The mutual love and respect, of Father, Son, and Spirit, with its recognition of both oneness and difference, provides us with the model and definition of peace and justice.
The Christian doctrines of the Trinity and of Creation are not simply for theologians. They underpin our whole approach to the Christian life. Everything, from what we think of ourselves when we look in the mirror in the morning to how we spend our money, is influenced by our beliefs about who God is, what God has and continues to do in the world, and our role in that divine work.
And, just in case you were wondering, we’ve been exploring the idea of the immanent and the economic Trinity. That is, the relationship of the three persons to one another and their relationship to creation. Give yourselves a pat on the back. Pastor Marda will be so proud! As for processions and spirations, we’ll save those for another day.