Nicodemus, Trinity and the Dance

You can listen to how the sermon came out here.

Gate Pa – Year B Trinity Sunday 2018
Readings:
Psalm                          Psalm 29                    
First Reading:            Isaiah 6:1-8                      
Second Reading:        Rom 8:12-17                          
Gospel:                       John 3:1-17                             
What I want to say:
What might the idea of “Trinity” offer us in our daily lives
What I want to happen:
People to say the creeds with more passion

The Sermon

       1.      Introduction:

Today is Trinity Sunday
-          what is that about?
Turn to page 461 of prayer book
What does this creed say about the Trinity?
what might it say to how we live our lives?
       ->  plenary – what do you know about the Trinity?

       2.      Nicodemus

Gospel reading today is not easy
one of problems is that it is taken out flow what is happening in John’s gospel
-          we tend to read it as stand-alone – as did today
-          not noticing what John says about Jesus just before hand
-          “that Jesus did not trust himself to anyone who believed because of the signs he was doing”
-          then along comes one leaders of Judeans – Nicodemus
-          comes because of the signs Jesus was doing.
it is an important story because Nicodemus is trying to figure out who Jesus is
-          and what is going on
-          trying to understand –
o   because if he can understand it all then he can decide what to do about it all
-          just like we can work so hard to figure out what is going on with the Trinity
o   making sure we get it all right
not what Jesus was offering
so Jesus says he has to be born again
I think every commentary I read gave different take on what this is about.
One of the more helpful ones (for me) suggested that Jesus is saying
to be born again is to start again
push reset button
and  to let go of everything that defined Nicodemus and made sense of his world up to this point
ð  family
ð  Judean
ð  Jew
ð  Pharisee
ð  everything he knew about all that and how the world worked within that
instead to follow Jesus in living way Jesus offers.
trouble was Nicodemus was trying to figure it out
trying to understand what Jesus was talking about
wasn’t something to be understand
cant really figure that out
you can only live it
have to trust it
and to live in the way or the pattern that Jesus lives.

       3.      Trinity

this is important because it is the same with the Trinity.
in the end we can’t understand the Trinity
although we have tried really hard
every major schism in church history has been about some facet of the Trinity
the nature of God
Is there another way?
There is
-          an ancient understanding of Trinity comes out Eastern orthodox Church
-          says that while figuring out the nature of God is important
-          only important if it changes how we live
within this tradition
-          starting point is the relationship with the heart of the Trinity
-          heart of Trinity three person in deeply self-giving, honouring, fully receiving relationship – i.e. all imagine best relationship with another person can be
-          often described as basic image within Trinity is dance of life and love
When we start with the relationship
gives rise all the other ideas appear in theology books and creeds
things like
ð  co-eternal – Father did not come first
ð  equal
ð  no person Trinity is subservient to other
ð  one with and in each other
ð  to meet one is to meet them all
when start with relationship
these ideas are not ideas that we have to figure out or understand
but ways seeing relationship a that is Trinity

      
4.      Why this is important?

look at the icon there is little rectangle
when this icon was painted
it is said that this rectangle held a mirror
so that those looking at it could see themselves in middle of this relationship
you and I are invited into the heart of this relationship
into the midst of this dance
to be held in the dance
how we talk about God the Trinity becomes important
-          not so we can figure God out – we can’t
-          but because we can hear more clearly the kind of loving life giving self-giving relationship that we are being invited into
-          we can see that relationship more clearly in the relationships we have with each other
-          when they mirror the heart of God
-          then we meet God and join with God three in one, one in three in the dance of love
the dance of creation
the dance that is God.
This Trinity Sunday we are reminded to not be like Nicodemus
trying to figure all this out
making sure our theology is correct
we are reminded that we can never figure this out
we can never understand it
not the invitation
invitation is same as it was to Nicodemus
join the dance
join the rhythm of life
join the way and be part of God’s creating and loving

    5.      leave you with three questions

It is trinity Sunday
what kind of universe is this Triune God creating?
what kind of church this Triune God want to see?
what kind of life does this Triune God invite us into?

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