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?