Matthew 28:16-20
Just as he is about leave them as he ascends into heaven, Jesus leaves his followers with what has become known as the great commission:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This is a problematic day that goes with a problematic doctrine. Today is Trinity Sunday.
This is the Sunday which, notoriously, those who preachers who can block in order to avoid having to preach and to some degree explain, the doctrine of the trinity. And who could blame them? Interesting isn’t it that today, Trinity Sunday, is the only Christian festival that isn’t an “event” all the others: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost etc are about something that happened. Only Trinity Sunday is about an idea. In a way this is the point at which out theology stops being narrative and starts being doctrinal, no wonder preachers struggle. And mostly we do without thinking too hard about “One God in three persons.” We can evade the question of what it means. We can cop out with a quaint illustration, “You see God is like a shamrock; one leaf but three leaves” and leave it that without posing the awkward question that even the illustration prompts. Or indeed we might also dodge the issue by sagely observing that “of course the New Testament had no developed doctrine of the Trinity.” But then perhaps we should ask, if that is really so, why then does the Church today and for almost all of its history have such a doctrine? Of course the doctrine has become an embarrassment. In these more inclusive times we have became aware that some language for God may exclude. The notion of God as “Father” is at the head of the list for many people. And of course if we can’t really get our heads around the Trinity we could hardly expect someone who just stepped off the street to be ready to grasp it. In a quest for accessibility the Trinity will get left aside for something more user friendly. Mostly we make do with one person of the Trinity at a time. Sometimes we will emphasise the Son, and think about a comforting relationship with the one who is friend and saviour but be thin on the awesome transcendence of God. At other times we might emphasise the Spirit, and think about the emotional (spiritual) buzz of personalised experienced, but be thin on the demand for justice which God makes. And at still other times we could Emphasise the Father, and say “God!” like saying “man” spoken in a loud voice, to use the name of God as something to menace those we disagree with, but be thin on the immediate presence. Rarely do we mange One God in three persons all at the same time And does it matter?
If baptism is the way into the church – then the sign on the door says “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Whether or not the New Testament has a developed doctrine of the Trinity or not, it is clear the Matthew believe it was Jesus’ intention that his followers should accept God on those terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Church since has not disagreed with him! Given the role of baptism in the mission and life of the Church, the Trinity is key to our understanding of who we are, what the Church is and is for. The Trinity is the distinctive Christian affirmation about God. So it does matter! Given that the Trinity is the focus at the key point in what the Church is commissioned to do, it might give us cause to wonder whether there is not some connection between, the disappearance of Trinity from the life of the Church, and the Church’s weakened condition. Surely doctrinal correctness can’t make that much difference, can it?
We tell ourselves debates about obscure philosophy on the actual nature of God are for dusty academics, and reassure ourselves they have no real bearing of the life of the Church right here right now. On the surface we can present an impeccably orthodox appearance. We all gladly give verbal assent to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Whilst in practice, whether we are aware of it or not, we actually believe one or other unitarian heresy! But in the end it is not actually doctrinal correctness that matters in that way, what is far mor important is real communion with God. The church is not weak and the world is not filled with spiritual hunger because of a lack of doctrinal correctness.
What we are starving for is an encounter with the real God, and that God is the one who is one in three persons. The real God who gives up the idea of being God and becomes incarnate in the daily struggles of life, and who remains strangely present ahead of us in all our experiences. Trinity, it turns out, is important, because Trinity is the way in which we as Christians have / do / will encounter God. That is why Trinity is important because it is the way God is. This is what we are commissioned by Christ to do, to feed that hunger for connection with the God who is real. And Jesus points to the process that will satisfy that hunger. He names it as discipleship and says it will be achieved by paying attention to and living in accordance everything he has taught. And the way into the connection with God passes through baptism. And the sign on the doors say: Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Amen.
Another sermon for Trinity Sunday in Year A is available here.
The Sign on the Door – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. by Christopher Wood-Archer is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0