The Trinity as THE Love Relationship that can change the World!

“For God to be good, God can be one. 

For God to be loving, God has to be two because love is always a relationship.

For God to be supreme joy and happiness, God has to be three.”

~Richard of Victor

 

Celtic Triquetra (Trinity) Symbol, image in public domain

The doctrine of the Trinity is the human attempt to explain the unfathomable mystery of God.  It can never be "explained," it can only be explored. One God in three persons, three persons in One God ... Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the traditional sense of who God is.  The deep mystery of the Trinity invites us to look beyond the words to the love relationship within the Godhead.  You won't find the word "trinity" in the bible but as the early church fathers (Council of Nicea, 325 CE) were trying to establish a rule of faith for Christians to live by and to discredit false teachings, they searched the scriptures to find God.  The fruit of their labor was the The Nicene Creed.  However, there is no indications there were any church mothers in the room!  As Rosemary Radford Ruether would say, what emerged was "theology primarily written by men for men."   Where does that leave us today?

In Isaiah 6:1-8, we find this vision of the heavenly realm  ... 

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.  I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”  I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” (NET)

Michael H. Floyd says of Isaiah's vision, "The mythic image of the heavenly council is the antecedent of trinitarian thinking.  By holding the concept of the Trinity accountable to its roots, Christians are reminded that such a notion of God points not to an intellectual conundrum, but to a mysterious divine-human encounter with sociopolitical consequences." (Feasting on the Word YB/V3)

I am invited by the words, "sociopolitical consequences" to consider the impact of this doctrine in the context of the world we live in today, a world that is vastly different than the world of the early church fathers.   The doctrine itself arose in a time of intense controversy in the 4th century between 2 men (Arius and Athanasius) battling over the explanation of the Trinity.

As we consider the Trinity in the context of the 21st century, what have we learned over all of these years?  What battles are we fighting today that can be impacted by a fresh look at a very old doctrine, especially one that is not specifically addressed in the scriptural text?  What lenses are we wearing as we read?

I do not believe that scripture can be read and interpreted in a vacuum.  There is always always always context.  We deceive ourselves if we think we can read anything, much less the bible, through any lens other than the one we've been wearing over our own lifetime, living in our own context.  Our lenses are blurred by our history, our traditions, our gender, our social location, our language, our education, our religion, our vocation, and yes o yes, our sexual orientation ... and many, many more!

We deceive ourselves if we think we do not "interpret" the instant we start reading, especially a document that has been translated from almost obscure languages, some through more than one language.  If it was that easy, there would be only one translation but today there are a plethora of bibles all seeking to be true to the original languages.  The people doing the translating are still viewing the original language through their own lenses.

I admit that I have a lot of lenses through which I view the world, the bible and God. Considering that I am a heterosexual white woman of "privilege" there really is only one direction I can go with with this exploration.  The only place I am even the slightest bit less privileged is through my gender.  I can only speak as a woman.  So I'll follow Ruether, the wonderful feminist theologian, as a woman doing theology for women with a little help from Richard Rohr.   Rohr says of the Trinity, "The Holy Spirit is the shared love of the Father and the Son, and shared love is always happiness and joy. The Holy Spirit is whatever the Father and the Son are excited about; She is that excitement—about everything in creation!"

SHE IS!  She is that excitement that sends us forth into the world, "Here I am, send me!"

I wrote a post in 2013 called  Trinity: A Reflection on Holy Wisdom, the Feminine Face of God which lays out my own rationale for referring to the third person of the Trinity by Her Name, "Sophia [which] is the Greek word for wisdom, translated from the Hebrew word Chokmah."

Over the 2 years since I wrote that piece, I have come to believe that being able to see the Holy Spirit as the female person in the Trinity is a gift to me, but also to society and to the world.  This is not just an "intellectual conundrum" as Floyd says.  Being able to embrace God as Mother as well as Father does indeed have sociopolitical implications. 

"God created humanity in God’s own image, 

in the divine image God created them, 

male and female God created them"

Genesis 1:27

This is one of the most important verses in the bible, for me, when it comes to gender equality.  If human beings, male and female, were created in the image of God, then why is it so hard to believe there is a female person in the love relationship called the Trinity?  Oh right, because that would challenge the superiority of the male power structure. If there was a female presence in the Godhead, we might actually have to admit that women have the same value as men.  We might have to read the bible through a new lens!

This is in effect what Jesus did each time he said, "You have heard it said, but I tell you," as he re-interpreted scripture for the context of the world he lived in.  He put on a new lens and invited others to look through it with him.  This lens is created when  we see this Love Relationship, between God the Father, Christ the Son, and Mother Spirit.  It is so radical that it is like a large stone dropped in a small pond. The lens that we look through when we look with the eyes of the Love Relationship called the Trinity is value!

God is Spirit (John 4:24) and even more so, God is pure Mystery.  We cannot truly understand who God is.  We use images to try and understand God on our level.  All I ask (and it is really more like begging) is that we neutralize the effect of using exclusively masculine language for God because it distorts the image of God in an abusive direction and it appears that no matter how "evolved" we become, the patriarchal power structure will not acknowledge this.  And if it does, it still finds a way to oppress women ... and by extension anyone who is not "like them."   Please note that I am not talking about individual people, I am talking about systems, unjust systems.

Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property; in the domain of the family, fathers or father-figures hold authority over women and children.  Let me come back to Ruether, for whom patriarchy “means not only the subordination of females to males, but the whole structure of Father-ruled society: aristocracy over serfs, masters over slaves, kings over subjects, radical overlords over colonized people.” (Sexism and God Talk) 

Ruether invites me to see the wider implications of the love relationship that exists in the Trinity.  When we see, as Jesus saw, through the lens of value, we should acknowledge the value of each and every person created as they have been created.   

A Prayer for Today's World:  
Father God, Christ the Son, and Mother Spirit, 
Help us see the beauty in people who are not like us.  
Help us see that, yes, black lives matter!  And work to make it so!
Help us see that, yes, LBGT persons have a human right to be in a legally committed relationship with the person they love.  And work to make it so!
Help us to change the world with the same love that manifests in your love for one another in the Holy Trinity.  
Here I am, send me!
So be it.  Amen!

Genesis Roots: Rebekah and Isaac, an arranged marriage that goes right

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis.

God works in mysterious ways.  Indeed.  Sometimes, mysterious is almost unbelievable.  I find the story of the way Isaac and Rebekah came to meet each other, get married, and fall in love ... to be pretty mysterious in a way that only God could orchestrate.   Ishmael's mother, Hagar, had gotten him a wife from Egypt, which may have dismayed his father, Abraham.  Now that Sarah has passed away, Abraham insists that that Isaac's wife be a relative from his father's house.  He plans, with help from his servant, to make that happen.  Personally, I think Abraham has learned as much from Sarah as he is directed by God!   

Read these excerpts, Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-61 (NET - Link to The VOICE Bible) to hear the amazing story of how Abraham's servant, a pretty prayerful guy himself, finds Rebekah to become Isaac's wife.

“I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him when she was old, and my master has given him everything he owns. My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find a wife for my son.’

 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, may events unfold as follows: Here I am, standing by the spring. When the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

“Before I finished praying in my heart, along came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.”

So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.”  So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. They blessed Rebekah with these words:  “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands!  May your descendants possess the strongholds of their enemies.”  Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and left.

As we can see from these passages, Abraham's servant is a praying man and God is listening ... or perhaps we might say that when we are praying "in the Spirit" and watching for God's movement in our circumstances, everything falls into place.  

• Have you ever prayed in the way of Abraham's servant?
• How did God "answer" your prayer?
• How has our mysterious God worked in the circumstances of your life?
• Can you remember a time when you said yes and surrendered to God in faith, not knowing what that really meant for you?
• How do you feel when you follow God into the unknown?

When you have pondered God and prayer and mystery and surrender, I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with the ability to follow our mysterious God into the unknown without fear!  Settle into a place of confidence within yourself with a simple  breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathing in (who do you worship?)   ... Mysterious God
Breathing out (what do you need?)     ... Give me peace with the unknown

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... Mysterious God, I often wonder at the way you work in the world and in my life.  Help me to recognize when you are calling me into the unknown, but then it is really only unknown to me.  You are there, in my future, with all that I need.  Help me trust in you.    In Christ, Amen. 

Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read  Genesis 24:62-67 (NET) slowly, taking in the story that is unfolding.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible

Now Isaac came from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. He went out to relax in the field in the early evening. Then he looked up and saw that there were camels approaching. Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked Abraham’s servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. So she took her veil and covered herself.

The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal your path.
Listen and watch for God’s mysterious presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ...
Allow yourself to rest in the silence ...   

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to pray while "gazing" upon this painting of Abraham, Isaac, and the Messenger of God.  How does this image resonate with what has arisen within you?

Rebecca Meets Isaac by the Way, c. 1896-1902, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, in public domain, wikimedia commons

To end your time of praying with scripture, pray this prayer of surrender written by 

Thomas A Kempis, 1380-1471, author of Imitation of Christ: 

 Lord, You know what is best; let this be done or that be done as You please. 

Give what You will, as much as You will, when You will. 

Do with me as You know best, as will most please You, 

and will be for Your greater honor. 

Place me where You will and deal with me freely in all things. 

I am in Your hand; turn me about whichever way You will. 

Behold, I am Your servant, ready to obey in all things. 

Not for myself do I desire to live, but for You - 

would that I could do this worthily and perfectly!  Amen.

Easter Sunday Sunrise: From Darkness into the Light!

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.   John 20:1

Prayer/Song:  Lord Jesus Christ (Listen to this Youtube arrangement or simply use the words as a prayer)

Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me.  

Mary ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”  Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.   John 20:2-5

Prayer/Song:  Lord Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me. 

Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.   Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead.   Then they went home.    John 20:6-10

Prayer/Song:  Lord Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me. 

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”   John 20:11-13



Prayer/Song:  Lord Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, your light shines within us.
Let not my doubts nor my darkness speak to me.  

Mary turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” 

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.  She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”   John 20:14-18a

Prayer/Song: Open our Eyes Lord (Listen to this Youtube arrangement or simply use the words as a prayer.  Listen closely, this is an arrangement from Russia.  The English words are sung first followed by Russian)

Open our Eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus,
to reach out and touch him and say that we love him.
Open our Ears Lord, and help us to listen. 
Open our Eyes Lord, we want to see Jesus.

Reflection:  As I meditate on this beautiful Easter morning reading, what I notice is that the day begins in the remnants of the darkness with which we have dwelt over the last 3 days ... darkness, mystery, and unknowing.  Perhaps even confusion, grief, and disappointment.  The followers of Jesus, even having been told what would happen, were unable to comprehend what was happening.  Perhaps many of them were unable to comprehend their own traitorous behavior!   We all handle our grief differently don't we.  Mary needed to be alone and close to Jesus at the tomb.   Those 2 disciples needed to be together and they preferred to stay close to home.   Notice that they returned home with their questions, even after surveying the situation. But ...

Mary stayed ... Mary wept ... Mary asked questions ... Mary listened ... Mary saw Jesus!   

When Jesus said her name ... she heard his voice and suddenly she knew.  

From the darkness of her unknowing ... the sun rose!  Mary emerged into the Light of Christ!

As we enter into the Easter moment ... 

Let us rejoice and be glad that Jesus Christ the Lord is risen.  

Let us be rejoice and be glad that the risen Christ walks with us and among us.  

Let us sing hallelujah!!!

Halle Halle Hallelujah ... a tradition Caribbean tune!

Hallelujah!  Amen!

Ascension of Christ: Blessings Abound!

Jesus ascended!  Now he “sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty” so the Apostle's Creed goes, right?    I wonder, “where is this (implied) throne of God?”   I think I always thought the ascension of Christ was rather bizarre … because of course I know what lies in the sky.  It’s not pie and it’s not God.     Cause beyond the sky is vast galaxies … stars and planets and black holes and asteroids and … so much fascinating stuff!  Some of us modern people tend to dismiss mystical experience because we “know” better.  Others of us modern people tend to pretend there is no mystery (or science) to invite us deeper.  And what about us modern people who sense there is more to the mystery than meets the eye?

As I sat with this mystical account of the ascension of Jesus I remembered several years ago when I attended the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas with my husband and 2 young children.   It truly was a fantastic production and when I heard my little girl gasp in awe as Jesus “ascended” and light burst forth and flooded the night sky, I smiled in my inward being.  Yes, I could see the wires and pulley, but she couldn’t.  She was transported into the Mystery of God in that moment.   And somehow so was I, through her eyes … so were we all as we entered into her world of wonder.  

Have you ever entered a world of wonder or had an experience that you were afraid to share with others because you couldn’t explain it?   And those others might think you were a just little crazy.  It’s funny because when I tell others about some of the mystical experiences I have had, I find most people have similar stories to share.   Again and again, I enter into the wonder and mystery of God as I listen to the stories told by others.  In the reading today we hear one of those kinds of stories from the writer of the gospel of Luke.   And how did they respond to the ascension of Christ … the Jesus they knew and loved who blessed them one more time right before he “ascended.”  They worshipped!  What else can we do when we are enveloped in the mystery of God?  WE worship!

I invite you to spend a few moments to prepare your heart to worship God as you pray with Scripture.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with love with each breath you take!  Settle into a place of openness within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

          Breathe in (who do you worship?) God of Mystery (pause)

               Breath out (what do you need?) fill me with wonder (pause)

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text ... Pray:

God of Mystery, as I read your holy word,  open my mind and let me feel the blessings of Jesus in my life.  Reveal the wonder of your presence in this world as I worship you.   Reveal the wonder of your kingdom and your reign in this world.  Amen.    

Read Luke 24:44-53 slowly, allowing the passage to unfold in your mind.   Visualize the scene in your imagination and let the Spirit whisper in your heart.

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you--that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."  Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.  And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Read the passage again slowly and Reflect on just a word or phrase that draws your attention.   Sit with your word or phrase and listen to the whispers of God’s promise in the text ... Listen!  Turn your word or phrase over and over in your mind and let God speak into your heart.   Where is God inviting you to be “clothed with power from on high?”   Or is there another invitation you find in the text?

Read the passage again slowly and Respond to God.   Once again turn your attention to your word or phrase, knowing that it may be a different word on this reading.    As you contemplate the invitation you are hearing from God, how are you being called to respond, in word … prayer … action … or in some other way?

Read the passage again and Rest.  Allow the God of Mystery to fill you with unknowing.  Let all the words fade away ... when you are ready to move out of your meditation, is there a simple phrase that you might carry with you throughout your day …

To end your time of reflection, Pray this prayer or one of your own:

God of Mystery, I give you thanks for Jesus.  I am grateful for the blessings I receive through his journey of living, dying, rising … ascending.  Amen.

Cindy’s Journal Reflection …  

carried into heaven … when I worship God I am carried into heaven … a place that is beyond all that I am and all that I have … the mystery of God … the unknowing … I can only rest in awe as I think of God … and yet I am called to be “clothed from on high” and I am called to reach out into the world with hope … for all God has done for me, I am called to give my all for others.  And when I give my all for others, I am carried into heaven.  And I am filled with light and love!  Amen.