Sermon for May 27, 2018 (Holy Trinity Sunday)

Holy Trinity- May 27

            Ah, to be 18 again. At 18 I had graduated in the top 5% of my high school class, was a member of the National Honor Society, Sterling Merit Scholar & had received nearly a full-ride academic scholarship to Augustana College. I may not have known everything there was to know; but I was pretty sure I knew a lot more than nearly everyone I was associated with—esp. my parents!

            50 years later, I know a lot better. Despite 10 more years of formal education, Bachelors & Masters degrees, & all of the work on a Doctorate (without the final project), I now acknowledge that there’s a whole lot more I need to learn. And I fully realize that if, & when, I stop actively pursuing knowledge, is when I begin to die.

            So, Jordan & Lauren, I encourage you to keep this in mind & be active pursuers of personal growth—intellectually, socially, & spiritually. And all the rest of you here today, I encourage you as well. I don’t care how old—or young--you are, you need to keep on growing closer to God. Because if you are not moving toward God, you are moving away.

            Today is not only a day when we honor our 2018 graduates, it is also Holy Trinity Sunday. And as such, it is illustrative of the constant growth I’m talking about. I remember that in seminary one of the topics that brought about a great deal of anxiety was the Trinity. This is a basic construct of our Christian faith; but it’s a topic about which there is a great deal of ambiguity.

            When I graduated & was ordained 24 years ago, pretty much everyone in my class--& most of our professors—dreaded trying to explain the Trinity theologically or logically. You see, there are hints of the Trinity throughout Scripture; but it is never really explained to anyone’s satisfaction. So, most of us decided that we’d just stay away from it as much as we could.

            But then, 11 years ago, a layman named William Paul Young wrote the book The Shack; & in its pages the theology of the Trinity became crystal clear to me--& to many others! Oh, the author had attended seminary--& quit; but this book was a work of fiction & was intended to simply tell his children about how he saw God. It wasn’t meant to be a work of theology. But it made many theological ideas clearer to a lot of people.

            Including the idea of the Trinity, esp. when his character, Papa (or God) said this, “All love & relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within me, within God myself.” That is the Trinity! Perfect relationship!  A relationship that exists among Father, Son & Spirit. And that is what faith is all about—perfect relationship! What a major step forward for me—at age 57 then—in my theological learning! And what a great direction to go as we look to your future as graduates & as people of God growing in faith.

            We live today in one of the most connected cultures in history. We get notifications delivered to our phones about the latest news, weather, sports, & what other people are doing. We’re connected in a way never seen before. And yet we are also some of the most disconnected people ever. We might be able to know a few things about a lot of people. But we don’t have deep relationships with anyone.

            And that’s a problem because God created us for community. God created us for deep relationships. Life isn’t meant to be lived alone. I’m convinced that the best shot you & I have of following Jesus, the best shot you & I have of making it through the storms of this life is when we do life together. We just don’t always know how to get to that place.

            Here’s the reality: We all have something that keeps us from community. We all have something that keeps us from going into something more than surface level relationships. Things like busyness. I think we can all relate to this. I don’t have time to get into deeper relationships because….well, fill in that blank for you. Work, school, sports, kids, hobbies, projects. We’ve filled our lives with so much stuff that we don’t have room for anything, or anyone, else.

            And there’s apathy. You’re in church so you can’t lie; but how many of you have thought, I just don’t want to…(whatever)? I don’t really want to join a Bible study group. I don’t really want to go out to dinner with them. I don’t see the benefit of opening up to others. I’m just not sure I care about this whole community thing… Come on, how many of you have felt that? Yeah, me too. I think what it comes down to is we just don’t value community. We think we can do without it.

            And finally, we’re afraid to be vulnerable. A lot of us have questions that go something like this: Is this a safe place? If I tell them who I really am, will they still like me? If I tell them what I’m struggling with I’ll probably just get kicked out. I can’t show them the real me. Some of us feel this way because we’ve been hurt in the past by what somebody did when you showed them the real you. Others just aren’t sure how vulnerable you can be.

            Some form of this probably describes most of us in this room. We keep all our relationships surface-level, safe. We keep people at an arms-length. Not allowing anyone too close because we’re afraid of what they will see. But the life-changing community that God planned for us can’t happen when we don’t let people into our lives.

            God created us for relationship, for community. And God created us to be close to Him—to the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit. So maybe it’s time to break down the walls that are holding you back from community. I don’t know what that is for you. It might be fear. Or maybe you’re too busy. Maybe you didn’t recognize the importance of relationship. After all, our society keeps telling us how the individual is primary, not the community.

            I’m not sure what your barriers are. I’m not sure what’s keeping you from community. But I know your life will benefit from having it. I know that it’s worth overcoming whatever it is that’s holding you back.

            So, Lauren & Jordan, keep seeking to learn, whether in school or in a job or just in life. Find people to be a part of your community…Share with those people…& Invite others to be your people. The best shot you & I have of following Jesus, the best shot you & I have of making it through the storms of this life is when we constantly move nearer to God & when we do life together. Amen.