June 3, 2007: MUTUAL THREE
John 16:12-15, Romans 5:1-5, Psalm 8
Eileen Parfrey   --    Springwater Presbyterian Church

We do this every year-celebrate a doctrine. Not a story or an event, but a doctrine-the doctrine of the Trinity. What in God's name can a preacher say about doctrine to help the people in the pews during the week? And that's a prayer. Joanna Adams, an All-Star Presbyterian preacher, says doctrine is "Brussels sprouts for the soul." And this doctrine, the one about three-in-One and One-in-three, is absolutely essential for us to be who we are.

This doctrine isn't to "explain" God, nail down God, put God in a box. It's for us. What we learn today in John is that Holy Spirit (the promised Spirit of Truth) will guide and enlighten Jesus' followers for millennia to come. This promise, hinting at the Three-ness of God, is part of Jesus' final words to his followers, and is assurance that he knows they're going to need guidance and enlightenment, even once they get past the initial wondering about the meaning of "the One who was dead is now alive." That took about 400 years, and since then the Church has faced countless challenges to who we think we are. Can Gentiles be Jesus people? Can you eat pork and shellfish and still love Jesus? Is it OK for Christians to serve in the military if they swear loyalty to the emperor? Can lay people read the Holy Bible, may they drink the wine of communion? Ought women to preach or divorced people or homosexuals to celebrate communion? If we want to be the Church in the world, we're going to need some help as the world around us changes.

The problem with "the Bible says it, I believe it" is that, left to our own devices, we are doomed to distort how we read it. We've all got agendas, a personal take on things, an individualized sense of where we oughta go with what we've got. And things change over time. Time was it was accepted that kings would have people executed for speaking ill of them. Now we think that's barbaric. Time was families used to sit down together to eat their meals, and sons took up their fathers' occupations. That's a thing of the past.

The gospel confronted change as new socio-politico-economic structures emerged and meanings of language evolved. The doctrine of the Trinity means that we're not stuck with a 1st century church in a 21st century world. It doesn't eve mean we are stuck with a mid-20th century church in a 21st century world. Jesus' promise today is that the Spirit will reform us to meet the times as well as correct our heresies, as long as we hang on to All Three Persons. As long as we allow the Spirit to do her job of guiding us.

I think that's one of Springwater's favorite prayers. "Guide us, God." Although pious, the prayer really isn't necessary. Jesus already promised the Spirit would guide us, so to ask for guidance is like being handed an over-loaded plate of food at a potluck and asking if you could have something to eat. Redundant though it may be, that is also a faithful prayer. But the faith only comes when we do more than pray. Truth be told, we've been given all the guidance we need-the accounts of Jesus' life and, in case we need it in black and white, we've got the instruction manual as well. [hold up plaque] If our prayer for guidance is really asking, "Guide us, but don't ask us to do anything hard," then our prayer is not only redundant, it's unfaithful. But, if our prayer for guidance is asking, "Give us courage, energy, tolerance (for others as well as ourselves), equipping, discomfort until we act"-if that's what we're praying, that's a faithful prayer.

But, as I say, we've gotta do more than pray. The trick is to listen for the answer to that prayer. And then to act. That's where the doctrine of the Trinity assures us that we don't have to wait until our motives are perfect before we act, because Christ's redemptive work is still going on. We don't have to wait to act until we can save the whole world, because our creating God is still active, inviting us to participate in that creating, only asking of us "just one little thing." We don't have to wait to act until we understand everything, since Holy Spirit will teach and enlighten us on a need-to-know basis. If only we act as if God needs just one little thing from us. We can't just pray for guidance. We also have to listen, discern, then act.

It isn't that Holy Spirit is in the business of shaking things up. Necessarily. Sometimes things need to be shaken up. The world changes, and so the church herself needs to change. Sunday morning at 10 works for me, and maybe for a lot of you, but clearly it doesn't work for a lot of folks, otherwise the sanctuary would be packed. What if Sunday mornings weren't the only times we were church? What if we were church in children's play groups, with parents praying and supporting each another while the kids played? What if we met regularly and on purpose for a cup of coffee or a pizza-and Bible study. You know, out in public, at a time and in a way that other people can join? What if we didn't send food to hungry people but we brought it to them and taught them 100 ways to feed a family of four on a can of tuna and got to know them?

I've been learning about the Franciscan spiritual practice of poverty and, frankly, it has been a terrible struggle. I spent significant parts of my life in economic poverty, and I like being comfortable and not sweating over every penny. Nickels, yes; pennies, no. But recently I learned that the spiritual practice of poverty is about relationship, and this has everything to do with the Trinity and being the Church. Listen to this quotation by a Franciscan theologian:

"Poverty impels us to reflect on our lives in the world from the position of weakness, dependency and vulnerability. It impels us to empty our pockets-not of money-but the pockets of our hearts, minds, wills-those places where we store up things for ourselves and isolate ourselves from real relationship with others. Poverty calls us to be vulnerable, open and receptive to others, to allow others into our lives and to be free enough to enter into the lives of others. . . . Economic poverty is not difficult to attain. Spiritual poverty, however, can be." (Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love, Ilia Delio)

In the doctrine of the Trinity we learn that even God is mutually dependent. So if even God is dependent, we can give up our rugged individualism and need for control and accept the gifts that others are in our lives. Relational poverty is a risk. Mutual dependence is a risk because it means letting go, giving up holding so tightly to personal agendas and planned outcomes that our hands can't be pried open enough to receive the gifts God so desperately tries to give us. Poverty is about being human. What I learned when I lived with poverty was to depend on others. I had to. Out of my depending grew inter-depending, mutuality. Franciscan Ilia Delio writes, "Only care for another truly humanizes life."

On a congregational-level, spiritual poverty means not just sending a check, but sending ourselves. Poverty is serving, not because "we have so much," not because "we get so much out of it." Which may be true. But poverty as a spiritual practice, the poverty shown by the Trinity, means we have nothing to offer but ourselves. Because everything is gift. Because it is Christ we encounter in those we serve. Does this mean we stop writing our tithe checks to church? No. Generosity is an essential spiritual practice-a Trinitarian practice, if you will. Poverty means that in asking for guidance, we also listen and discern what action is called for. And then take that action, knowing if we aren't doing the right thing, Jesus forgives us, God redeems our actions, and Holy Spirit will let us know the next step. Thank God.

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