Three Ways of The Divine Love

A sermon by Rev. Andrew Colman on Isaiah 6:1-8 and John 3:1-1

We've come to the end of the big feast days! Ordinary time just around

the corner! Two weeks ago, we had the ascension, the feast in which

Jesus was taken up into the clouds to sit in the right hand of the

Father. Last week, there was the descent of the Holy Spirit that we

might have God present with us in every moment, indwelling, shaping,

guiding, and sustaining God's people in ways that we'll never know.

And this week we have the feast of the Holy Trinity. Where all three

persons of God are celebrated in their swiriling around each other as one.

It's important and even fun to say that as soon as we try to give

language to what the Trinity is like we are already getting it

wrong. Which, in fact, frees us up to come up with all kinds of images

that express all of the different ways that God is three in one and how

each image illuminates a different part of God's character, while

missing different parts along the way.

Last week we heard from Luiz Martinez, late Archbishop of Mexico, about

his exquiste image of the Holy Spirit was the Artist of Souls.

Holy Spirit, when invited into our lives, starts the work of shaping us

toward the likeness of Christ. The Holy Spirit he says "pours the gifts"

of Wisdon, of understanding, counsel, knowledge, good will,

understanding, compassion, and also fortitude, and strength, trust. And

"By means of these gifts the Spirit moves the whole person,

becoming the director of the supernatural life and more - becomes the

very soul of our soul and life of our life.”

It is no wonder that Martinez speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Supreme

Director, another name for the Artist of Souls, the one who sanctifies

us day in and day out.

One of the issues with many of the images of the Trinity is that they

are images of /things/ from /afar/. One of the classics is of three

balls being juggled by a juggler - you can’t just focus on one ball,

you’ll miss the majesty of whats actually happening. Or a three-leaf

clover; take one leaf away, and you no longer have a three-leaf clover.

Or the sound of a chord from an instrument - three notes played at once

creating a beautiful sound. Take one away, and it is simply no longer

that sound.

Each of these images helps us to understand how the Trinity, kind of,

exists.

——

However, what they are doing is telling us /about/ God.

Rather than helping us know who God is and how God works as the Trinity

in our lives.

How the whole of the Trinity three-in-one is an intimate part of our being.

They are images of a /that/ rather than images of /who./

They are images of an object that exists rather than three persons whose

whole existence is Love.

One need not look too hard for what happens when we think of whos as

whats - when we think of people as objects.

Problems quickly arise because people, each person, as created in the

image of God, is their own being, and is beautiful.

Each one of us is created in the image of Love to take that Love into

the world. The Power of Sin, of course, has corrupted this in each one

of us. In some more extremely apparent than others, but each still

created in the Loving image of God.

As it turns out, it is the work of God our Triune God, Father, Son and

Holy Spirit to together to draw us back towards that life of perfection

- or at least as close as we can get on this side of the Kingdom.

——

Now, Martinez, is from Mexico, he has Latin blood, a romantic; from

that, another one of the images he uses for the guiding, directing,

shaping work of God is that of a Kiss.

"God's teaching is as a divine caress of Love. God teaches us as mothers

teach their children, with kisses of Love, with an indefinable

outpouring of tenderness."

The mouth of the God is the Word; God's Kiss is the Holy Spirit." It

worth saying it in Spanish because it sounds a little clumsy in English.

(“La boca de Dios es la Palabra; El beso de Dios es el Espíritu Santo.")

Or swirling it back to the image of the Artist of Souls;

The hand of God is Jesus, and God's touch is the Holy Spirit.

Here, here is an image of the Trinity that is one of persons, an image

of who and what they are doing, loving teaching as mothers teach their

children, with kisses of Love.

The Life of the Trinity as who they are in each of our lives. When the

purpose is Love, each part is wholly necessary for the other. There can

be no loving touch or kiss without the Word, and there can be no Word

without God. There can be no direction or transformation of our souls

towards the likeness of Christ without the Director, and no Director if

not sent by the Word, and no Word if not sent by God.

Their whole being is a movement of Love.

God, Abba/Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: aspects of Divine Love.

The Love of the Indwelling of the Spirit

The Love Transformation into the Word

The Love of Rest of the Creator

——

And so when we find ourselves in need of God's Love we can turn to one

of the three - which is all of them - as a way to be a part of God's

diving love.

When we feel the need to feel the indwelling of God - feel God's

presence and motion - need help moving from one place to another -

Then we call upon the Holy Spirit.

Are we looking to be transformed - we turn to the Word - see the example

of Christ living a perfect life for us to.

Or do we just need to rest - take solace in the arms of our Creator

God - knowing that one who created the universe has our worries, our

needs, our fears, our wounds, our joys, and sorrows, the from.

This is our whole life: movement, transformation, and rest.

Movement to strengthen ourselves be it in body, mind, or soul. It might

look like the seeking of knowledge and wisdom so our minds might grow

and be transformed. Or Spiritual insight that our heart's and souls

might be strengthened. Or our bodies moving them and pushing them

that they might find a new degree of health.

All of this movement is by the power of the one moves over the face of

the deep, the animating breath of the God, by the one who indwells in

each of us so that we might be eventually moved, shaped, transformed

closer to the likeness of Christ.

And yet, the Spirit cannot transform us into the likeness of Christ

without the person of Christ being our teacher and our example to move

towards.

They are like two leaves of the three-leaf clover. They cannot exist

without each other. We cannot be transformed without both of them.

Jesus, The Word is the end to which the Spirit is transforming us. The

Spirit empowers us to live this life of Love as shown to us in the

Gospels. To feed the hungry, to sit with and protect the oppressed, lay

down ones life for their friends, to have compassion and loving

relationship with each and every person, much faith or little, who seeks

to follow him.

But forgive me if that sounds utterly exhausting! And idealist as all

get out. Maybe even impossible even with the all-animating breath of the

Holy Spirit because of all the illnesses, stresses, and pressures of

this fallen world.

And so we find rest in every conceivable way in the Father's

outstretched arms.

In the 10 Commandments we find the command to take Sabbath. Because even

the Creator of the universe took the seventh day off.

We cannot endlessly move and transform. We would wear ourselves down to

nothing, and there would be no one to love and love in return.

There would be no one to indwell and move and transform into the

likeness of Christ who not only worked to transform this broken world

into the Kingdom but also rested so that he could do so. (Doesnt sound

like balls being juggled)

Without rest, movement will stop, without movement transformation

cannot take place. Without transformation each of us and the world will

stay as it is. Without the witness of transformation why bother invite

the Holy Spirit in…

Take one away, and you no longer have that Three Leaf Clover or the

swirl of the balls being juggled.

Just like those images it is imperfect and will break down after a

little poking and prodding.

But that’s ok! In fact it’s good! Each time we use our imaginations and

create a new way of thinking about God and come up with new ways of

knowing God we are drawn into the swirling life of the Trinity -

forever being utterly amazed and hopefully puzzled!

The Love of one leads to the next, and because they cannot exist without

apart, each is the Love of the other.

As we move into Ordinary Time when you are in need of movement and the

presence of God, call upon the Holy Spirit. Feel a desire to be

transformed, Call of Jesus, or just need some rest, call of our Creator.

May the Love of God - Indwell, Transform, and Enfold You - In the name

of the Triune God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Amen