Year C 2022

John 16:12-15

The Very Rev. Denise Vaughn

The Way of Trinity Wisdom

The late Roman Catholic Cardinal Cushing once said that, when he was a parish priest, he was summoned to a store to give last rites to a man who had collapsed. He knelt by the man and asked, “Do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?” The man actually roused a little, opened one eye, and said, “Here I am dying—and you ask me a riddle?” I don’t believe anyone except God really understands the doctrine of the Trinity. I will apologize ahead of time because it’s not a very easy or exciting topic to preach on or to listen to. It is one of those mysteries of the Christian faith. The history of the church is filled with heated conversations of those seeking to understand the self-revealed identity of God as Trinity.

From Paul in the first century to Augustine in the fifth century, to today, the church has sought to form basic formulas and commentaries about the mystery that has shaped Christian thought. It wasn’t until the year 381, at the council of Constantinople that the Trinitarian formula of one God existing co-equally in three Persons was first formally adopted. All three of the Ecumenical Creeds-Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian—express this understanding. The observance of Trinity Sunday in the churches liturgical calendar dates back to the 11th century. We are convinced that wisdom perceives God’s disclosure as Trinity in the world.

The purpose of the texts today is not to seek to explain in simplistic terms the doctrine, but rather they invite us to explore more deeply the nature of God’s self-revelation, as Father or creator, Son-redeemer, and Holy Spirit-sanctifier, so that we might better understand the riddle of the God who is, and help us to better understand the gift of the faith that is within us. There has always been the temptation in preaching and teaching to accentuate one person of the triune God over the others, namely Jesus, but Pentecost Sunday and the Feast of the Holy Trinity helps to provide us with a balance, a theological balance.

In the John text today, Jesus is the speaker and he brings into the conversation both God and the Holy Spirit. The Proverbs text seems to focus on the Creator-God and may allude to Jesus, but ensures a partnership with the Creator along with the Holy Spirit. The book of Proverbs consists of a number of collections of “Wisdom Literature” or the “wisdom of God” gathered into a single book. Wisdom is seen as a female figure, as wisdom is feminine in Hebrew. In our text today, she is portrayed as being of ancient origin, created by God to be a helper with God in the formation of the universe, a task which can only be described as joy, delight and playfulness. In Hebrew thought, wisdom is not only seen as a guiding principle in the creation of the universe, but also as the foundation of ethical living.

There is the assumption that if we try hard to find the right way, day by day and follow the teaching of the wise, not only human wisdom but also God’s wisdom, we will actually be doing what we were created to do, and we will make the world a better place for ourselves and others. To sum up the passage: God has made an ordered and good world that is evident for all to see. When women and men allow this wisdom to govern their lives, the result is justice, happiness, and life itself. To embrace Wisdom is to discover the secret of being truly human, of reflecting God’s image. Though this passage does not explicitly speak to our understanding of the Trinity, the image of Wisdom as God’s helper reminds us of the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the giving and receiving with love within the very being of God.   

This giving and receiving of love is expressed today in a classic Trinitarian text, the text from Roman’s in which Paul makes reference to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. He does this not in a detailed doctrine of the Trinity, but the three “Persons” are present, and it is through their mutual work that we experience peace. In particular, it is through the Spirit that the love of God “has been poured into our hearts.”  Paul’s letter to Rome, written toward the end of his life, is seen as a summary of what he had learned of faith and hope and love through his own suffering. Here in chapter 5 he summarizes the heart of the gospel, showing the Father’s good favor expressed in the work of the Son, our shared journey through the suffering of the Son, and the grace we receive by way of the strengthening of the Holy Spirit.

Our relationship with the Father is now one of peace because of the justifying work of Jesus on the cross, a work made known by the Holy Spirit, giving us strength, confidence and hope no matter what happens in life. We have the living presence of God’s Spirit, Paul tells us given to us so that we can feel God’s love, not only for ourselves but for the world. Therefore, we are now doing what Wisdom does; we are sharing God’s love for God’s world, and feeling joy in what God has made. God wants creation to flourish and be maintained as the source of divine delight that it is. The three persons in God worked together to create this beautiful world and it is now our task to see what they do and then do likewise in celebrating and maintaining this glorious creation.

So that we can see and do likewise, John today gives us an insight into the specific and defining functions of each person of the Trinity. This text speaks of Father, Son, and Spirit and of their interrelationship. All that the Father has is the Son’s. The Spirit takes what is the Son’s –namely all that the Father has, and declares it to us. It is by the work of the Spirit that humanity is now drawn into the relationship of the Trinity. The Spirit accomplishes this not by drawing attention to the Spirit’s own place as one person of the Trinity, but by revealing the essential nature of God as being in a love relationship with the Father and Son.

Each reveals the other and each glorifies the other. According to John, if you believe in one, you believe in all three and all three created humans, and invite them to share in the life and work of God. The bottom line is simply this: The doctrine of the Trinity tells us that there is one God, but that one God loves us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father loves us and desires we thrive and delight in the created order. God the Son loves us and laid down his life for us to save us. God the Holy Spirit loves us, helps us, and keeps us connected to the Father and the Son.

 A Trinity Riddle for sure. Yet, in this riddle, we come to know the God of love who is calling us all to discover love. And we have the promise that the Spirit will continue to reveal and inspire the truth, reality, and goodness of God and invite us to extend and widen the circle of those included in this journey of love. This is the way of wisdom and she invites anyone with ears to hear.