Sermon by Michelle - May 22, Trinity Sunday

Where do you hear God?

Today we mark Trinity Sunday. On this, the Sunday after the dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we spend a little time pondering what it means to worship a God who is one, and yet three. Three persons, one God. And, why it matters so much, that we spend an entire Sunday celebrating this fact alone - like Pentecost, when we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit, or Christmas, when we celebrate the arrival of Jesus on earth. We celebrate the many ways in which God tries to make Godself heard, above the noise and confusion of our lives.

When I was a little girl, my friend Stacy had a little doll, that had three faces. It was dressed in a little hooded sweater, so only one face poked out – otherwise, it would be a little creepy. On the top of the head, it’s hair was a little plastic ponytail, which made a knob, so you could turn the head, to make different faces poke out. And so, if you were playing, and you wanted to pretend the baby was asleep, you turned the head so that the sleeping face was visible. And then, if you wanted to pretend the baby woke up and was fussing, you turned the head to show the crying face. And then, you could pick up the baby doll and comfort it, and turn the head so the happy face showed. And every single parent in this congregation is thinking - Why can't it be that easy with our kids?

But the doll was interesting, because it could show you the face you needed, the face that was appropriate for how you wanted to relate to it. If you wanted to be a calm parent, soothing a baby to sleep, you could turn to the sleeping face. If you wanted to pretend you were a comforting and responsive parent, you could turn to the crying face. If you wanted to be a fun parent, you could turn to the happy face. But it was always the same doll.

For us, there is one God. It is always God. But, depending on how you need to relate, there is a different face, or a different person of God.

First, there is God the Creator. The one who made heaven and earth, and all that is, visible and invisible, as the Creeds tell us. The one who made us. The one who made the ones we love. That God.

And when we feel small, and need assurance that things can turn out okay; when we are ill, or worried about storms; it can feel good to turn to that God.

But there is also God the Redeemer. Jesus. The Son. The God who put aside everything that came with being God, and instead came to earth to be one of us. The one who lived, and worked, and laughed, and cried, just like we do. The one who told us exactly what God wanted, but also lived our lives, and so understands why we fall short. The one who went to the cross because he was betrayed by his friends and upset his enemies, and yet continued to forgive them all. And rose again, to show us that there is nothing that we can do that can separate us from God, and God's love.

And when we feel tempted, and need assurance that God understands, we can turn to Jesus. When we grieve, and wonder why people have to die, we can look to Jesus, and remember that he grieved at the death of his friends, too, and yet he also promised us that death is not the end. When we feel that we are worthless, and ashamed for our failures, we can turn to Jesus, who reached out in love to all, even the outcast and the sinners. And it will feel good to turn to God the Son.

Finally, there is God the Sanctifier. The Holy Spirit. The Advocate, whom Jesus promised to send us, so that we would not be comfortless. The Spirit each of us receives at baptism. The one that stays with us throughout our life, empowering us to do God's work.

When we don't know what to do, or feel God is far from us, we can listen for that still small voice of the Holy Spirit within us, guiding us. And when we feel as if we are called to do the impossible, we can seek out the gifts of the spirit, to make things possible.

Three persons. One God, turning God's face to be present with us.

So, where do you hear God? And, where do you go to find God?

Do you seek God out in nature - in the rushing of the stream, or the wind in the trees? Do you find God in the chirping of birds, or the majesty of mountains? Do you find God in the tiny unplanned coincidences, or the way the right thing happened at the right time? Then you have found God the Creator.

Do you seek God in relationship? Do you reach out to God in times of trial, or find God as you comfort those in trouble? When you're sure you've messed up, but want assurance that everything is still okay? When you're hurt, or suffering, do you believe God can understand, in ways that nobody else can? Then you have turned to Jesus, God the Redeemer.

Or do you manage to hear God in the still moments of quiet, encouraging you to do great things? Do you find strength, or courage, or skills you never knew you had, as you try to do God's work in the world? Do suddenly find inspiration, to solve a problem in a way that nobody has tried before, or courage to persevere in doing good, even when it seems almost hopeless? Then you have heard God, the Sanctifier.

Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, one God, turning to us, hearing us, responding to us. Letting us know that wherever we are, we are not alone. We can hear God, through the persons of the Trinity.

This is more than just a nice theory, or a great explanation, or an idea that has launched thousands of PhD dissertations on theology. It is the foundation of how we understand our lives as Christians. This week, St. Paul's will be living this out. Bearing witness to the ways in which we hear God, through the Trinity, as we engage in the work of preparing the St. Paul's Parish profile.

This work has already begun. Saturday morning, parishioners gathered to talk about where they saw God, in the life of the parish, and where they hoped God might be leading the parish in the days to come. These conversations will continue on Sunday, and again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Though I was not part of these conversations, I imagine and hope that they focused on God - in all the ways God is known. That there were moments when each person recalled the presence of God the Creator: moments in the life of the individual, recalling the circumstances that brought them to this area, perhaps; or miracles like the birth of children, or unexpected blessings at work. But also moments in the life of the parish - joyful celebrations of baptisms, or times when we grieved together, and asked God why a beloved parishioner had been taken from us too soon.

There were - I hope - conversations reflecting on God the Redeemer: moments of solace, perhaps, when people realized that God loved them despite their mistakes. Moments of inspiration, as people talked about serving the poor and the neglected, just as Jesus did. And, I pray, the entire conversation was touched by the Holy Spirit, which brought to mind each person's hopes for the future of St. Paul's, and stimulated each group to build and imagine new ways in which St. Paul's might help people encounter God in the future. As these holy conversations continue throughout this week, may we all continue to hear God working in them, and recognize the places where God has been at work in ways that perhaps we have never recognized, until just now.

We worship a three-fold God: Parent, Son, and Holy Spirit. A God who made us, suffers with us, forgives us and comforts us. A God who created and blessed this parish, who taught us how to love each other, and who leads and inspires us still. Let us pray that we will continue to hear God, in the many ways that God appears to us - in the work of the search committee, and throughout each of our lives.

Amen.