Trinity C
With special co-host Terrell Carter, DMin. Terrell is a three-time guest on Pulpit Fiction, and is a minister, nonprofit executive, and educator residing in St. Louis, MO. For 30 years, he has filled multiple positions in traditional church contexts, including pastor. In addition to his ministry experience, Terrell has served three community development corporations as executive director. He has also held various positions within higher education, including as professor and vice president. He regularly contributes to the broader church life through his writings, which include multiple books and monthly columns in faith-based and secular sources.
328: June 16, 2019
Voice in the Wilderness: Mason Parks
Psalmist: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
John 16:12-15
Initial Thoughts
Trinity Sunday
To some, Trinity is the lynchpin to all Christian theology. To others, it is the great thorn in the side of Christian theology. Both may be sitting in your pews.
For me (Robb) the idea of Trinity is based in the concept of Relationship. God is Relationship. God is Relationship. The only way that God exists is in Love. God is Love. And so we are created in the image of God we are created in Relationship. We are created in and to love.
“As I’ve said before, I don’t claim to understand the Trinity and don’t trust those that report they do. The Trinity is, at heart, our best if manifestly inadequate attempt to capture in words the mysterious nature of God.” (David Lose, In the Meantime)
Bible Study
Advocate or Companion?
NRSV = Advocate
Illuminates the trial metaphor, and seems to work better with testify language in the rest of the passage. The Advocate is the one who testifies on behalf of.
Later, it says that the Spirit will “prove”
Problematic if you see Holy Spirit as the Advocate standing before an Angry Judge (God).
Helpful if you see the advocate as the one who walks alongside someone who is going through a difficult time.
The HS Advocates in the midst of a hostile and foreign world.
The Advocate is the one who gives advice, expertise, comfort, and presence.
CEB = Companion
Illuminates the idea that the disciples will not be left alone. A companion is literally “one with whom to break bread.” com=with. pan=bread. This seems to fit more with the pastoral claim that the disciples (and thus the John community) will not be left alone despite their apparent ‘aloneness.’
Later, is says that the Spirit will “show”
The choice to focus on Advocate, one who testifies on behalf of someone in the time of trial; or Companion, the one who walks with you through all of life, could inform the rest of the sermon. Lifting up both of these aspects and revealing how neither explanation of the Spirit is complete, could be powerful too.
As always John is working on two levels. Jesus is speaking to:
His disciples.
A persecuted faith community
Deleted part of the passage refers to the struggle that is to come to the John community. All dichotomous language in John needs to be read through this lens, but the lectionary removes it.
What is the Spirit to do?
The Spirit of Truth
V. 13 Guide you in all truth
V. 13 Will say whatever is heard
V. 13 Proclaim to you what it to come
V. 14 Will glorify Jesus
V. 14 Will take what is Christ’s and proclaim it to you
Fill the void of the soon-to-be Jesus (or long absent Jesus when heard from the perspective of the John community - or us)
Testify to the truth of Jesus
Testify to the wrong-ness of the world about
Sin because they don’t believe in me.
Sin connected to belief. Belief in the right relationship between Jesus and God is a key component of belonging to the John community.
More than belief, but faith. Faith is a radical trust in the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Faith is an orientation of life, not just a casual nod to a set of facts.
Righteousness because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore.
Jesus ascent with the Father is further proof of his relationship.
“Righteousness is both God’s revelation of God’s very self, but also the ability to witness this revelation. The Spirit’s role will be to continue to bring to light what we have seen about God in Jesus. At the same time, reclaiming the translation ‘justice’ for this term may be helpful in this circumstance, especially as Jesus invites manifestations of justice and condemnation in light of his own ministry.” (Karoline Lewis, Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries: John, p. 205)
Judgment because this world’s rulers stands condemned.
The world’s rulers have already proclaimed their misunderstanding of Jesus’ role in the world. Their judgment, or separation, has already been accomplished by their own actions.
Thoughts and Questions
The opposite of sin, as far as this passage is concerned, is not virtue. It is faith. Sin is missing the mark. It is be mis-aligned to God’s will. Faith however, reorients a life toward God. Faith in Jesus as The Way, the Truth, and the Life, gives the one with faith a new aim, a new orientation. Faith is what draws someone toward eternal life, which is more appropriately understood to be authentic life. Authentic life is the life which is lived for the sake of others. Authentic life is one lived in faith, and acted out in love.
“The preacher should approach this section of John 16 not to prove the case for Trinity Sunday, or for the Trinity itself, but to invite creative and imaginative thought about what it means to confess a Triune God. The last thing our parishioners need is sermons that postulate preexistent dogma. What they want is a way into biblical imagination that shapes and forms how they might make sense of and give witness to believing in the Trinity. John 16:12-15 provides specificity to the actions of the Father, Son, and Spirit especially in their relationship to one another.” (Karoline Lewis, Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries: John, p. 206)
The role of the Spirit is to testify not only to the Church, but to the world. The Spirit will continue to speak through the believers to a world which refuses to recognize the truth. It is the role of the Spirit to continue to work through the people. First, the words were for the disciples, as a warning and commissioning as they moved forward without Jesus. Then, it was a reminder to the John community that their work was right. It was a word of comfort and encouragement to a community under duress. Now, we may read it in the same way. The same Spirit that guided the disciples to step out of the Upper Room is the same Spirit that encouraged the John community in its trial. It is the same Spirit which walks alongside us today.
“Taking a Stand in Baton Rouge” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taking_a_Stand_in_Baton_Rouge
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Proverbs is first and foremost poetry.
It is not necessarily/only a rulebook, but an opportunity to be creatively challenged to better understand what God wants/expects out of our lives and for us to consider how we can better recognize and surrender to God’s expectations for us.
One purpose of the book of Proverbs is to provide the reader with a roadmap for how to consistently make good decisions that would help life go well.
Proverbs is “wisdom literature”.
Four main themes of wisdom literature: God's creation, the natural laws, the future, and the meaning of life itself.
One purpose of wisdom literature was to guide the reader through the process of character formation.
By having character shaped in a certain way, a person could understand what it would take for them to be pleasing to God.
This character formation would not be forced upon a person by God nor would God do something miraculous to cause a person to understand what their character should look like.
A person who wanted to understand what God was looking for from them would need to learn from the experiences of other people who had committed themselves to trying to live in ways that were pleasing to God.
According to the author of Proverbs, the first step to understanding what a right relationship with God looked like, which would be the foundation for character formation, was to “fear” the Lord.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
The writer’s use of the word “fear” in verse 7 can cause some people to be confused about how they should understand their relationship to God. We do not have to be afraid of God.
The point of the phrase “fear the Lord” is not about being in relationship with God from a position of being scared of the One who created us.
The point is to be in relationship with God from a position of recognizing that we are the created and we have been invited to be in relationship with our Creator. That is an awe-inspiring thing.
Dr. Schifferdecker, “At its most basic level, the fear of the LORD is the knowledge that God is God, and we are not.”
If this is true, what is wisdom?
What is wisdom not?
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.
Gendered language used to describe Wisdom.
Wisdom is female/feminine.
Does this imply anything about God?
Holy Spirit is attributed with acts and attributes that are feminine, especially during the Creation process (hovering over the earth as in childbirth).
Bible Study
Proverbs 8 stands in stark contrast to Proverbs 7.
Proverbs 7 is about a young man who falls prey to the tempting call of a promiscuous woman/unfaithful wife.
Falling prey to her call leads to self-destruction.
Proverbs 8 is about the need to heed the call of wisdom.
Wisdom will never hurt or lead astray. Heeding her call only benefits a person’s life.
Verses 1-4
Wisdom is not silent or still.
Wisdom is vocal and actively seeking people to follow her.
We do not necessarily have to wait for Wisdom. She is already looking for us.
Where is wisdom available/where can wisdom be found?
Everywhere (if you’re willing to listen to her call).
Places where people/crowds gather (city gates).
Places where people experience solitude.
Verses 22-31
Wisdom is God’s oldest tool used in the process of shaping Creation and the kingdom.
She has been around since the beginning of Creation and, due to God’s desires, wants to continue to have a relationship with humankind.
Wisdom helps to make God’s boundaries known/helps to enforce God’s boundaries in this world.
Why did God create boundaries?
Are boundaries only physical?
If they are more than physical, what does that mean/imply?
If wisdom is this important to God, how important should it be for us to interact with her or gain more wisdom?
Sermon Thoughts and Questions
What is the relationship between the description of wisdom in Proverbs 1 and Proverbs 8?
God has consistently deployed wisdom as a tool of God’s work.
Wisdom is an active participant in God’s building process of Creation.
Wisdom can be found in the most unexpected places.
My grandparents, both of whom only made it through the 8th grade, were the wisest people I ever met. A person’s life circumstances do not dictate how smart they are or to what degree God will use them for the kingdom work.
Are there truly any boundaries to where wisdom can be located or how important it is to God?
Is it only in the Christian faith or in our particular tribe within the Christian faith?
What does it mean to answer Wisdom’s call?
How do we bring God delight when we answer wisdom’s call?
What are the differences between lady folly (Proverbs 7) and lady wisdom (Proverbs 8) and how can we follow the right voice?
Romans 5:1-8
Initial Thoughts
Check out the Pulpit Fiction Academy with Beverly Gaventa on Romans
At the very least read Romans 1-4
Bible Study
Paul has already laid out his argument for justification by faith (Romans 1-4)
All sin- all fall short of the glory of God
It is only through the gift of faith in God’s grace that we are redeemed
Chapter 5 begins with the fruits or results of being justified by faith:
Peace with God in the present
Hope for God in the future
Now but not yet eschatological dynamic to faith: peace in the present and hope for the future
Peace in the present
Faith in God through Jesus Christ justifies us with the assurance that we do not need to earn our way into the Kingdom
Don’t put your faith in riches, or self-image, or sex, or power, or religiosity - put your faith in God.
You can never earn your way into the Kingdom, only accept the grace of God as revealed in Jesus Christ
Hope for the future
The Kingdom of God is not a dream but a reality that we live into - when we are at peace with God (through faith) we can begin to live into the Kingdom (think Sermon the Mount).
Converse if we are not at peace - then living into the Kingdom is impossible - we cannot bless the poor if we feel we do not have enough, we cannot love our enemy if we are focused on how to dominate them, we cannot love our neighbor if we continue to judge them.
Peace in the present brings hope for the future. Afterall, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things yet unseen” (Heb. 11:1)
Boasting in sufferings?
This is difficult - used to justify the suffering of others. Note Paul writes, “we boast” not you boast. Paul is also suffering, not trying to justify the sufferings of others.
Other side of 4:2 where boasting is negative (you cannot boast due to your lineage or religiosity- those mean nothing in the realm of God) If you are going to boast, boast of your suffering through faithfulness.
Boasting is only acceptable when it illuminated the love and grace of God (not how awesome you are, but how awesome God is)
Being at peace with God does not mean a life free from suffering - in fact there is great likelihood that faith will bring you into suffering, but faith gives us a different perspective on suffering (cf. Matthew 5:10-12)
Reminder that Christ (the best of us) also suffered and died for us (even though we suck)
We boast in suffering because we know suffering and death do not have the final word.
What does suffering look like for Western Christians
suffering means doing without so others can have
suffering means paying more for clothes so Bangladeshi workers can be safe
suffering means paying more for food is it is grown humanely and sustainably
suffering means using public transportation to relieve congestion and pollution
suffering means leaving apathy and ignorance behind
suffering is an awareness of the pain of our brothers and sisters and doing something about it
Thoughts and Questions
Good News! Get off the treadmill of what you should do, or need to do in order to earn God’s favor- God loves you and there is nothing you can do about it! But you can respond to it: with endurance, character, and hope.
In what ways are you enduring and helping others endure? In what ways are you building up character in yourself and others? In what ways are you being a beacon of hope?
The power of resilience
Grace - how often do we preach on exactly what is “Grace” and why is grace so important? Don’t assume people know.
Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com,@pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Miserlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Sunday Morning”,"Real Ride"and“Summertime”) and Bryan Odeen for our closing music.