Trinity Sunday
May 22, 2016
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:12-15
(Or watch here: https://youtu.be/8hU5DaGVJN4)
One of the important things in my
marriage is that my husband and I can make each other laugh. In a lot of ways, we have similar, or at
least compatible, senses of humor. We’re
both pretty good at sarcasm, for example.
However, one area of humor where we differ is that my husband loves
puns. For example, if you need an ark because of all the rain we’ve been
getting, I “Noah” guy. [pause]
Or, how about this one: The first wiseman says
to the second wiseman, “I’ll bring the gold and you bring the frankincense.”
And the third wiseman says, “But wait, there’s myrrh!” [pause] I do not share
his love for or his interest in puns. If you have a good pun and are looking
for someone to appreciate it, go share it with my husband. If you’re looking for someone to give a good
eye roll and maybe even groan out loud, come share it with me. Even though I
don’t appreciate his puns, what I do love is the expression on his face when he
tells them to me. He just has this big grin, ear to ear, because he is so
pleased with himself that he thought of this pun. And I think he’s adorable
when he does that. So, I don’t laugh at the pun, yet I often laugh at the
expression on his face and how happy he is at having created a pun. In his
eyes, the pun is funny. In my eyes, he’s funny. And both are okay.
Last Sunday we celebrated the coming
of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and now today we celebrate the Trinity, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet our readings still seem to focus more on the Spirit
than on the other two persons of the Trinity. In the Gospel, Jesus says that
the Spirit of Truth will come and will guide us in all truth. In the Old
Testament, now that we’re done reading from the book of Acts until next Easter,
the passage from Proverbs is about Wisdom. We learn Wisdom was there from the
beginning of time, before creation. If you remember from the beginning of
Genesis, the first sentence of the Bible, “In the beginning… The Spirit of God
hovered over the waters.” Wisdom is often considered to be the Holy Spirit. And
so with the coming of Pentecost, wisdom is here, because the Holy Spirit is
here. One preacher I heard last week pointed out that the Spirit didn’t stand
at the door and knock, like the familiar picture of Jesus standing outside a
door with his hand raised to knock to match the verse, “Behold, I stand at the
door and knock.” No, the Holy Spirit swept right on in to the upper room where
the disciples were hiding in fear. There was no polite knock or a call ahead of
time; the Spirit just barged on in. And what we read about Wisdom is that she
stands at the crossroads, not from the side of the road, and she shouts from
the entrances and city gates, and the last line of the last verse in our
passage from Proverbs says that she delights in the human race. Wisdom, the
Holy Spirit, is here.
I’d think that we’re well aware that
wisdom is here. God knows the number of hairs on our heads, I wonder how many
white or silver hairs he would count, if he were to count our collective number
of white strands of hair here today? I have my own, too, lest you think I’m not
contributing to that count! We know wisdom is here because we have wisdom here,
among us. I know that ageism says that older folks aren’t highly valued in our
society, but make sure you hear me, you are highly valued here in the church.
Your worth does not diminish as you grow older. My friend, Sue, who was with me
last week in Atlanta was reading a book about “eldering.” She said that the
premise is that you don’t grow older, you grow elder, you grow in wisdom, you
grow in knowledge. Having so many grandparents, and great-grandparents, here in
our midst is a blessing, because you have the opportunity to teach those of us
who are younger. Whether you have kids or grandkids of your own or not, you
have church kids and church grandkids and we who live with them appreciate and
need your help in raising them. One of our strengths is that we are
multigenerational. Where else do you get to be with a weeks old baby and a
nonagenarian (that means someone in their 90s) in the same place on a regular
basis? Wisdom is here. We know this, because we can look around and see it. Let’s
not be afraid to share it. While it’s true that too many cooks can spoil the
broth, if you have something particular that you’ve learned or experienced, we
will all be the better for you to share it with us.
One
of the phrases that caught my attention in a prayer last week was about
recognizing the “the values of the young and the potential of the old.” And I went, wait a minute, did I just hear
that right? Usually, we talk about the potential of the young and the values of
the old. What if we switch it? The values of the young and the potential of the
old. The young have values. One of the ones I saw in USA Today last week was
about how millennials are more likely to buy a smaller house, and not a house
that is bigger than what they really need. They saw their parents or friends’
parents or neighbors lose their houses when the housing bubble burst a few
years ago, and so they are figuring out ways for that not to happen to them,
like buying a house outright and not having a mortgage. And then the potential of the old. You still have
potential, no matter what your age is. You are never fully done becoming who
God created you to be until the hour you die. God’s not done with you yet. You
still have potential. No matter your age, both our young and our old, we all
have value, have values, and have potential. There is wisdom among us to be
shared. From our mistakes, from our successes, from what has happened in the
past. Not to judge it, or to judge you; no one is in a position to so that but
Christ himself. Simply share with us what you know, what you’ve learned, and
what you still want to learn.
So, as Jesus says, “Let those who
have ears to hear,” listen and take heed. It is up to us to listen, up to us to
accept, up to us to continue to join the dance. Your worth does not diminish as
you age, or when you’re sick, or when you’re out of work, or when your kids are
grown, or when your kids are little. You are always God’s beloved child and you
always have something to contribute to God’s family: yourself. Sometimes your
presence is all you have the energy to offer, and your presence is enough. Other
times, you have something else to contribute, your history, your stories, your
knowledge, your wisdom, things you have learned over your lifetime, regardless
of the length of your lifetime. Sometimes it’s out of the mouths of babes that
we hear wisdom. Other times it’s out of those of us with white hair. Wisdom is
here. We know this. We may not always understand it, but we can join in the
dance, anyway.
Just as the Trinity is God,
three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so we in the church need all of our
parts as well. Just as a choir needs different voices in order to be able to
sing in harmony, so does the church. A choir that is all sopranos sings only
one note. The music is richer and more beautiful when you get to hear all the
parts singing together. So, please, share your part with us. Join in the dance.
Join in the singing. Join in the story-telling. We don’t all have to agree. We
don’t all have to say, “I would have done the exact same thing if I were in
your place.” What we are is all God’s beloved children. What we say to each
other is “I love you. God loves you. Peace be with you. I’m at peace with you,
because you are my brother and sister.” Regardless of whose eyes you’re wise
in, or who thinks you’re funny, we’re still all family. We’re still all in this
together, and we need everyone’s voice. Thanks be to God, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, in whom we live and move and have our being. Amen.
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