Today is Trinity Sunday!
We celebrate it now because the Holy Spirit has just been actively revealed through the experience at Pentecost. Expressing the Gift of the Spirit - Three in One. The Trinity.
Pentecost is celebrated with the color red. It represents the fire of the Spirit, the transformation of our hearts, and like blood - an inner vitality, that’s been gifted to us.




The Trinity is not that complicated really.
We are connected to God the creator of all things, seen and unseen.
God in Jesus came as one of us to give us this message,
And gifted us with the Holy Spirit who guides us into truth and love and peace.
It’s that simple really.
We do not need all of the complex theology wrapped up over so many years to believe that we are connected to the creator of all things: Loved
and called to Love.


Believe can really be translated into Beloved.


This is what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus… who seeks him out after dark to discuss the teachings and the signs that Jesus was offering.


Nicodemus is a Pharisee; a religious leader, a scribe and a lawyer. He isn’t here to question Jesus’ validity, but rather to understand more. He approaches Jesus calling him Rabbi - and he says WE know that you are from God.
Different than other public accusations and pointed questions from religious leaders, this is a private and quiet moment of spiritual direction from one who seeks to understand what Jesus has to offer.


John 3:16 has been considered the foundation of the Gospel meaning the Good News at large:


“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”


Taken out of context, Sometimes this phrase is experienced - or used as a threat in our Christian evangelising…


But  importantly 3:17 goes on to say:
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”


Jesus came to teach us that we are saved through a great love that God has for us. And it is a big message of unification, communion and peace. It frees us.


There is no condemnation.
There is Love that is so great that it’s difficult to wrap our intellectual minds around it (as we have attempted to do for centuries).


It is a message of the heart. And it gets corrupted and confused when we try to only intellectualize it. That is a worldly response.


The Spiritual Direction conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is similar…


Nicodemus may be so caught up in the thinking aspects of theology by this time, the intellectualization…that he has lost the true message that sings from and to the heart of the matter: The heart of God.


Jesus says we need to be born anew, from above.
Nicodemus asks, “Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”


It’s a seemingly rhetorical question…


But the word “womb” used here is also known figuratively as “the heart.”


The answer is yes. Not no…


We can be born anew, Yes - we can return to the “mother’s" heart.


Jesus offers spiritual direction to an already studied man. We all need to be born anew to remember the awe of God, not simply the law of God and theology - that humans have projected onto God - but the Holy Holy Holy part:


Richard Rohr writes,
"The Spirit is always a gratuitous gift. It’s always an unmerited favor. It’s always pure grace. Like wind, it cannot be seen…
[And echoing Isiah’s call in the temple] Like smoke, it cannot be controlled. The Spirit is elusive, blowing where it wills.


…Yet like fire, the Spirit can be felt. The Spirit is experienced as the warmth of God’s love. And like blood, it is experienced as an inner vitality…”


This vitality, this energy is available to us… freely given.


The Holy Spirit is not some quiet third of the Trinity… - It is the agency of our lives if we let it flow.


Like Nicodemus, Jesus directs us too - to the spiritual wonder. The Holy:


The voice of the Lord is the voice of Splendor.
The psalmist sings again and again of the voice of the Lord. 3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; It Thunders. *The voice of the Lord splits the flames of fire; the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; * … [And even with all this power, lastly] the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.


There is awe and wonder in response to the vastness of God. As our outline of faith states:
Awe as “Adoration is the lifting up of the heart and mind to God, asking nothing but to enjoy God's presence.”


How do you marvel? And what makes you awed? What reveals the Holy, Holy, Holy in your life?


The Spirit didn’t just show up on Pentecost. The Spirit was revealed to many that day…but everything, everything in the World including Jesus came through the Spirit of God.


And each one of us deserves to have the kind of Spiritual Direction that Nicodemus received from Jesus…
…Receiving guidance in your Spiritual Life.
What prayer practices would animate you - what stories, what passages, what bits of psalms move you?


What is it about nature, art, sports, cooking or other activity that makes you marvel at the intricacies of life; the mystery; the glory of God? Where is Holy, Holy Holy in your life?


The question Jesus might ask is, Where is it stirring in you?
The Trinity is really not that complicated. It takes three aspects to describe the work of the Lord.


And since we are made in the image of God, we share in these aspects.
We too have the desire and ability to create, the call to love and forgive, and the vitality to live and move and have our being in the fullness of life.


It’s that simple really.

“Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem…the crowd gathered was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked,…And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?”


God didn’t have the crowd all suddenly understand one language. Instead God had one message sent out - that could be interpreted and understood in many languages!


This passage alerts us to the fact that Jerusalem was very diverse… perhaps we don’t think of it that way. And many people were gathered there celebrating Yom Kippur: “Pentecost” which means 50 days since Passover. Jesus celebrated Yom Kippur…which still is the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community. It is the day of atonement. A day when people fast and pray and atone for their sins of the previous year.


Theologian Richard Rohr has written about Atonement as “at-one-ment.” He splits up the word to express how sin as separation from God is repaired through atonement. This at-one-ment means we are united again with God and one another through meditating on how we are divided from God and one another - and how we spend time through prayer not as punishment - but to see where we have fallen away from one another and our selves in God.


So here we are in Jerusalem with everyone gathered to atone…
And a strong wind arrives as the Holy Spirit…and alights upon the apostles who can now speak in many different languages.
To communicate the message…
Can you imagine…. That moment…


This diverse gathering all hearing a message of Jesus’ teachings - and the gift of the Holy Spirit present here to guide us_”


Three thousand people were baptized that day.


It is an event of “at-one-ment.”


And it is written that the fellowship of believers that came together from that moment, held everything in common; they sold their possessions - and fed the poor; they broke bread together; they worshipped and shared the teachings of Jesus with “glad and sincere hearts.”


This was their response to the message from the Holy Spirit they heard in many languages - this was what “saved” them from what Peter called “a corrupt generation.”
They found at-one-ment in their very life style - a way to be saved from the cruelty and competitiveness of a corrupt World.


So many people from so many different nations brought together through a message of love. This is what saved them…the Holy Spirit at work in the World through them…
Before…Christianity was a formal religion
Before technology
Before Face book…


They were Tribal (who perhaps like today in our Facebook world) only heard stories about the “other”
through biased claims.
and unexperienced connection.


But at that Pentecost and Today we learn
The Holy Spirit is here with us.
Our guide who asks us to listen
(Without the tv
Without FB)
To listen
To one another -


And remember Jesus said, “when two or three are gathered in my name I am with you.”


There is this third force always with us
If we tune in.


The Spirit of Truth doesn’t speak to us in one language.
Just as it didn’t speak to the people of Jerusalem in one language.


But in many. I think it is a mistake to believe that our unity as followers of Jesus is dependent on whether we will all think alike.


But instead to have a “singlenesss of heart” - that devotion to Christian hope and love which opens us up to a higher calling.


Listening allows us to be opened up to that presence -
That third force that is always with us
Guiding us into communication…
because it offers us a “third way” - out of polarized thinking and responding.


We may tune into the Holy Spirit’s guiding force when we take a stance of wishing to come from a place from “above” - To
Elevate our level of Perception
Elevate our level of participation
Elevate Our level of communication
The Holy Spirit is all about communication…available to guide from this higher calling: God working through us in the World.


As Father Mac said last week the Book of Acts has no ending because we continue the book of Acts…through communion with the Holy Spirit.


Rather than it being known as the “Acts of the Apostles” it has also been named “the Acts of the Holy Spirit”… because all that is good, all the power of the apostles, all of their healings; and communicative connection is prompted by the power of the Spirit.


And we have been given that gift.


Joy in the presence of Jesus, as I spoke about a couple of weeks ago - is maintained through Joy in the Holy Spirit.


The promise of the Spirit and the joy that follows links Jesus’ final words to his disciples before his ascension … and then picks right up in the beginning of Acts… as we see the joy that both new converts experience - as well as the joy that the already established group experience gathering more (as scripture tells us “their numbers increased daily”).




This is part of our hope…As Paul says in Romans, we do not hope for what is seen.
It is in hope that we are saved. Hope is not a feeling - it is a continuous act; a singleness of heart.


It is the drive toward something (perhaps not yet attained) but nevertheless promises us the Kingdom to come.


The Spirit helps guide us through this process of hope.


So in St. Paul’s famous words:
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in
believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Romans 15:13

In the name of the one who creates us, loves us, sustains us…


Jesus says … “abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you”


So often we overlook the joy Jesus brings to us …we are focused on his difficult and controversial conversations, his important healings, his sacrifice…It all seems very serious…


But when I was in seminary I wrote a paper on Joy in the presence of Jesus - and through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit.
Joy in the presence of Jesus begins when he is still in the womb… when John the Baptist jumps for joy in Elisabeth’s womb when Mary comes to visit her. Mary herself rejoices at the news of Jesus which we hear in the Magnificat. “My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”


Joy in the presence of Jesus is found throughout the gospels… and now that we are traveling through Acts, Joy is found throughout the healing work of the disciples through the Holy Spirit!


This "command" to love one another is not disciplinary. It is about finding true Joy - and "joy complete" as Jesus describes…
Love explicitly expressed through Joy: the love of our children, the love of one another, the love of stranger, the love of God living through us.


We know what joyful children are like. They are usually engaged, sharing …in play, or collaborating on a project.


We adults are not so different than they are!  But we get caught up in being “grown up” - busy with agendas and time constraints and we forget the joy that comes from being present to one another….


This is why Jesus calls his disciples "little children" because we need to be reminded to have a beginner's mind and a beginner's heart for "joy complete.”


To have a beginner’s heart and mind is to be present to our surroundings - to the little things in life - and to others without a jaded perspective.


Today in Acts, the disciples and the other Jewish believers are So overcome with the Gentile expression of extolling God - praising and rejoicing - that Peter baptizes them on the spot! He is so excited for them - and seeing the Holy Spirit working in them!


On a personal note one of the very special things about Craig - was that he was joyful. Not just that - he was so enthusiastic about his friend’s successes. I have never met someone who could get so excited about the projects his friends were engaged in. He told me all about them - And he told them! He let them know they were doing something good and important - and he was excited for them. It was such a life-giving quality that he shared….


And a true abiding with the joy of God - who creates us to rejoice in the World.


Now that we have learned vital lessons about surviving into adulthood - we can let some of our preconceived notions about the World wane. They are not always true actually - and in new circumstances we can simply be projecting onto other people.


We aren’t going to lose anything by opening up our hearts. We are going to gain the World. As John says in his first letter,


“”…This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.”


The very first time Jesus sends out the disciples…
They return from healing the sick and casting out demons! And we are told, Jesus jumped with joy! He literally spins around in exultant praise at their success.


To quote Kate Bush: “Jesus must have had a beautiful smile.”


Remembering to have Jesus’ joy in us as we experience the successes of others is vitally important to our growth in community - our unity - and our abiding in the love of God.


We are in a joy soaked universe if we can do as Jesus says, and let his joy be in us.


In our study of the outline of faith - we’ve been delighted to re-read that we belong to a universe that is good - the next line asks… What does that mean about our place in the universe? what this means - and I quote:  “the world belongs to its creator, and that we are called to enjoy it”


Today the psalm speaks of nature itself rejoicing


Let the rivers clap their hands, *
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord…"


Joy is not relegated simply to Christ’s birth narratives… joy eternal is meant for Easter and for us …


Complete joy is to know that Jesus’ joy is in us, even as we struggle. It is foundational to our charism as Christians. It is foundational to our relationships.


Maintaining joy is not always easy. That’s why it is so helpful to remember that God is working inside us. Lean into that idea that Jesus’ joy may sustain you through the tough times.


This passage from John is actually happening during that Gospel’s version of the Last Supper. There isn’t a Eucharist, as in the other three Gospels. Instead, there is this long teaching about abiding in God’s love… And Jesus explaining that he is sending us the Holy Spirit. Even on this frightening evening - the joy that Jesus has is not extinguished.


To have Christ’s joy is not to always be "happy go lucky”… to stick our heads in the sand about what is going on in the World…but rather to have a true sense that all shall be well - and all things shall be well - As St. Theresa of Avila said.


That stance allows us the joy of being in the moment - working through the moment with the assuredness of our ultimate place in the universe.


Some of us use the mantra: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.


Sometime you might try: “I can do all things through Christ who rejoices in me.”


Teach the children that joy is foundational to our faith - to being a Christian - to being human.


We adults have got this; we can handle things pretty well... so now, let's “let go” a bit - and let Jesus' joy in us fill our activities… our interactions, and Jesus calls it “the lamp of our eye!”
From our Eucharistic Prayer D, let us pray:


Fountain of life and source of all goodness, you made all
things and fill them with your blessing; and you created them to rejoice in the splendor of your radiance. we acclaim you, and glorify your Name.

Amen!

Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower…Abide in me as I abide in you…
I am the vine, you are the branches.


I love this image and how it dovetails into John’s letter…


Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love…if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.


The Vine of God is immense. We might have a romantic idea of a thin vine that carefully navigates the border of a drawing or book of text.


We may imagine a spindly growth that we are just trying to deter.
But last weekend Billy and I spent at least an hour dealing with an invasive vine overcoming the forsythia in the rectory yard. They may seem spindly, but they are not - it reaches out its tendrils to incorporate all; whether it is tree or post or wall.


Vines are not actually like neat calligraphy on a family  tree. Vines are robust. Vines use tendrils and holdfasts and words that sound kind and gentle (if they are where we want them to be). If they are actually for support.


The vine of life: God’s vine reaches out to all. Think of the vineyards vine - the power in that metaphor - the extent and breadth of its vision!




That Love is immense… and this is what Philip and the other disciples have been asked to tend. They have been asked to reach out their branches to all the nations.
It is a dangerous time in the Gospel. Stephen has just been stoned to death; a persecution rose up against the church in Jerusalem and scattered them throughout Judea and Samaria. Saul (St. Paul himself before his conversion) is busy going door to door and arresting both men and women followers of Christ.


Brave Philip goes down to Samaria to continue spreading the Gospel. Today we hear of this joyous encounter with the Eunuch. We are told it occurs on a "wilderness road" between Jerusalem and Gaza. Wilderness roads play important roles in many of our readings. They are in-between spaces, often dangerous, and the stories display "the workings of God outside of human boundaries and conventions."(1)


The Eunuch too, is an individual who inhabits a body and a role outside of average human convention. Eunuchs held a role in society, but they were often slaves and servants who worked closely with royal women - and who were castrated with or without their consent. We can’t be sure in every case. But regardless, they are inhabiting bodies that have been altered.


And this Eunuch is also certainly an outsider to Philip’s clan. He is neither entirely Jewish nor Gentile. He is from Ethiopia; and while he is an entrusted servant, he nevertheless is a servant, a eunuch, and quite different from Philip.


But Philip trusts, as the first letter of John states: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because God first loved us.”


An angel of the Lord sends Philip to the Eunuch who is on the road reading Isaiah - and the Holy Spirit tells Philip to “join him.”


So Philip does… he runs up alongside the chariot - and he asks him whether he understands what he is reading. The Eunuch says, not without someone to guide me... "And he invites Philip to get in and sit beside him.”


What trust they had - What a leap of faith on a dangerous road for these two strangers to connect.


Philip takes a leap of faith to continue his ministry…. And to extend guidance to a stranger on the road - and the Eunuch in turn extends hospitality. It is very intimate. You can imagine the two sitting side by side in a chariot discussing scripture and the message of Jesus “the messiah” with such excitement!
The Eunuch is so taken with Philip's evangelism, that he asks to be baptized on the spot!


"What is to prevent me...?" he exclaims.


He hears and he understands that it is good - and he takes a leap of faith...and Philip is there to greet this "outsider" as a full member of the Body of Christ. Their trust turns what might have been an isolated wilderness journey into a unitive joyous event.




Many people are still metaphorically on a wilderness journey. People who feel cut off from the vine. Today this passage particularly resonates with the transgender community - and the Episcopal Church is celebrating their inclusion this month. It brings hope and consolation, that we all may abide in the Love of God.


I'm bringing this forward today, because I want you to know the church you are a part of. It is not simply a political or moral issue. The Episcopal Church, unlike many other churches, believes it is an issue of Love.


Love in God is about abiding… and Resurrection life is about trust and unity - and remembering that God's LOVE is always greater than our human boundaries, conventions and expectations!


Today many of us are concerned about what is happening with young people and issues around transgenderism. We are concerned rightfully about our youth having surgeries too early. We can remember the trials of junior high and high school clearly. Puberty is rough.


Regardless of how the politics and medicine around transgenderism evolves, these issues of identity and how we present are real, and personal, and connected to our relationship with God. And so we must trust.


The Episcopal Church is inclusive, Thanks be to God!


We believe transgender individuals were created transgender by God.


And since 2012 transgender individuals have been fully accepted into the ordination process. We are a church with transgender clergy.


….As the Eunuch says
“What is to prevent me?”
And rightly so, our church says: Nothing!


We must remember, fear has not reached perfection in Love.


And The Episcopal Church is working to perfect Beloved Community.


Perhaps the Eunuch was trusting of Philip because his Queen entrusted him with her treasury. Trust builds trust. And that trust allowed something beautiful to emerge - and blossom into Baptism and discipleship: as wholeness into life-giving community.


The Eunuch was converted, but so are we through a story of unitive and abiding Love.


“For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he rules over the nations.”


The Lord the Giver of Life - and Life in Abundance!


Jesus said,
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”


All of the disciples of God in love -  in us provide the support - the tendrils and the branches of this vine that is meant to spread to all peoples.


Amen.


​