Learning from Nemo

Trinity Sunday C

John 16:12-15

St. Matthias

June 14, 2019

           I learned this week that you can touch the top of a Jelly Fish and not get stung.  There is also this thing called the Eastern Australian Current and turtles ride it to get from the Great Barrier Reef to Australia.  And then I found out that all drains lead to the ocean!  OK, I don’t know that the last one is totally true, but it might be!  I learned all this watching the movie “Finding Nemo.”  I am getting ready for Junior High 1 Camp at Camp McDowell in a few weeks and trying to figure out how to keep the attention of a whole bunch of 5^th and 6^th graders.  I heard on the radio that Virginia and Georgia have more women named Virginia and Georgia than other states.  I’ve met 2 folks named Bama and I bet there are more.  I wonder if anyone is named Idaho?  It’s amazing to me that there is always more to learn.

           The same thing IS – I think - true about the Trinity.  The Church declared back in the 4^th century that there was and is the Trinity.  That God is 1 in 3 and 3 in 1.  Most of the time we start the Eucharist with Blessed be God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In the Nicene Creed, we proclaim that we believe in One God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Our scripture lessons all talk about the 3 persons of the Trinity and our hymns today highlight the STRONG name of the Trinity.  But you can read from Genesis 1:1 to the last verse of the last chapter of Revelation and you will not find the word Trinity anywhere in the Bible.  There have been arguments, excommunications, and even wars fought over the Doctrine of the Trinity.  Those who agreed that there is one fought over what it actually meant for God to be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Look in the back of the prayer book some time at the historical documents on page 864.  The Creed of St. Athanasius was written just to try and put into words what we mean when we say that we believe in the Trinity.   It goes on and on for about 3 times as long as the Nicene Creed we say every Sunday.  Even then there were many who said that St. Athanasius didn’t get it right.  It’s like trying to describe a rainbow to someone who has never seen a rainbow before.  How would you describe the color purple?  How would you explain the Trinity?  How do we know the Trinity is real?

           Now, this is the part where usually you would expect me to have an answer - that I would tell you from my many years of study, prayer, and preaching.  Unfortunately – this is one of those Mysteries of the Faith and if I could explain the Trinity or prove that the Trinity actually exists – well then, I could write a bestselling religious book and go on a speaking tour.  So, since I am here – I have to tell you I don’t know the answer.  I believe in God. I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I believe in the Trinity.  What I don’t know is really how to explain what it is that I BELIEVE IN - when it comes to the Trinity any more than I can ever fully explain purple.

For the past couple of weeks, Phyllis and I have had a young physician named Elena staying at our house.  She is a friend of a friend in Huntsville and has been working in Birmingham at Children’s Hospital.  In the evening she tells us what she saw that day and I will readily admit that I am fascinated by it all.  I have asked probably a thousand questions and Elena has answered every one.  I will readily admit that I don’t understand medicine or how the human body works – I just know it does. 

The same is true for God.  If I pray, I believe that God hears my prayers.  Out of all the millions of prayers offered every day, I don’t know how God even knows who I am, but God does, and I believe that God hears my prayers and answers them even though I don’t know how and don’t always understand the answer.  We read this morning one of my favorite Psalms and where it says in verses 4 and 5:  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in their courses.  What is man that you should be mindful of him?  If we consider for just a moment all that we can understand about God, it is overwhelming.  God creates the whole world and you and me.  CHRIST came and healed the sick, walked on water, fed 5000, and gives us Salvation.  I know that Christ is present every time we gather at this altar rail – break bread – and share the common cup.  The Holy Spirit has inspired millions of Christians and I could feel that same Spirit yesterday as we shared Beans and Rice.  And it all works together somehow – in you and in me.  No matter what I need – God is there when I believe.  No matter how far I wander – God is there when I am ready to believe again.  No matter the challenge and ministry – God is there when I am ready to hear God’s call and believe. 

And what we really need to remember is that we are always learning more about God.  God never ends.  Every time we pray – every time we worship together – every time we serve people and share the love of God – every time we will learn a little more about God and the Trinity and how it all works.  And there will still be much, much more to learn.  Perhaps to believe in the Trinity is to believe that God is our all in all –the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all that we will ever need.  And tomorrow – God will be even more.  AMEN.