Today is Trinity Sunday, and I would like to start by clarifying something, not just today but every day: When we talk about the Father, we are talking about God, and whenever we talk about Jesus Christ, we are talking about God, and whenever we talk about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about God.
In our Gospel reading, we heard a statement from Jesus about the Spirit and the Father, a statement from God about God, giving us a unique glimpse into the activity of the Holy Trinity… the inner life of God.
Speaking of the Spirit, Jesus says, “he will take what is mine”, and then follows with “All that the father has is mine.” The Spirit takes what Jesus has, and Jesus has all that the Father has. What God holds, he holds in common within himself, so that although God reveals himself to us in separate ways, as Father, Son, and Spirit, there is a unity within God, a place where God’s power and purpose are one, where all that the Father has, Jesus has, and all that Jesus has, the Spirit has.
This flow within the Trinity, this active inner life, is mysterious to us, and so it deserves a mysterious word: Perichoresis, the Dance of God. Perichoresis describes the rotation within the Trinity, the movement and flow of life, like the movement of divine music that has always been playing. God was not empty or bored before creating us, rather God was so full, bursting with love and creativity that God’s very imagination came to life, and God’s very thoughts became living breathing things. Again, this was not because God lacked or needed anything, but because of the explosive activity of the Trinity and because of God’s great and unending desire to love.
We are told in Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” The Hebrew word for “rejoice” has a deeper meaning, it literally means “to spin around from violent emotion”, or as we might say, he will dance over you with singing.
This Perichoresis, this violent spin, this divine rhythm that created us, and that delights over us and orders our lives is clear and present in Holy Scriptures. Each part of God plays a role in this divine music:
The song of the Father is prevenient grace: this is the grace that goes before us and lights our way, it is the voice that calls us home while we are still in the wilderness, it is the hope that calls us towards healing while we are still in the pains of injury. It is the voice that called to Abraham, offering a blessing to him that in turn go on to bless the whole world. This song of grace is not sung by us, it is sung for us, it is sung on our behalf, it is available and free for all.
The song of the Son is justifying grace: this is the sound of redemption, is it the healing balm of forgiveness that came while we still had our hand in the fire, it is the physician who sets the bone when we don’t even realize it was broken, it is Christ dying for us on the Cross and rising again. This song is not sung by us, it is sung for us, it is sung on our behalf, and we can do nothing to earn it, it is available and free for all.
The song of the Spirit is sanctifying grace: this is the sustaining power that nourishes us, this is the challenge that matures us, this is the rehabilitation that teaches us to live a new life, this is the ripening of the fruit that grows on the vine of Christ, this is the breathe of the Spirit breathing passion in to the Church. This song is not sung by us, it is sung for us, on our behalf, and it is available and free for all.
God’s song, sung in in three parts, is the rhythm of the life of the Trinity.
This is reflected in God’s creation. Our world has rhythm: the spin of the earth, the length of our days, the rhythm of the tides. Our lives have rhythm too, but out of all creation we have the ability to choose our rhythms.
Coming to church on Sunday is part of a weekly rhythm. The rhythm of our Service is called the liturgy: we sing, we pray, we read the scripture, we preach the word, and it’s the same rhythm each time.
But there are rhythms and songs outside of the church that try to rule our lives; I call them secular liturgies, because they are an expected order of things, an expected pattern within the world, like the rhythm of business or politics, and the rhythm of capitalism and consumerism. With all of these competing rhythms, all of these competing songs, how can we follow God’s song? How can we move in rhythm with God’s grace in our lives?
It’s a little like regular dancing. I love partner dancing; this is when two people are dancing, and there is a leader and a follower. Leading and following is less about knowing dance steps, and more about one person communicating their intentions and the other person listening.
You can be an awfully good dancer, and be a terrible follower. Following requires trust; you cannot follow someone you don’t trust. Following requires listening; you cannot follow someone you can’t listen to. Following requires knowing who you are, because you are invited to move with the leader not to simply copy them.
If you’re a good follower, then it doesn’t matter if you don’t know the moves, because a good leader doesn’t do things that are too difficult for you.
So how can we follow God’s song and God’s rhythm in our lives?
#1 is Trust. Trust that God’s song on is sung on your behalf. Every other song is trying to get something from you. Every other song is telling you that you need to compete, you need to perform, you need to produce results, that the success of the song is based on you, but God’s song is not. God’s song is sung for you, is it sung on your behalf. During your highs and during your lows, when you are productive and when you produce nothing, the song is the same. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” We follow the Shepherd who we trust, so out of all the voices and all of the songs, trust in God. The song God sings over you is grace.
#2 is Listening. Listen to God’s song sung on your behalf. Do we pray when our minds are cluttered with other things, or do we take time to give God our undivided attention and just listen? We’re bombarded with other influences, songs that make you angry or hateful, songs that make you feel ashamed, songs that make you feel like you’re not good enough… listen to God’s song that is sung for you, sung on your behalf. John 10:27 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.” We follow the Shepherd who we listen to, so out all of the voices and all of the songs, listen to God. The song God sings over you is grace.
#3 is Knowing who we are. Know that God’s song is sung for you, not against you, but for you. If you don’t know who you are, then someone else will tell you who to be, and that’s what every other song will do. Every other song will try to change you, will try to twist you, will try to turn you into someone you’re not. God’s grace asks nothing of you. It requires nothing, because God needs nothing. Trusting in God, and listening to God, and knowing who you are in Christ will change you, not because God needs anything. It will change you because you cannot encounter the grace of God and go unchanged. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me”. Is God’s grace part of your identity? Do you know yourself to be loved and unconditionally accepted by our Shepherd, or are you still looking for a place to belong? The song God sings over you is grace.
If you look at these three suggestions, trust, listen, and know who you are, they have their own rhythm and rotation. Trusting God helps us to listen to him more, and listening to God helps us to be reminded of who we are. By keeping our eyes and ears open, we can move in rhythm with God’s grace in our lives. We’re not adding new things here, we’re growing in awareness of what’s already there, looking and listening for God in all of the things we already do.
We heard in our reading today, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” We’re told that the Spirit will be our guide, but is that where we are placing our trust for guidance? We’re told that the Spirit will speak God’s truth to us, but are we listening for God’s truth? We’re told the Spirit will speak to us of our future, but are we seeking a future as the people of God, or does our identity lie elsewhere?
I’d like to give you to a challenge. There are 3 possibilities, so choose what speaks to you.
The rhythm of trust. When you wake up in the morning, consider this decision: “I will trust God today”, because it is an intentional decision. When you pray during the week, when you make decisions, when stress rises, say it again, “I will trust God today”. If you’re like me and you like to keep things under control, then this might be a good challenge in letting go. And remember, the song God sings over you is grace, trust in that.
The rhythm of listening. When you wake up in the morning, consider this decision: “I will listen to God today”, because it is an intentional decision. When you receive other influences throughout the day (conversations, advertisements, entertainment, etc), say it again, “I will listen to God today”. If you’re like me, and you replay images and conversations in your head, then this might be a good challenge in sorting through what to replay and what to throw away. And remember, the song God sings over you is grace, listen to that.
The rhythm of knowing who you are. When you wake up in the morning, consider this statement: “I know who I am today”, because if you don’t know who you are then someone else will tell you who to be. When you face challenges, or conflicts, or decisions, and you are tempted to follow the rhythms of the world, say it again, “I know who I am today”. If you’re like me, and you have self-doubts, this might be a good challenge in setting boundaries and drawing the line. And remember, the song that God sings over you is grace, know who you are in that.
Try one of these things, take a chance on it. It’s not a project to add to your life, it’s a willingness look to at your life, to see your rhythm with open eyes and ears, to become aware that you are moving in rhythm with something, but it might be God’s song or it might not, because we are influenced by so many competing things. So let’s listen together, let’s get in rhythm together, because God is here, delighting over us, still spinning with violent emotion and bursting with the same love that brought us to life. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have been moving since before time began, grace is the oldest song there is, the first song, and it is the song that will outlast all other songs, the last song. So let us rejoice, let us spin around, and let’s dance with God. Amen.