The nature of our faith depends on how we understand it. For some of us, it is a series of non-negotiable rules. For others, it is a personal, private matter. According to the stories about Jesus, he thought that faith had to do with perception and relationship. He would often, in a parable, challenge the way his followers thought. He would encourage them to interact with strangers, with people outside their own faith community or social class. He taught them healing as an act of compassion, not a correction for sin. He had very little to say about morality, but a lot to say about how we used our assets and our lives in service to each other. About God, he actually had very little comment. His disciples, however, recognized the divine working within him. So much so that some thought he was the messiah so long awaited; others thought him a great prophet and teacher. The story of Pentecost is a narrative about how the disciples came to understand what he had promised. As they grew as a community, they would find that the Spirit that had filled Jesus would fill their lives too.
In this way, we can think about a doctrine of the church first named by Tertullian in the early second century: the Trinity. It was essentially a controversy, frequently with great debate, about the relationship between Jesus and God. To this day, these matters remain unresolved. Maybe that is because we have been following an unhelpful trajectory. Instead of thinking about the substance of the three persons of the Trinity, maybe we should consider this as our experience of the divine, in the creation, in relationships, in inspiration. When we cease attempting to define or contain the Holy, we can allow for our experience in all its diverse ways. Those ways depend on our personal inclinations, on the power of the moment, on the language we have available to understand the experience. It is perhaps the best reason for healthy religious institutions when we think of them as places to speculate, to appreciate, to speak about our experiences. I often say that the reason we bring children and older folks to church, together, is to learn a language for what all humans experience.
So come to church this Sunday to think about all the ways we can experience God beyond our knowledge, beyond the limitations of our sight. When the sun sets, we see the horizon as the Comforter who calls us to rest. When the sun rises, the Spirit of innovation, of the new day, calls us to claim our place in the unfolding of the history of Earth. But always we are the seeker and God calls us from our slumber into action, eternally, and gives us Jesus as our faithful friend who reaches out to us in love forever.
Announcements: June 2nd

Picnic Service at Bayswater Park, June 30, 10 am. All Saints if rained out.