Trinity Sunday: Bearing the Unbearable | @kaleophx
Illustration Black fetus in womb by Chidiebere Ibe
June 12, 2022
Today is Trinity Sunday at Kaleo Phoenix. Leonardo Boff writes, "If God means three divine Persons in eternal communion among themselves, then we must conclude that we also, sons and daughters, are called to communion. We are the image and likeness of the Trinity. Hence, we are community beings." In this episode, I talk about how we are a trinitarian people and through the Spirit are able to bear the unbearable. Below is a transcript of my message.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Good evening. My name is Erin and my pronouns are she/her. I’d like to once again begin with a land acknowledgment to honor the Native people that existed here before us. This land we dwell upon today (Grace Lutheran Church in downtown Phoenix) is the ancestral land of the Tohono O’odham Nation. We acknowledge their historical roots in this place, the many generations who were stewards of this land before it was stolen from them.
In John 15 Jesus tells his disciples about the Work of the Holy Spirit.
26 “When the (Holy Spirit) comes, whom I will send to you from the Creator—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Creator—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
JOHN 16
“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Creator or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, 5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Holy Spirit will not come to you; but if I go, I will send the Holy Spirit to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Creator, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
OUR LITURGICAL PASSAGE COMES FROM…
JOHN 16:12-15 (NIV)
Then Jesus says…
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Creator is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Let’s pray together. Triune God, Creator, Spirit…would you help us understand the mysteries and wonder of who you are? Help us rest in not knowing everything and being okay with not having all the answers. But also helps us to understand the ways of Jesus more and more…that we might practice them. Amen
IMAGINE THIS
We are in the Upper Room. It’s a cool spring night and there’s a chill in the air. The room is lit by flickering lamps. It’s getting late and we feel a little bit tired. Judas left about an hour ago. We don’t know why he left, but with his departure, the mood in the room changed. Since Judas left Jesus has begun to talk more. He has been speaking very seriously and very deeply about several things; like a helper coming whom He calls the Spirit of Truth and a sorrow that is coming which will be turned into joy.
The things Jesus said you cannot fully understand or comprehend.
If it was 2022 Jesus may have said things like… they will tell you that you are not a true believer. There will be some who think that killing you is a service to me. Some who will use violence to correct your ways because they cannot see a difference between White Supremacy and my ways (the ways of Jesus).
They will sing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty” right before they participate in an insurrection that through its violence…kills an officer and civilian. They will say a prayer in the House Chambers before physically hunting political leaders.
They will marry faith and oppression. Faith and domination. Faith and excommunication. They will not be able to tell the difference between love for country and love for God.
When this happens, remember that I warned you about them. I know that you are filled with grief because of these things. But, it is for your good that I am going away.
I will send the Spirit of Truth in my stead. And Spirit will work in you to shake the foundations of systemic injustice in your world.
I have so many more deep, heavy things to share with you, more than you can bear right now. But when Spirit comes, Spirit will show you the way and create a pathway to peace, shalom, liberation.
The Spirit will be in and with you...and will be just as powerful as if I was here physically with you. Do not fear, I am with you always.
These words of transcendent truth come rushing out of Him as He tries to pack each moment of His final meeting with His disciples before His death with meaning.
WE ARE TRINITARIAN PEOPLE
The truth is…we are trinitarian people with trinitarian lives. We live, move, and have our being in the Blessed Trinity.
Mike Marsh says it this way:
”Try to define love or explain to your spouse why you love them, you would make a list, count the ways: you are pretty, smart, funny; we have a lot in common; we enjoy the same things; you are fun to be with; you are a good cook; you have a good job; you are a good provider; I am attracted to you; you make me happy. The list begins to sound shallow, superficial, and you know at a deep level that list does not even begin to reflect your love. How can words ever describe or capture the beauty and mystery of two lives shared, given, and received? How do you talk about giving yourself to another so completely that you live within the other, not losing yourself but finding your true and complete self? Words fail. Some things, like love, cannot really be talked about. They can only ever be experienced.
How can words ever describe or capture the beauty and mystery of three lives shared, given, and received? How do you talk about three persons giving themselves to each other so completely that they live within one another, not losing themselves but finding their true and complete self? Words fail. Some things, like the Trinity, cannot really be talked about. They can only ever be experienced. The experience of and participation in Trinitarian love is where the gospel is taking us today.”
BEARING THE UNBEARABLE
Jesus said…” John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear.”
The Spirit enables us to bear difficulty because the Spirit is God in us. In John 14:16-17, Jesus said to his disciples that when He goes to the Creator, he will send them the Holy Spirit of truth, who will be in them as a continuous presence of God.
Chris reminded us last week that the…
The movement of the Spirit initiates a new world order that shakes the foundations of anything that wrongly claims the divine.”
The Holy Spirit shake the foundation of gun rights protected in the name of Jesus.
Holy Spirit shake the foundation of white supremacy.
Shake the foundation of those holding rent over people's heads.
Shake the foundation of those battling for bills that care for The Unborn but overlook the protection of women and the lived future of the unborn.
Shake the foundation of wealth hoarding and scarcity mindset.
Shake the foundation of violence against Black, Indigenous, People of Color.
Shake the foundation of violence against our LBGTQ neighbors.
Shake the foundation of anything and everything that claims your power for their gain and comfort.
The spirit makes the unbearable things of this world bearable because the spirit knows that what is unbearable will not always be…The spirit invites us to join it and a shaking of foundation to make the world what it was always supposed to be from the beginning with the Creator with Jesus and with the spirit.
MINDFULNESS
I've been learning a lot about mental health, mindfulness, emotions, and and how my faith intersects with all of that.
I'm reminded of what Dr. Chanequa Walker Barnes says in her book, “I Bring the Voices of My People.” And she reminds us through the novel, “The Color Purple” that cursing the oppressor starts the process of healing and Liberation between you being oppressed and the one pressing you.
She reminds us that not allowing abusers to be comfortable with abusing us begins the process of healing and Liberation between those being abused and those doing the abusing.
It is from Dr. Barnes that I have learned the power of naming something. Giving abuse and oppression a name turns the intangible, tangible. Naming abuse or oppression removes yourself from underneath its weight and gives you the ability to see yourself apart from it instead of your identity and value being connected to it.
On this journey of living at the intersection of mental health and faith, I'm thankful for one of my friends here at Kaleo, Yvette, who introduced me to Brene Brown's latest work, “Atlas of the Heart.” It’s not only an insightful book but it's also a 6 episode special on HBO Max.
Some of the helpful things I’ve learned is this…
Emotions have ingredients…the first ingredient is what your body is feeling. The second ingredient is what you call it…which shapes the way you experience the emotion.
If you are feeling stress but name it as being overwhelmed. You turn your stress into overwhelm.
If you are feeling dread but you call it worry…you will turn your dread into worry.
If you are feeling betrayed but you call it loneliness…you will turn the feeling of betrayal into loneliness.
If you are feeling abused but you call it a misunderstanding…you will psychologically turn your abuse into a misunderstanding.
If you are feeling oppressed but you call it love…you will psychologically turn your oppression into love.
The reason why you must be able to name the correct emotions with the correct name is because if you misname it, you can have one emotion shift into the next.
So as we experience many emotions at the things that seem unbearable:
Mass shootings
Gun Violence
Racism
Environmental Injustice
Political Disempowerment
Warped Criminal Justice System
Inadequate Housing
Inadequate Healthcare
Exclusion
Displacement
Gentrification