Genesis 1:1-2:4
Creation (first version) In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the waters, and
the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. God
said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and separated the
light from the darkness. The
light was called “day,” and the darkness was called “night.” There was evening,
and morning—the first day. God said, “Let there be a space between the
waters to separate water from water.” God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the
water above it. The vault was
called “sky.” There was evening, and morning—the second day. God said,
“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.”
The dry ground was called “land,” and the gathered
waters were called “seas.” God saw that it was good. God said, “Let the
land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear
fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” The land
produced vegetation: plants bearing seed and trees bearing fruit with seed
according to their kinds. God saw that it was good. There was evening, and morning—the third day. God said, “Let
there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and
let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,
and let them give light on the earth.” Two
great lights were made - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser
light to govern the night. The stars were made and set in the vault of the sky
to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the
night, and to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening, and morning—the fourth day. God said, “Let
the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across
the vault of the sky.” So the
great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems
was created, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was
good. God blessed them and
said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and
let the birds increase on the earth.” There was
evening, and morning—the fifth day. God said, “Let the land produce
living creatures: the livestock, the creatures that move on the ground, and the
wild animals.” God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humans
in our image, in our likeness, so that they may have stewardship over the fish
in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild
animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So humans
were created in God’s image, both male and female. God blessed them and
said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and take care of it, the
fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that
moves on the ground.” God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on
the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They
will be yours for food. To all the beasts of the
earth, all the birds in the sky, all the creatures that move along the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant
for food.” And it was so. God saw all that had been
made, and it was very good. There was evening, and there was morning—the sixth
day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast
array. By the seventh day God rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because it was a day of rest from the work of creation.
Matthew
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in(to)** the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(**alt. Translation: “into”)
*************************************************************************
Today is not only the anniversary of the creation of the United Church, but also Trinity Sunday. So, right off the bat, Im going to dance around creation and Trinity and the United Church. It may make sense, it may not. That’s what happens, I guess, when we wrestle with theology.
When
I was a child - and probably when some of you were children - every single
church service began with the hymn we used this morning – “Holy, Holy, Holy”.
No one even thought about it - it was just the opening hymn. No one, even
today, thinks much about where it comes from. It is one of the most beloved
hymns in the church, a part of our history.
Years later, when I was in seminary, taking classes in worship and liturgy, one of the questions we were asked was ”What is the one thing you remember most about church when you were a child?” That was what I remembered - starting every week with the same hymn. The hymn reflected strongly the grounding in the Basis of Union of the United Church.
Another required course was called “Systematic Theology”. Everyone, even the professors, got a smile out of the term, because theology is really anything but systematic. I took two: one was the required first-year course, a history of the development of theology in the church - covering heavy stuff like Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and Jurgen Moltmann - but also going back into the history of the beginning of the church’s creeds at the time of Constantine, through the Reformation and Martin Luther, and onward. The second course, called Confessing Our Faith, took us through the Articles of Faith, in our Basis of Union in the United Church. So – here’s what we have.
"We believe in the one only living and true God, a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being and perfections; the Lord Almighty, who is love, most just in all His ways, most glorious in holiness, unsearchable in wisdom, plenteous in mercy, full of compassion, and abundant in goodness and truth. We worship Him in the unity of the Godhead and the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons of the same substance, equal in power and glory."
"We believe in and confess the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man, who, being the Eternal Son of God, for us men and for our salvation became truly man, being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, yet without sin. Unto us He has revealed the Father, by His word and Spirit, making known the perfect will of God. For our redemption, He fulfilled all righteousness, offered Himself a perfect sacrifice on the Cross, satisfied Divine justice, and made propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He ever intercedes for us. In the hearts of believers He abides forever as the indwelling Christ; above us and over us all He rules; wherefore, unto Him we render love, obedience, and adoration as our Prophet, Priest, and King."
"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who moves upon the hearts of men to restrain them from evil and to incite them unto good, and whom the Father is ever willing to give unto all who ask Him. We believe that He has spoken by holy men of God in making known His truth to men for their salvation; that, through our exalted Saviour, He was sent forth in power to convict the world of sin, to enlighten men's minds in the knowledge of Christ, and to persuade and enable them to obey the call of the Gospel; and that He abides with the Church, dwelling in every believer as the spirit of truth, of power, of holiness, of comfort, and of love."
Everything clear? Sure. Except. The concept of the Holy Trinity didn’t even exist in the Bible. We are *told* that Jesus sent the disciples to baptise “in the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. It can also be translated as "baptise "into" ..... But that wasn't a reference to the Trinity. Through Matthew and John those inferences are found, but biblical scholarship suggests we’ve redacted something into the texts which isn’t there. Any actual reference to a doctrine of the Trinity came along 325 years after the death of Jesus, in the time of the Emperor Constantine. Historically, for all of his life, Constantine was NOT a Christian - but he recognised that using religion to unite his empire would be a smart idea. People under his rule became Christian or lost their lives! A prominent theologian of the time, Arias, was executed because he didn’t agree with the proposed ideas of the newly formed state church.
For Jesus, raised in the Jewish rabbinical tradition, God was One. Remember the Sh’ma? “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is ONE.” One God. The Spirit existed - the ‘ruach’, the “breath” or “wind” of God, Holy Wisdom. Proverbs tells us Wisdom was present at the beginning, at creation. God and Wisdom were not two parts of a whole – nor was the son part of that either – Jesus would have been baffled by a notion of the Trinity. For Jesus, there was God and there was Wisdom. One God. He didn’t insert himself there to make it ‘three in one’.
Years later, when I was in seminary, taking classes in worship and liturgy, one of the questions we were asked was ”What is the one thing you remember most about church when you were a child?” That was what I remembered - starting every week with the same hymn. The hymn reflected strongly the grounding in the Basis of Union of the United Church.
Another required course was called “Systematic Theology”. Everyone, even the professors, got a smile out of the term, because theology is really anything but systematic. I took two: one was the required first-year course, a history of the development of theology in the church - covering heavy stuff like Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and Jurgen Moltmann - but also going back into the history of the beginning of the church’s creeds at the time of Constantine, through the Reformation and Martin Luther, and onward. The second course, called Confessing Our Faith, took us through the Articles of Faith, in our Basis of Union in the United Church. So – here’s what we have.
"We believe in the one only living and true God, a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being and perfections; the Lord Almighty, who is love, most just in all His ways, most glorious in holiness, unsearchable in wisdom, plenteous in mercy, full of compassion, and abundant in goodness and truth. We worship Him in the unity of the Godhead and the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons of the same substance, equal in power and glory."
"We believe in and confess the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Mediator between God and man, who, being the Eternal Son of God, for us men and for our salvation became truly man, being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, yet without sin. Unto us He has revealed the Father, by His word and Spirit, making known the perfect will of God. For our redemption, He fulfilled all righteousness, offered Himself a perfect sacrifice on the Cross, satisfied Divine justice, and made propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, where He ever intercedes for us. In the hearts of believers He abides forever as the indwelling Christ; above us and over us all He rules; wherefore, unto Him we render love, obedience, and adoration as our Prophet, Priest, and King."
"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who moves upon the hearts of men to restrain them from evil and to incite them unto good, and whom the Father is ever willing to give unto all who ask Him. We believe that He has spoken by holy men of God in making known His truth to men for their salvation; that, through our exalted Saviour, He was sent forth in power to convict the world of sin, to enlighten men's minds in the knowledge of Christ, and to persuade and enable them to obey the call of the Gospel; and that He abides with the Church, dwelling in every believer as the spirit of truth, of power, of holiness, of comfort, and of love."
Everything clear? Sure. Except. The concept of the Holy Trinity didn’t even exist in the Bible. We are *told* that Jesus sent the disciples to baptise “in the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit. It can also be translated as "baptise "into" ..... But that wasn't a reference to the Trinity. Through Matthew and John those inferences are found, but biblical scholarship suggests we’ve redacted something into the texts which isn’t there. Any actual reference to a doctrine of the Trinity came along 325 years after the death of Jesus, in the time of the Emperor Constantine. Historically, for all of his life, Constantine was NOT a Christian - but he recognised that using religion to unite his empire would be a smart idea. People under his rule became Christian or lost their lives! A prominent theologian of the time, Arias, was executed because he didn’t agree with the proposed ideas of the newly formed state church.
For Jesus, raised in the Jewish rabbinical tradition, God was One. Remember the Sh’ma? “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is ONE.” One God. The Spirit existed - the ‘ruach’, the “breath” or “wind” of God, Holy Wisdom. Proverbs tells us Wisdom was present at the beginning, at creation. God and Wisdom were not two parts of a whole – nor was the son part of that either – Jesus would have been baffled by a notion of the Trinity. For Jesus, there was God and there was Wisdom. One God. He didn’t insert himself there to make it ‘three in one’.
Since
this is the anniversary of the creation of the United Church, the two texts
from Genesis and Matthew seem to me to be texts about the ‘building of a house’.
The Creation story isn’t for an actual description of God bringing everything
together in six days of 24 hours each – but God building something which is to be
the ‘house’ for all things. Not a physical house, or physical church necessarily
– but building a place where everything – and everyone – is welcome. And I’m not
convinced the Matthew text speaks of a Trinity – but we have to accept that the
concept has been the basis of our building this house we call the United Church
from the beginning. The three churches – Methodist, Congregational and
Presbyterian – had a vision of something, and foundation for a new ‘building’,
a united denomination with a focus on social justice and the well-being of all
creation, and a commitment to a new creation to further a vision of the whole ‘house
of God’.
And both texts are a demonstration of how to liberate love and grace so we can become more like God. The Holy Spirit empowers us in the liberation of that love and grace, and sustains us as a community! We are literally created in the image of the One who created us. That makes us an integral part of creation, an integral part of building the ‘house’ which is the realm of God – the coming of the true Hebrew Shalom, in the here and now. Jesus’ direction to the disciples wasn’t about going out and making everyone Christian – it was about sending them out to carry the good news of the building of God’s realm here on earth. Creation was meant to be more than the physical surroundings – but all of us as an integral part of that whole.
And both texts are a demonstration of how to liberate love and grace so we can become more like God. The Holy Spirit empowers us in the liberation of that love and grace, and sustains us as a community! We are literally created in the image of the One who created us. That makes us an integral part of creation, an integral part of building the ‘house’ which is the realm of God – the coming of the true Hebrew Shalom, in the here and now. Jesus’ direction to the disciples wasn’t about going out and making everyone Christian – it was about sending them out to carry the good news of the building of God’s realm here on earth. Creation was meant to be more than the physical surroundings – but all of us as an integral part of that whole.
Next
week, I am flying to Prince Albert in Saskatchewan to take part in a service of
commemoration for the life of Wesley United Church. When my father was called there,
the congregation had a vision of building a house which would be an open and welcoming
place for everyone. It was, then, the only United Church in Prince Albert and
there was a vision of filling a need. However, 64 years later, the world has changed
– there is another United Church. The original congregation is mostly gone, the
current congregation is smaller and can no longer continue to pay for upkeep
and a minister. So they made a decision – the building continues, and the
ministry continues, in a new way. It’s still the building up of a house – for it’s
being sold to the YWCA, and becoming their new mission. And there’s great
excitement about the new directions and the fact that there will be people in
and around the building more often.
And
yes, here we are, a year later after amalgamation – something which has been a
painful and difficult process. Some have seen it as an ending, not a beginning –
and some see it as a beginning of something else – new ministry, new mission –
and what form that will take we don’t know. Little by little directions are
becoming clearer, but we want it to happen faster. Creation of something new
can be baffling. Yet we are still ‘building a house’ for ministry and mission,
a place which offers welcome and support. It’s a mystery how this creation
comes about – all we can say is God has created and IS creating. God does this
together with us and through us, and Wisdom, the Spirit is here to sustain us
in this new existence.
So, we live with mystery. At the bottom of that mystery is that each of us has a relationship with God which calls us to live what Jesus lived - love and compassion for everyone, regardless of who they are; human relationship in living creation. Go into the world and ‘teach’ – not necessarily with words, but through our living. That’s what we have. And mystery. May it be so.
Sources:
1. The Lord Our God is One…or Three? John 16:12-15 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 by Rev. Janet in CNY
2. ‘Three Gods in One’ a sermon by Rev. Judith Stark, Abbotsford, British Columbia
3. The Manual 2010 Basis of Union Articles of Faith
So, we live with mystery. At the bottom of that mystery is that each of us has a relationship with God which calls us to live what Jesus lived - love and compassion for everyone, regardless of who they are; human relationship in living creation. Go into the world and ‘teach’ – not necessarily with words, but through our living. That’s what we have. And mystery. May it be so.
Sources:
1. The Lord Our God is One…or Three? John 16:12-15 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 by Rev. Janet in CNY
2. ‘Three Gods in One’ a sermon by Rev. Judith Stark, Abbotsford, British Columbia
3. The Manual 2010 Basis of Union Articles of Faith
