There once was a ruler of a nation who erected a large golden statue of himself. At the unveiling and dedication of this statue, important political figures in the nation, the governors, the spiritual and political advisers, the judges and magistrates, and many others, came to show their support of this marvelous statue. These people…
Today is Trinity Sunday. It’s the Sunday where we celebrate the mystery of the Trinity, the Godhead, the Three in One and One in Three. It’s something that has caused quite a bit of confusion among a lot of people for many years. Because the Trinity is not exactly a simple concept to wrap our brains around.
God the Father is God, but is not the Holy Spirit, and is not Jesus. Jesus is God, but is not the Father and is not the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is God, but is neither the Father, nor the Son. The three are one God, and yet also, distinctly three.
If you’re one of those people who hears that and says, “Oh yeah, that makes perfect sense. No problems here,” then I applaud you. The rest of Christendom, however, has spent quite a bit of time trying to explain this mystery in a way that makes sense, and in a way that all parties can agree on.
The Jesuit mystic, Anthony de Mello said, “If you want to know what it means to be happy, look at a flower, a bird, a child; they are the perfect images of the kingdom. For them live from moment to moment in the eternal now with no past and no future. So they are spared the guilt and the anxiety that so torment human beings and they are full of the sheer joy of living.”
You might be surprised to know that there were over 50,000 Christian denominations in the world in 2025. That number is expected to grow to 64,000 by 2050. What’s even more interesting is that the number of people becoming Christians is slowing down, but the number of new denominations is rising. What that means is that we are making new denominations at a faster rate than we’re making new disciples. You might think, “Oh, that’s an easy fix! We’ll just start new churches and make them non-denominational.” Unfortunately, I’ve got news for you. For at least the last 25 years, the growth rate of making new denominations is already faster than the rate of new Christian congregations. That means, quite often: New church, New denomination. And why not? You won’t have to answer to anyone, or be involved in a larger community.
As I was preparing for today, one of the first things that jumped out at me was the words in the Collect of the Day: “Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life.”
That word “follow” sticks out. When we think of the word “follow” we can see it as no more important than “I follow the news.” “I keep up with, pay attention to, the news.” Maybe we even think that having the news on 24/7 on the television – even if in the background – means that we are “followers” of the news.
Years ago, I was working with a youth group up in Washington, and there was one evening where I couldn’t attend the gathering. On that particular evening, one of the high school girls, who played volleyball, had hurt her knee quite badly. It was swollen, and she was limping around. At one point during the evening, I’m told, the pastor and the kids surrounded her and prayed for her. The youth pastor told me, “It was amazing. As we were praying, you could see the swelling go down, and afterward, she was able to walk without a limp. I’m still just shocked. It’s a miracle!”
And in response, I said, “That is amazing. That’s awesome.” And then I paused, and added, “I really wish I could have been there to see it for myself.” Translation: “Hmmm. Is this really true?” I’ll admit, I questioned that story a bit. Because, after all, “Seeing is believing,” as the saying goes. And in this case, I would really have liked to see it, rather than just taking people’s word for it.
Every single one of us has heard the story – some of us probably hundreds of times. We know what’s going to happen by the end of the story, so we don’t think about it much anymore. The mystery has faded, and the excitement at the mystery of the incarnation – the death and resurrection – seems to have dried up as well.
Because of this, it’s hard to put ourselves into the minds of these women in the Gospel – the two Marys.
Lectionary Readings: Year A, Holy Week, Good Friday In 1883, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously declared “God is Dead.” You’ve probably heard the phrase thrown about when discussing atheism, because Nietzsche is saying that God is just a social construct used to justify all sorts of evil and violence. If you read his work, you…
Now, I know you might be wondering why I’m talking about sausages and phrases that started out in the 1600s but evolved into something else over time. After all, isn’t the Gospel today about this famous conversation with Nicodemus about being “born again?” Doesn’t it include the famous line, “For God so loved the world?” What’s this about pudding?
Finding God in the Dung Heap
Several years ago, I was riding my bike along a bike path in Tucson, AZ, where I was living at the time. I had been riding for quite some time, and pulled off the path for a moment to rest. As I looked down, I saw a beetle by my front tire, ambling along without…
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