The Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Norman is an 80-year-old man with heart problems and who has had many confrontations with the reality of death, staved off only by his nitroglycerin pills. His memory is failing and is kept alive by his still vivacious and devoted wife, who is 10 years his junior. Norman has obviously led a rich life, complete with deep joys as well as disappointments and regrets. His deepest regret is that their daughter doesn’t seem to have any time for her parents, and she especially doesn’t have time for him.
But now Norman’s preoccupation is with death. Living is behind him. He is just going through the motions.
At the other end of the spectrum is 13-year-old, very adolescent Billy. Billy has yet to discover what life is about. The product of a marriage gone sour, Billy is shunted back and forth between parents and somehow he has the distinct impression that neither of them wants him, that he’s more of an obstacle than a part of their lives. He’s rebellious, lacking in any goals, and angry.
Billy’s father and Norman’s daughter happen to be dating, and on the occasion of Norman’s 80th birthday the three of them show up for the occasion, and Billy ends up staying with Norman and his wife for a month while their daughter and Billy’s father go to Belgium to be married. And what a month for Billy and Norman that was! Norman sees in Billy a real challenge and wins him over by taking him fishing. The two become inseparable, and a strong, loving bond develops between them. Norman is enjoying life again and Billy is experiencing what life is about, perhaps for the first time.
“On Golden Pond” is the name of the classic film in which this is the scenario. In a poignant way, the film shows that our lives are not complete until they are shared with others. The bond of love which developed between Norman and Billy gave that added dimension to each of their lives without which life had no real meaning.
The message is obvious: our lives are given definition and meaning through the loving relationships we have with others. I can only be all that I can be as I live in loving relationship with God and with you. And if I close the door to a relationship for whatever reason—too busy, lack of a forgiving attitude, bigotry, whatever—I’m depriving myself of a vital dimension of my life. The nature of reality is that we must love to be fully alive and fully human. The Church proclaims that reality and when at its best lives models a loving community. I believe Redeemer does that very well—not perfectly, because none of is perfect—but pretty well. And because of it we are growing and entering a new phase through our exciting building program.
What some of you might be thinking by now is, “What does all of this have to do with Trinity Sunday?” The answer is, “Everything!” Reality isn’t the way it is by chance. It’s the reflection, albeit clouded by human sin, of the Creator. The mystery of the Trinity bears witness that God is love in his very being. God didn’t need the creation in order for him to have an object for his love. Jesus spoke frequently of the love of the Father for the Son, and of the Son for the Father. St. Paul says that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. We have been bathed in the waters of baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We have been washed in this divine love
The doctrine of the Trinity permeates our faith. We are baptized in the name of the Trinity. Our liturgy is filled with references to the Trinity. In a regular celebration of the Holy Eucharist the Holy Trinity is named at least seven times, and today, of course, it’s mentioned much more. The Eucharistic Prayer is trinitarian, being addressed to God the Father, through God the Son, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
The Church proclaims that there are three persons in one substance. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods but one God. When I was fresh out of seminary I thought I understood the Trinity. I explained it by analogy: I am a son to my parents, a husband to my wife, and a father to my children, yet I am not three but one. While such an analogy does indeed give understanding, it doesn’t give understanding of the Holy Trinity, because there are three persons in the Trinity, distinct in themselves, so that the persons in the Trinity actually love one another. While I could say that the father in me loves the son in me, it would end up sounding more narcissistic than anything else. I’ve come to the conclusion that I cannot understand the Trinity. There are some things in life that will always be a mystery, and the Trinity is one of them.
The most that I can say about the Holy Trinity is that Almighty God has revealed something to us about his very nature, the fullness of which we cannot understand in this life. Yet we are given insight into the Trinity because one of the persons of the Trinity took flesh and dwelt among us, taught us, and died for us: God the Son. And another person of the Trinity dwells within us: God the Holy Spirit.
When you come right down to it, we do indeed know the Trinity, for we know the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. C.S. Lewis said, “If you want to be warm you stand near the fire. If you want to be wet, you must get into the water.” If you want to open up yourself to becoming loving and therefore whole, get near the source of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Sermon preached by the Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Trinity Sunday
11 June 2017