Listening for the Spirit of Truth
If you were listening closely as I read the gospel this morning, you may have been thinking that some of the language sounded a bit different to you. And you are right! It is.
We don’t often, for example, refer to the Holy Spirit as “she” nor are we in the habit of calling God “Abba God”. Abba is an Aramaic word (the language Jesus spoke) that means “papa” or “daddy”.
This gospel reading is from The Inclusive Bible. The First Egalitarian Translation. This is a newer translation that uses inclusive language to expand our understanding of the Word of God and our relationship to it, as we hear it and read it and study it and incorporate its truth into our lives.
Perhaps, the Holy Spirit will stir up something new in us as we ponder the Word in a new way.
On this day of The Holy Trinity, we turn our attention to the interconnected and intimate relationship of the Triune God – the eternal Three-in-One and majestic One-in-Three – whom we confess to worship and adore.
We can describe the holy Trinity in many ways. All of the phrases we might use offer us different ways of thinking about the mystery of God, the mystery which we humans can never fully understand no matter how hard we try.
Listen closely this morning and you will hear me speak of the holy Trinity using a variety of words and diverse images, as a way to help us imagine God in a variety of new ways.
Then perhaps we can begin to experience that the wonder of the Trinity – the wonder of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in whose name we baptize – lies in relationship; the relationship of and between the Triune God and relationship the Triune God has with each of us and, indeed, with all of creation. It is the relationship of love and grace that flow from the Father to the Son and to the Holy Spirit to us and through us and out into all the world that God creates and redeems and sustains.
The relationship of and between the Triune God – Mother and Child and Breath – is not a linear relationship; it does not move in a straight line. It is circular and repetitive. It is the swirl of love and the dance of grace weaving around us and in us and through us; weaving among us, connecting us and moving us closer to God and to each other.
The relationship of and between the Triune God – the Loving and Liberating and Life-giving God (used by former Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry) – is the essence of the God we worship today; the God who created the heavens and the earth; who’s wind swept over the water; who spoke and said Let there be light and there was light…and God saw everything he had made and indeed it was very good. (Gen 1)
The relationship of and between the Triune God – Earth-Maker, Pain-Bearer, Life-Giver (from the New Zealand Prayer Book) – is the essence of the God who is Jesus Christ, the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14).
The relationship of and between the Triune God – Creator and Redeemer and Sustainer – is the essence of the God who loves and creates all people in God’s own image; the God who loves and forgives all people and calls each person into a reconciling relationship with God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and the God who loves and empowers us through the Holy Spirit, the breath of God that gives us life.
No matter what descriptive phrase we use, the relationship of and between the Triune God – is the essence of the God who is the Spirit of truth, who guides us into all truth, and who pours God’s love into our hearts.
This is the Spirit of truth that is given to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit when we are baptized; it is the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in (God’s). We can recall this gift of the Spirit of truth every time we remember our baptism – when we wash our face, when we walk in the rain – when we dip our fingers in the water of the font and make the sign of the cross on our forehead.
The Spirit of truth leads us into the ancient and eternal wisdom of God; wisdom that fills the heavens and the earth with glory; wisdom that builds up the body of Christ – the church – and strengthens it and sends it out into the world to love and serve God’s diverse people.
The Spirit of truth calls out to us even today – calls us to listen deeply for the still small voice of God who has redeemed us and now calls us by name because we belong to God. (Isaiah 43:1); calls us to listen to Jesus who offers us life-giving words of compassion, healing and peace; calls us to listen to the sound of the Holy Spirit moving in us and through us to reveal the truth that is from God.
We live in a noisy and chaotic world – have you noticed?
The psalmist says Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
Be still. Listen for the Spirit of truth…calling you, holding you, loving you.
The good news for today is that the Spirt of truth continues to reveal to us, in a variety of ways, that the glory of the Triune God, Parent, Sibling and Advocate, is alive and present even now; flowing through us and through this world.
We find our hope and our joy in the wonder of that glory.