TRINITY SUNDAY 2003
By Rev. William E. Exner
It is Trinity Sunday in the season of The Holy Spirit (Pentecost) in the Episcopal Church
of the 21st century; and, as usual, God is stirring things up to move us all closer – ever closer to
God’s heart. Twas ever thus, my friends – Twas ever thus. In the words of William
Shakespeare, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your
philosophy.” (Hamlet) Look at this glorious spring day when God’s Glory exudes new life as
God is at work. Now look back to the Hebrew scripture about Moses and the burning bush
you heard moments ago. You were told that Moses was in the middle of nowhere – “beyond
the wilderness at Mt. Horeb” when God stirred him finally – when God got Moses attention – at
last. Like most of us, Moses didn’t really realize that God had been with him all the way, and
had been trying to get him to focus on God instead of his plight as an underclass slave under
Pharaoh Sethos I. Legend says Moses didn’t realize the trueness of God fully until he was
about 40! It took God until Moses was 40! So there’s hope for us all I figure. And we also
know Moses was preoccupied, most of the time. What are you thinking about, what list is
running through your mind while I’m preaching here? And Moses was a little nieve, and not too
sure of himself so God had to dangle the burning bush in front of him to get Moses’ attention.
And, once God had Moses attention, Moses could finally hear God’s voice call him by name.
God knows us by name. “Moses, Moses, it is I, the God of your forebears, – God of Abraham
and Sarah, Isaac and Jacob. I’m calling you to life Moses – your real life.” This reading isn’t
about a burning bush, it’s about a man and it’s about you. God had broken through the
self-doubt, the naiveté and the preoccupation. And Moses heard, and Moses wound up setting
his people free. He became the moral, loving Father of a nation of faith once God finally got his
attention. It’s Trinity Sunday friends; it’s time to talk about how God works – our creator, our
redeemer, our sustainer…and more!
Now you also heard how God can break through the life of a man, who is too self assured and
set in his ways, who is closed minded, religiously rigid, somewhat violent, reactionary and
judgmental-which was the case with Saul who came to be known as
St. Paul, the writer of the letter to the Romans. Do you know that the same man who, in
today’s Epistle declares you to be an heir to the blessings God’s own family, would have – in
his earlier life-persecuted you, ostracized and done harm to you because you hold the inclusive,
embracing love of Jesus Christ in your heart? God finally got the attention of Saul too, at last,
one day in his 30’s as legend has it when he was traveling to Damascus and fell off his mount
and went blind. It was in his blindness that Saul encountered God in Christ – who gave him
new sight and fresh insight and Saul was never the same – he was better. And he changed his
name to Paul and he stopped living out of his anger, his fear, and his violent judgmentalism and
he became a proclaimer of God’s love to precisely those people who had been intentionally left
out of grace by the religion of his day. Yes God gets the attention of 2 men and one liberates
the Hebrews and one becomes perhaps the greatest apostle of all – offering grace and blessing
to all who come to God in faith.
Now, I believe the almost miraculous election of our new bishop elect, The Rev. Canon Gene
Robinson represents God doing Gods thing in the world yet again. God always has, and always
will, stir things for good ultimately to get our attention, finally in order to call us to grace and to
lead us all, together even closer to the heart and way of God than we have ever known before.
God’s stirring has been everywhere it seems this past week since the election. CNN, Foxx
News, NPR, The New York Times, Union Leader, Boston Globe, Concord Monitor, The
Today Show, you name it, our New Hampshire bishop election in New Hampshire has made a
stir. Much of it has been very positive and forward-looking (the Unitarian Universalist Society
of Manchester lit a “way to go” candle for us last Sunday.) And some of the stir has been
uncomfortable but with good and fair potential/and some of the stir though small in number has
been harsh and threatening reflecting more the attitude of Saul than the spirit of St. Paul. Gosh,
even I have been questioned by several reporters and what I have tried to convey is that this
election of Father Robinson is not about Gene being a gay man, it is about Gene being called by
God, and affirmed by his church as a faithful, gifted, compassionate and effective Christian
witness. It’s about God calling Gene, just like God called Moses and Saul. And my friends
frankly, its also about God calling you – getting your attention – inviting, even I pray compelling
you to dare move closer to the loving heart of God than you have ever moved before, and to
encourage the struggling world around you to do likewise.
Yes, God is stirring up a lot of stuff lately. And each one needs to listen, to think, and to pray.
So if today you feel more like Nicodamus in today’s Gospel, who approached Jesus on the QT
in the dark and after hearing Jesus’ invitation to a spiritual rebirth of broadened vision and a
bigger heart for all, kept scratching his head and saying, “How can this be?” [“ How can I let
myself believe that there is love in God’s heart for us all? Room for us all? Appreciation and
care and blessing for us all?”] Yeah, if today you’re wondering “How can this be ‘, that God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son SO THAT EVERYONE who believes in
him – even Gene Robinson, even you, “may not perish but have everlasting life”. Hey, if that’s
where you’re at today, it’s OK. – God is with us, each of us on the way. God has led us
beyond the wilderness before, and God has given us new eyes to see things afresh before too.
Take heart, comfort and strength, for Christ himself said, “come unto me and I will refresh
you”. – Yes, this table of grace is set for you – and for all believers!
So have faith, not fear friends. Especially on Trinity Sunday. For we are the people who say
“Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and blessed be God’s kingdom now and
forever. Amen.”
Pray for the soothing of the voices of church gloom and doom/fear and threat. For sometimes it
is wiser to pray “God may my words be sweet for I may need to eat them tomorrow”, then to
be soured or reactive. Keep perspective and faith – be more open to God than so called
‘expert’ opinions. Remember, not everyone with perceived power or expertise got it right when
the new and good was happening in their midst. On July 4, 1776 King George III wrote in his
diary “Nothing of importance happened today”. And in 1912 Thomas Edison said, “Direct
thought is not an attribute of femininity. In this woman is now centuries behind man”. And in
1808, at the 1st performance of Beethoven’s 5th symphony, the top musical reviewer in Vienna
Louis Spohr declared it “an orgy of vulgar noise”. So keep your perspective of faith friends –
Indeed there are more things in heaven and earth, dear Christians –than are dreamt of in our
philosophy. God is stirring. God is working toward a greater good that includes you and your
neighbor. As Jesus said, “believe in God, believe also in me.” ‘For with God nothing is
impossible’, especially on Trinity Sunday, in the season of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) in the
Episcopal Church of the 21st century. I do believe God has our attention. Indeed “Blessed be
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever. Amen”