6 June 2009

Isaiah 6.1-8
Psalm 29
Romans 8.12-17
St. John 3.1-17

Some of you know that Mike and I have a Portuguese Waterdog by the name of Noah. (And we got ours way before the Obamas, we are not being trendy.) Some of you have seen Noah in action and you’ve told others about him. Of course you’ve said he’s incredibly cute – but beyond that, you’ve probably told stories about Noah, about how he’s gladdened the hearts of people in assisted-living facilities, about how he’s entertained Local Assistance Ministry guests by closing cupboard doors – even when someone still had his head in the cupboard – and yeah, it was pretty funny, especially since that someone would be yours truly. It’s through the telling of stories that we come to know one another and our world.

We are the story-telling animal. We tell our stories through narrative, poetry, song, dance, and drama. Story-telling is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal world – sorry Noah, but it’s one of the things we can do that you can’t. Today we celebrate the God who tells us God’s own stories in a “triune” way called “the Holy Trinity.” And for at least seventeen centuries or so, the Church has tied itself in knots as it has tried to get through our heads that this “triune God” is one, indivisible God – has tried to help us know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not some sort of hierarchical, masculine regime engaged in a territorial wrestling match, some sort of linear, dynastic progression – but story, address, poem, dance, song, a fugue in three voices.