Trinity Sunday 2012

There’s a common motif in movies of the crazy old person who lives in the scary house at the edge of town. Maybe you can picture it in your mind: the old dilapidated house in need of a few coats of paint, the yard overrun with weeds, skeletons of old tools and appliances littering the front porch, maybe there’s a sign that reads “NO TRESSPASSING” or “STAY OUT”. In stories, neighborhood kids dare each other to ring the doorbell. Adults hold their breath when they drive past. Moms with strollers cross over to the other side of the road. And animals, rubber balls and model airplanes that go over the fence never return. Can you picture it in your mind? Well, there’s another part to these stories. It’s the kid who goes searching for the ball that went over the fence, or who, selling candy for school, or fulfilling a dare, actually rings the doorbell. What he discovers is that the old person isn’t scary, he’s just different, in fact he’s amazing, maybe brilliant, perhaps a genius or a great artist. In the stories the brave kid not only learns about the old person in the house but he usually becomes like family and usually receives some form of an inheritance at the end of the story: sometimes he gets the house, or maybe a small fortune, or the mastery of a skill or art.

My brothers and sisters, today we celebrate “Trinity Sunday”. This is the basic teaching about the Trinity: who-God-is in His innermost being is a communion of persons. God is a Trinity. He is a family. Furthermore, from Jesus Christ, the Second Person of this family, we learn that we, though creatures, have been invited into His family. That’s who-God-is. He is a family that invites others in.

Now, the Bible also tells us that human beings have been created in the image and likeness of our Creator who is Trinity. Thus, we image God best, not as isolated individuals, but as communities and families that are open to others. For instance, in Christian Marriage, if a husband and wife are united in love and their union is open to new life- to children- then it images the Trinity. On the other hand, if a marriage celebrates the union of love, but is not open to new life, it is not. You see, contraception disfigures the image and likeness of the Trinitarian God in marriage. Likewise, a Christian Community is a contradiction if it worships the Trinitarian God on Sunday, but then does not welcome and invite others in to the community.

For many people today, their image of the Church is like the scary old house at the edge of town with the crazy old man living in it. We fool ourselves if we think that everyday, neighborhood kids aren’t daring each other to run up and touch the door of our Church. There are people who even hold their breath when they drive by. And I’ve seen some people walking on the sidewalk cross to the other side of the street. Now maybe they have good reason to act this way. Ask yourself, what do outsiders see when they look at our Church? Do they see signs that communicate “NO TRESSPASSING” or “STAY OUT”? And if they have the courage to come in, what do they experience? Do they get mean looks? Do they hear “Welcome” or do they hear, “You’re sitting in my seat?” As an insider, I know there is a wonderful community here. And I think if people got to know us, they’d discover we are not so scary. Maybe we’re different. But there’s something amazing here. There’s a family. More than that, in this house we call our Church, at the head of our family, there is a “crazy old man”, the Trinitarian God, who longs to share his inheritance with us. And it would be wonderful if other people were given the opportunity to get to know Him.

Ok, so here’s an idea. Community is not a club, because a club is exclusive. Rather, community is inclusive. Community is defined by it’s openness to others. The mystery of the Trinity is that The Trinity is not a exclusive club, instead, a community that invites others in. The Good News of the Gospel is that God longs to share His divine life with us. And so our church community, modeled on the Trinity, needs to be the same. Not a club. Nor a self-enclosed or self-focused family. But a true family. A community of love and life that is open to children. A family that welcomes others in to become part of the family.

I think this is an excellent tool for evaluating all that we do as a church, or as families, or as individual Christians for that matter. In everything we do, ask yourself, “Are we being a club? Or are we being a community?” When a stranger appears in our midst, do I respond by word or by action, “STAY OUT!” “NO TRESSPASSING” or do I communicate “Welcome!” “Come In!” On this Trinity Sunday, let us ask the Lord to make us more truly a community in the image and likeness of the Triune God who is a family, a community of life and love, open to others, inviting others to discover WHO-GOD-IS.