e-piphanies

The Holy Trinity: More Than a Theory

The Holy Trinity is a doctrine, a teaching, developed over time by the Church as an aspect of the unfolding revelation of God derived from, but not confined to the pages of sacred scripture.

Doctrine is not Truth, with a capital “T”, but rather our faithful approach to or reach for the Truth. Doctrine that really matters is more than an intellectual pursuit or a theory. The best doctrines are those that speak to deeply felt needs of those who seek God. For example…

We have a need to know who created the universe and placed us in it. In response, the Church tells us that it is the Lord God Almighty who is the Creator and Parent of all life and being. We see God’s hand at work in the world around us. It is powerful, though only a glimpse. To see God face to face is something we hope for and long for and live for.

We also need to know that we have a source of forgiveness and understanding that will not let us down. In our declaration of the divinity of Jesus Christ, we are saying that God sees us not just from the viewpoint of a loving Creator/Parent, but with redemptive concern as well. God’s reason for dealing with us in Jesus Christ is to offer us forgiveness of sin, release from guilt, to reconcile us, and draw us closer to the ultimate purpose for all creation.

And, we need to know that we have a friend who is near, always able to sustain our faith, bind us together in worship, and empower us in God’s mission. So, we proclaim that God is the Holy Spirit, ever present in our midst for guidance, comfort, and strength. As St. Paul says, the Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and heirs with Christ of God’s amazing grace (Romans 8:16, 17).

The Holy Trinity: Three expressions of how One Living God relates to everything and everyone in the universe. More than a theory, it is a teaching given to us to help us better to know who God is, how God loves us, and how God abides with us.

I'll see you in Church!

 

 

 

Enjoy just about everybody's favorite hymn about the Holy Trinity.

 

The Episcopal Church: The Original Discovery Channel

An inclusive and authentic community of faith ought to stand by us and encourage us through all the stages and struggles of faith. I am reminded of this every year on the Second Sunday of Easter when we always read the account of the experience of St. Thomas the Apostle with the Risen Christ (John 20:19-31). This incident shows us that even the most empirical evidence is incomplete without the evidence from personal experience. One role of a faith community is to be a safe place where we can explore and seek understanding of all our experiences, especially those that puzzle and confound us. While the biblical revelation is primary in our faith journey, we believe tradition, reason, and experience are necessary lenses through which we discover the way forward together.

What are the five senses without experience? A scientist must rely on experience of the evidences that are seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled in conducting an experiment. How is the experience of the presence, the love, and the power of the living Christ in a person’s life any less real? No experiment is complete or valid, no philosophical argument is authentic, apart from the existential fact of human experience. After all, the words experience, experiment, and expert all have their origin in the Latin word experimentum, from experiri, which means to “test” or “try.”

One of my seminary professors used to say, “One can neither confirm nor deny in the armchair what has been established in the laboratory of the human soul.” Without experiential evidence, faith cannot survive and the doubts that live on the edge of our lives will consume us.

I’m grateful to be in a Church that recognizes that doubt plays a role in the quest for truth. Honest doubt is the forbearer of discovery! A questing spirit is normal and necessary in the development of a growing person. Thomas expressed his doubts in the security of the community of those whom Jesus had called along with him. He could have chosen other friends. Instead, he chose to remain among the friends of Jesus.

Never did one of them say, “Thomas, you’re through here. Out you go. You can’t stay in our midst because you are a heretic, a skeptic, and an unbeliever.” The disciples stood by Thomas in his struggle to believe.

Fundamentalism has gained a stronghold in our culture and, I suspect, driven more people away from faith than it has attracted. Our Church offers a healthy alternative. My friend Bill Cherry described The Episcopal Church this way: “Here's the deal about being an Episcopalian. You get to tinker with what you're taught until you get a personal encompassing belief that you're comfortable with. Meanwhile, your Church doesn't scream at you that what you've just done is the work of the devil. Consequently, you love being an Episcopalian and can't imagine being anything else. I'm one of those.” Me too!

If you have doubts about the Resurrection, about your relationship with God, about life eternal, take heart! You are not the first and you will not be the last. You’ve come to the right Church. All are welcome here in the company of others who have been lovingly guided through doubt to faith. It’s the original Discovery Channel.

I’ll see you in Church!

 

 

 

 

P.S. Join us for a Discovery Weekend, either May 8-10 or June 12-14.

 

 

 

Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ January 25, 2015

 

The Third Sunday After the Epiphany

Lectionary

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Today's icon: Call of Simon and Andew by Duccio di Buoninsegna 

 

 

Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ January 18, 2015

 

The Second Sunday After the Epiphany

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Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ January 11, 2015

 

The Baptism of the Lord

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Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ January 4, 2015

 

The Second Sunday After Christmas Day

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Today's Icon

The Flight into Egypt, Dr Stéphane René

Dr René, a lecturer in Christian Art associated with the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, was born in Paris and is a London based iconographer working in the Contemporary Coptic Style. He is one of very few exponents of this sacred tradition in the West.

 

 

Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ December 28, 2014

 

 

The First Sunday After Christmas Day

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Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ December 21, 2014

 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

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Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ December 14, 2014

 

The Second Sunday of Advent

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Sermon at The Episcopal Church in Parker County ~ December 7, 2014

 

The Second Sunday of Advent

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