Bible Text: John 16:21-15, Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 | Preacher: Rev. Jenn Geddes
Jesus, Moses, and an old man go golfing. The first one to tee off is Moses. He smashes the ball and it is heading right for the water hazard before the green. Moses raises his club, the water parts, and the ball makes it to the green. Jesus gets up to swing, cranks it out, and it is headed for the water hazard. Jesus closes his eyes and prays. The ball skips across the water and lands on the green two feet from the hole. The old man’s turn comes and he drives the ball. The ball looks like it is going to drop directly into the water. A fish jumps from the water hazard swallowing the ball, as an eagle drops from the sky, grabbing the fish. As the eagle flies over the green, a bolt of lightning strikes the eagle, making it drop the fish. As the fish hits the green, it spits out the ball and the ball falls into the hole, making it a hole in one. Jesus looks at Moses and says, “I really think I’m leaving Dad at home next time!” It shouldn’t surprise you that holy humour is important to me. While I view my role as preacher and pastor with a lot of seriousness and sanctity I also feel it is important to have fun, to be playful, and to laugh a lot. As film director Kevin Smith once said, “Even God has a sense of humour, just look at the platypus.” God’s sense of humour is especially revealed in the writings from Proverbs, including our text this morning, and even in the mystery of the Trinity. This morning is Holy Trinity Sunday and it is a Sunday dedicated to the celebration of God as Trinity. Each of our Scriptures this morning works together to suggestion that the Trinitarian doctrine- no matter how important it is to our faith- is just one way in which we attempt to understand the Divine. One could argue that it is difficult to see any humour in our Gospel reading. Time is running out for Jesus and he wants to get everything in order for what he knows will be the end of his physical ministry on earth. He still has so much to say, and yet, he is aware that the disciples can’t take it all in. This is perhaps all the more reason to be playful because the disciples will remember the words better if they are happy- if they are enjoying themselves- if they are not fully exposed to the sadness that will come later. In the Gospel text we are back at the events in Holy Week, which might seem like a strange juxtaposition for Trinity Sunday, but from this context of sorrow, which will deepen before it is turned to joy, Jesus seeks to prepare the disciples for not only the end of his human companionship, but for the revelation of the Spirit. Last week we talked about the Spirit being Jesus’ parting gift but also about the confusion experienced at the events at that first Pentecost. It was so strange, so inconceivable, so silly that the disciples are accused of being drunk at 9 o’clock in the morning. The Holy Spirit, one aspect or element to the Trinity, is going to burst in with such bizarre flare that people won’t know what to do and it will be a huge gathering of Jewish celebrants that experience this silly Spirit, for the disciples begin to speak the different languages so those around witness to this strange and wonderful phenomenon. But this morning what we have is an intimate setting, a table around which the disciples sit, Jesus with a bowl of water and towel, an unforgettable meal, and as twilight descends Jesus begins to speak of his love and hopes for his disciples. Old Testament theologian Rebecca Kruger Gaundino says, “Jesus teaches that absence does not mean nothingness or aloneness…Jesus’ absence is his presence in a way that is even more powerful and enduring, so much so that he tells the disciples that, “It is to your advantage that I go away.” There is something about the advocate that is the continuing presence of Jesus as well as the presence of the Father, all three available and present to the disciples.” Maybe this isn’t the kind of sense of humour that you thought I meant- this seems more like a dramedy in that something awful has to happen in order for the joy of the truth to be revealed. But Jesus’ going away is not so cut and dry as we think. We heard last week that the coming Advocate and Spirit of truth will teach the disciples anything that is left undone. Jesus also said, “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father.” In the section following our Gospel, the subheading is “Sorrow Will Turn into Joy”. Jesus explains that through the Spirit they will know the truth about God. The Trinity is the complete expression of God’s joy, God’s playfulness. Through Christ, in the company of the Spirit in the power of God the Father, we are invited and able to experience the deep and direct knowing of the Divine among us, with us and in us. We know there is something playful in that- we are not just talking about a playful creator, but a thoughtful messiah, and a spontaneous Spirit. And in the trinity we experience the wisdom of God. The passage from Proverbs is heavily debated by scholars and yet often neglected by preachers. Which is perhaps why I like it, but it also expresses this playful side to God. Despite it seeming to be a strange passage to hear on Trinity Sunday, it is rather appropriate. This wisdom, and as I mentioned in the introduction many scholars call it Woman Wisdom, is also entwined in the Trinity. Yes, it is a poetic device but let’s use the pronoun she for a second. Wisdom, ה ָמ ְכָח chokmah in Hebrew or Sofia in Greek is the very first of God’s creative actions and she arrived on the scene before the Mountains were sculpted and the hills took shape. The translation of the Message says, “I was right there with God, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company, delighting with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.” While wisdom is given this female pronoun and called Woman wisdom, that one passage makes me think of the delight in children and child’s play. Another great quote that I like to live by is that “pleasure and playfulness are built into the very structure of things, making possible a spirit of discovery and generosity that implies that Woman Wisdom opens up the world rather than closes it down.” Wisdom provides a playful transformative experience in which we can receive a new outlook on life. Remember the first time you saw jumping salmon, or deer in your garden, or a unique bird at your feeder. Remember the joy and delight in play. This is what wisdom says she was doing from the very beginning, taking delight in awe, squealing with joy as things were created, clapping in excitement at the wonders of creation. We often portray wisdom with images of wise, old, thoughtful, even stoic mystics, but here we have a little girl giggling at God. It is a mystery, but one that can still be enjoyed. Which brings us back to the Trinity. For it is through the trinity that we are able to mildly understand the truth about God- that God is creator- creating things like platypus, and barnacles. That God is Jesus Christ, the one who washed his disciples’ feet and welcomed children. That God is the Holy Spirit, causing people to act as though they are drunk and expressing joy in all kinds of languages. Emma Goldman said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Well, if we cannot be playful in worship then we are not doing justice to the Holy Trinity. A Sunday school teacher asked the children just before she dismissed them, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” And one of the students replied in all sincerity, “Because people are sleeping.” Amen