FROM THE RECTOR

The Rev. R. Casey Shobe, D.Min.

The nature of God as a Trinity of persons is not something most of us think a lot about. We speak about it in the Nicene Creed, we hear the three persons named at the close of collects, but the Trinity is, for most of us, a big mysterious theological concept that surpasses our understanding.

There is something about the Trinity, though, that we can all understand, no matter how much theology we’ve read. At the heart of it, the mystery of the Trinity speaks to us of the power of relationship. The fact that God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit means that God’s very being is a relationship. God is not a soloist, but a choir; not a loner, but a community. Which is pretty powerful to consider, especially in a society that glorifies individualism. In a world that is all about “me,” we worship a God who is, fundamentally, a “we.” So while the doctrine of the Trinity may seem esoteric and abstract, it is among the most important and relevant of all the things we believe.

In many of the cultures of southern Africa, there is an idea known as ubuntu. Ubuntu is difficult to translate precisely into English, but the late Bishop Desmond Tutu liked to describe ubuntu as the idea that a “person is a person through other persons.”

“Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of how my humanity is caught up and bound up inextricably with yours. It says, not as Descartes did, ‘I think, therefore I am’ but rather, ‘I am because I belong.’ I need other human beings in order to be human. The completely self-sufficient human being is subhuman. I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family.”

Several years ago, the leaders of the Episcopal Church decided to make the idea of ubuntu the theme of General Convention. In her opening address, then Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori spoke of the many crises currently facing the world and the Church: environmental destruction, war, political and philosophical polarization. Then, in a reference to the theme of ubuntu, Bishop Schori said,

“The overarching connection in all of these crises has to do with the great Western heresy: that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God … That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy, at the center of existence, as the ground of being.”

Before she had even finished her address, there was a firestorm of outrage at her words. Even within the Episcopal Church, there are many who bitterly resent the suggestion that salvation is anything other than a personal, individual activity. The only thing that matters in the practice of religion, they insist, is my decision, my faith, and my actions. But if we really believe in a God who is a community of persons united in one being, why would we think we can follow that God by ourselves?

Another important contemporary provocateur, Pope Francis, has taught that there are no such things as “do-it-yourself” Christians. It may sound nice to think that we can practice our faith by ourselves on our sofa, or on hikes, or at yoga class, but it is impossible to be a Christian alone. Being a Christian requires being a part of a community. Living the Christian faith – following Jesus on his way, according to his truth, and embedded in his life – it takes others.

It is fundamental we remember this, because the Church is desperately struggling to emerge from the long ordeal of the pandemic. And our biggest problem is the waning commitment to community, to being together, to taking part in intentional, committed relationships with other members of the faithful. The truth is that, over the last few years, we got pretty used to doing church on our own. We could watch the service in our jammies, whenever and

wherever we wanted. We didn’t have to go anywhere, chat with anyone, or do much of anything. Heck, we were pretty much prevented from volunteering! The church shrank down to the size of our living room, or the screen on our mobile device.

So, even when it became possible to gather in person to pray and praise God and share meals and attend classes and help out and be with one another…not everyone came back. We’re still at about two-thirds of our pre-pandemic attendance, and many weeks it’s more like half.

Which is why we need to remember what we believe about God: the God we believe in is not alone, so we should be careful about believing we can follow God alone. We need God, and we need one another. What we do and believe in our individual lives is enormously important, but it is not the entire story. I am not my best, most made-in-the-image-of-God self, when I am alone. I am my best, most-made-in-theimage-of-God self when I am with you.

It’s like Bishop Tutu said, “I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness.” So let’s all remember just how important we are to our church, resist some of those habits that grew during the long time apart, and recommit to taking an active part in the life of our community.

This is adapted from a sermon preached on Trinity Sunday, which you can access at www.transfiguration.net/trinity-sunday-2022