Happy Father’s Day to those who celebrate! Let’s talk about fathers for a moment. What words would we use to describe someone who fathers? What is a father?
Jesus said: All that the Father has is mine. There is a long history of referring to God as Father. How much of what we just said would apply to God? What might we add to our description to better encompass the idea of God as Father? The creed begins with “I believe in God, the Father Almighty”. How does the addition of the word “Almighty” impact our understanding of God as Father?
Does this language fully encompass how we understand God? Therein lies the real challenge, right? Calling God Father conjures up a certain set of images and ideas. For some these images and ideas are comforting and help them understand the mystery and wonder of God in a tangible way. God wants to have a relationship with us. Being a loving parent is one type of relationship.
There are other ways God connects with humanity. You may notice that I tend to use Creator instead of Father. That is part of the creed too “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.” The first reading and psalm today also remind us that God is Creator. Some feel a powerful connection to God through Creation. A walk in nature, gardening, camping, bird watching, sailing, or any of the many outdoor activities we may enjoy can give us a sense of peace and comfort that can feel like a prayer, a conversation with the One who made it all. God reaches out to us in ways that make sense for us.
Being human is something we all share. It is something to which we can all relate. It makes sense, then, that God would reach out in human form, connecting with us in a meaningful way that gives us a model for the best humanity can be. In Jesus, God relates to us as one like us to reveal to us the good and the bad of this world and help us understand what is needed for transformation.
We learn a lot about God and humanity through Jesus. The stories of his life, death, and resurrection are conveyed in the Gospels as a tool for us to continue to reflect, learn, and grow.
Jesus said, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…
Jesus’ presence in this world happened some two thousand years ago in what we now know as the Middle East. His legacy continues but we also sense that his presence is more than the stories that are shared. There is a sense that God continues to be present in this world guiding those who are open to hearing God’s voice through the Life-Giving Spirit, the Spirit of truth.
This Spirit has been present through all of Creation. She is the breath, the Ruah, that brought life to the world. She is wisdom that has been from the beginning. That wisdom remains present for us enabling us to connect with and understand God’s ongoing presence in this world. It is through the Spirit that we recognise the extent to which God working in and through us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
God, Father, Creator, Son, Jesus, Holy Spirit. The names are important to our understanding and ability to connect with the Higher Power who continually longs to have a relationship with us. One of the ways we understand these labels is as the Trinity, the Three in One which captures our sense of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or Creator, Redeemer, and Life-Giving Spirit.
These labels are for us. They give us a meaningful way to capture our sense of God and our relationship with God. Truthfully, we know that God is far more than can be captured in words. God is grace and mystery that are more than we can ask or imagine. This is God’s gift to us, mystery, wonder, and diversity. We are continually called to embrace, appreciate, and welcome that diversity as a gift from the expansive God who is Creator, Redeemer, Life-Giving Spirit and so much more.
As we celebrate the mystery of the Trinity today, may we honour God and Creation’s wonderful diversity remaining open to all of the ways God reaches out to us and recognising God’s gifts in one another. This we pray as we sing: God of Many Faces