Spirit Stuff

Trinitarian Christians let the phrase "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" roll off our lips like salt from a Margarita. We affirm this classical formula--that God manifests godself in three "persons." One is the "grand old man" of the Creation, as is pictured by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. One is the Jewish long-hair who drives religious leaders crazy, heals the broken, hangs out with the "least of these," and, of course, experiences death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit? Holy Ghost? What are we to make of her/him?  This is starting to sound like science fiction, isn't it?

Why is it important that we understand God as three "persons"? Especially when our Jewish friends pronounce, "The Lord our God is ONE"? What if we view this concept as God "modeling" family and community for humanity?  If we come to understand the very nature of God as a "we," WE can be a part of this realm, as beloved children of God. God calls us into relationship--community--with godself, and God IS a "family" within God's own existence. A divine "relationship" models a functional community for human beings to emulate and be a part of. (There is a lot more to my thinking here than I can put into a simple blog, but suffice it to say, my answer to the question "Why the Trinity?" is not just "Because the Bible says so.")

Now, let's briefly examine the "persons" of the Holy Trinity...

God the Creator--often labeled "Father"--seems to be the ringleader of the operation, at least functionally. There are things that Jesus says only God knows, such as when things are going to wrap up down here on Earth. Now, it is a heresy to suggest that one "person" of the Trinity is somehow "greater" than any of the other two, but there appears to be a separation of powers or assignments, at least. Unfortunately, Michelangelo did us a great disservice when he portrayed God as the white-haired old gentleman reaching out to touch Adam and give him life. The Bible says that God is spirit. And while Jesus calls God "Father," we must note that because of his human sojourn as a male, Jesus adopts this paternal label for God to keep first-century disciples from getting confused. In actuality, God must embody all gender identities, as the Bible says we are "made in the image of God," and we are manifest as different gender identities, aren't we? In our time, it is unnecessary to always view the Creator as "Father." "Parent God," "Father/Mother God," or just "God" as terms for Creator help us not exclude those for whom "Father" is a negative or unnecessarily patriarchal term. (I once had a young, single Mom in one of my congregations who was overjoyed that she didn't have to think of God as "Father," as she had suffered much abuse at the hands of men, including her own father.)

Jesus the Son. If I really want to gain an understanding of a loving, forgiving, humble-yet-powerful God who gather's God's people like a "hen gathers her chicks," I read about and imagine Jesus. The closeness of God, made possible by The Christ coming into our human existence, is profound. Christianity would do well to rediscover the "Christ Center" of our faith and get away from a watered-down "it's all God" approach. There is magic and wonder in the concept that God took a divine field trip, and even in some mystical way, offered a supreme, loving "sacrifice" on our behalf. We have to bring the "blood shedding" imagery into a modern idiom, as it doesn't speak as well to our age. In Jesus' time, this made perfect "religious" sense. The Jews sacrificed an animal for the forgiveness of sin. But this is not our practice, is it? This is quite foreign to us. The closest "bloodshed" image we might have in our time is the story of a young soldier throwing her or himself on a grenade to save others. But there are other models: a parent giving a child an organ to save its life; a single parent doing without for herself in order to feed, clothe, and nurture her children; a partisan politician "stepping across the aisle" to vote a compromise bill into law, even if it means their defeat at the next election. Perfect love, parenthood, and even leadership, often involves serious sacrifice. Jesus models this in the context of his time. In 2014, his unction to "take up your cross and follow me" means far more than just a beating or persecution. It means changing ones priorities to benefit our neighbor and others. That is sacrifice, and out of this comes genuine love.

The Holy Spirit. Boy, do we have a fit with this "person" of the Godhead! In fact, many Christian people refer to the Spirit as an "it," even when they don't realize it. I know I have. You see, we have trouble seeing the Spirit as a "person," because she/he is SPIRIT! Now, I tried to make the case that using exclusive male imagery for God is archaic. Jesus clearly comes in male form (again, probably because of the context of the time he entered the world), but what of the Spirit of God? I think of the Spirit as the "female" manifestation of the Godhead. The various words for Spirit in the Bible are feminine. The ministries of the Holy Spirit seem to be in the realm of what are often female roles in our culture. And, forgive me if I'm stereotyping here, but the way the Spirit is totally subsumed in the work of nurturing, educating, guiding, and comforting tend to me more invested in female persons in our time. To call the Spirit "she" makes sense to me. I'm telling you this so you don't freak out if I do so in worship!

One final note about the "Spirit stuff"--the work of the Spirit seems to be the most mysterious to me of the agencies of the Godhead. Sure Paul talks about gifts of the Spirit, and a few "practical" resources borne by the Spirit, but mostly the work of the Spirit is a mystery, and it's a good thing. If we had as much "didactic" information about the Holy Spirit as the Bible (especially Paul) gives us about God the Creator and Jesus the Son, we would dogmatically create a hierarchy of control, superimposing it upon the work of the Spirit, and probably "quenching" her, to use Paul's language. I really like the Celtic "wild goose" metaphor for the Holy Spirit--much more exciting than the "dove" imagery given us by the Gospel writers.

So, that's "Spirit Stuff." Hopefully these thoughts open an on-going dialogue about the rich faith we share, Beloved. Shalom!