Living on Trinity Drive -- FPC sermon excerpt

In my hometown of Bowie, Maryland, the Jewish synagogue had a very unfortunate address. Instead of being located on Maple Lane or First Street or some other road with a meaningless name, the synagogue was placed on Trinity Drive.

Trinity Drive: A street that makes you think of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The same awkwardness would be created by the placement of a Roman Catholic Church on “John Calvin Avenue,” or a Presbyterian Church on “Mohammed Lane.” While these names are important to particular faiths, they are not equally revered by all. Muslims are particularly devoted to Mohammed, Presbyterians are indebted to Calvin, and it is Christians — rather than Jews — who see God as a Trinity.

In Bowie, the name problem was eventually solved by a change of address. The synagogue is still located on Trinity Drive, but the mailing address is now listed as “Torah Lane.”

The Trinity is a uniquely Christian understanding of God. We depict the Trinity in the three interlocking circles of our FPC logo, on the cover of our worship bulletin. We sing about it in the hymn “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty … God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.” We affirm it in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost.”

We confess our faith in the Trinity every time we baptize a person in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is central to our understanding of who God is, and even very young Christians know who the three persons of the Trinity are. When my daughter Sadie was six years old, I came across her pretending to baptize her dolls in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Since we know who our God in three persons is, it is important to take a look at what this God in three persons does. Just as God exists as Father, Son, and Spirit, God acts as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. God is experienced by us as the Lord who creates us and gives us life, redeems us from captivity to sin, and sustains us through the many challenges of life.

This view of God does not replace our understanding of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; instead, it is a functional view of God that can deepen our devotion to the Trinity.

Kenneth Bailey, an author and lecturer in New Testament Studies, makes a strong connection between the Trinity and the visit of the Jewish leader Nicodemus to Jesus in today’s lesson from the third chapter of John. He points out that Nicodemus makes three speeches to which Jesus gives three replies. In addition, Jesus introduces each reply with the phrase “Amen, amen, I say to you,” which in our version of the Bible is translated “Very truly, I tell you.” Whenever this phrase appears, something of supreme importance is being said. The first amen statement provides critical information about God, the second tells of the Spirit, and the third illuminates the person of Jesus.

Are social media changing religion? -- USA TODAY, June 21, 2010

Internet users are complaining that the privacy settings on Facebook are confusing, and lawmakers are questioning Google about its gathering of e-mail and other personal data from Wi-Fi residential networks. The boundary between private and public information is becoming murkier every day, a blurring that is perhaps inevitable in the world of online surfing and social networking.

But how about religious communities? The boundaries are shifting there as well, because of a growing emphasis in congregations on honest and open sharing in small groups.

Vibrant churches today have Bible studies and support groups for every demographic, and congregational vitality is found in the relationships that develop among people in these groups. I am pushing my own church in this direction, after spending a sabbatical studying Christian hospitality while visiting congregations that are skilled at welcoming and including people.

"In the search for personal spiritual fulfillment," says Eugene Taylor Sutton, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, "nothing can replace the joy and lasting value of sharing one's faith journey in person with another human being."

When's God time?

But I have to wonder: Is this trend a threat to privacy? Churches, synagogues, temples and mosques have long been places where people can escape from the world and have an encounter with God. They have literally been "sanctuaries," holy places — not centers for social life or group therapy. I had a member who expressed this desire to me by saying, "I come to church to commune with my God." If congregations become like Facebook, with little privacy or confidentiality, our culture is going to lose the sanctuaries that have been sacred escapes for thousands of years.

They are already disappearing. My Presbyterian colleague Adam McHugh, author of the book Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in An Extroverted Culture, describes the experience of walking into an average evangelical church as "walking into a non-alcoholic cocktail party." Quiet reverence is gone, and in its place is a chatty, mingling informality, "where words flow like wine."

McHugh admires the religious convictions of evangelical churches, and understands the value of sharing struggles and spiritual insights in small groups. But he considers himself to be an introvert and knows the difficulty that community life can pose. "Introverts are not necessarily shy or misanthropic," he says, "but we find our energy in solitude, often listen more than we speak, may prefer to observe more than we engage in the middle, and we may connect with God most deeply in silence."

Problems arise when open sharing and participation in small groups become badges of faithfulness. "If you are not comfortable with those things," says McHugh, "then you end up feeling spiritually inadequate or marginalized."

So where can a person go to connect with God in silence? Churches that practice contemplative prayer — which includes chanting, controlled breathing, or silent concentration — can help people to become centered on God in a private and personal way. "Deep personal relationships require something that we seldom acknowledge: time spent in the presence of the other doing nothing particularly useful," says Monsignor Bill Parent of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Waldorf, Md. "Contemplative prayer is ultimately time spent in the presence of God doing nothing useful, which is another way of saying that it is a necessary part of developing a deep personal relationship with God."

The inner peace that comes from prayer and meditation is one reason that Buddhism is growing in the United States. According to the 2008 Pew Forum's U.S Religious Landscape Survey, Buddhism has climbed to the third most practiced religion in America, right behind Christianity and Judaism. American Buddhism's growth is occurring predominantly through the conversion of native-born Americans, not Asians, with the largest group of Buddhists — 40% — being members of Generation X, ages 30 to 49.

Faith as trust

Religious vitality requires a balancing act between private contemplation and public conversation, and both practices require the establishment of trust. Without trust, there can be no deepening of a personal relationship with God, nor can there be an enrichment of relationships with other people. This is true regardless of whether the connections are made through Facebook or through a congregational small group. Once broken, trust is very difficult to regain — a lesson being learned now by Internet companies accused of misusing private information, and churches facing accusations of sexual abuse.

The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther defined faith as trust, not as assent to a particular set of doctrines or church practices, and his insight impacted Christianity throughout the world. It is time for us to rediscover this, and to recognize the danger of opening up our lives to people — or to a higher power — whom we don't know very well or haven't come to trust. Just as it is dangerous to reveal private information on the Internet, it is self-destructive to open up in congregational small groups that are not trustworthy. And while prayer is an activity that does not trigger privacy concerns, it will be of limited value without a personal willingness to put trust in God.

"Balance is key," says McHugh. "Open, honest relationships with people you trust are hugely significant, but so are opportunities to worship in quiet and to listen for God's voice. Churches that have structures and programs that support both values — since we all have both introverted and extroverted elements to our personalities — I think will be the most successful."

In order to continue to grow, Facebook and Google are going to have to show good faith to their members, and prove that they are trustworthy. And so will congregations that want to thrive in an increasingly networked world.

Henry G. Brinton is pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and author of an upcoming book on Christian hospitality.

How to Survive Anything -- FPC sermon excerpt

Have you ever encountered a black swan?

I don’t mean a bird, but instead a low-probability, high-impact event. A wildfire is a black swan event, as is an avalanche, a tsunami, or a gun-battle in a developing country. These unexpected disasters are called “black swans” because they are outside the realm of regular expectations. Until the 17th century, everyone assumed that all swans were white, because all historical records of swans reported that they had white feathers.

But then, in Australia, the unexpected appeared: Black swans. The impossible suddenly became possible.

So, what do you do if you encounter a black swan event? National Geographic Adventure magazine has a very helpful article called “How to Survive (Almost) Anything” (August-September 2009). I thought this would be a good Father’s Day sermon, for all of our adventure-loving dads.

For example, if you are suddenly faced with whizzing bullets in a foreign country, keep your head down and make your way to the airport or the embassy. And if you get captured and held for ransom, try to relax and go along with their demands. Security experts say that 95 percent of international kidnappings are resolved with a payoff.

And how about if you are on the beach, and you notice that the water is receding unusually fast? Run for high ground or a tall building as fast as you can, because a tsunami is coming. If you get caught in the water, ride it out by keeping your feet up and in front of you, as though you were riding a water slide.

And how about a wildfire caused by a lightning strike? Abandon your synthetic backpack and clothes — they will melt in the heat. Head for the nearest body of water or clearing, while covering your nose and mouth with a wet cotton cloth.

The good news is that you can survive almost anything.

Now it’s true that most of us will never face black swans like wildfires, tsunamis, or overseas gun-battles. But there are plenty of low-probability, high-impact events that can threaten our physical, mental, and spiritual health. The loss of a job. A cancer diagnosis. Separation from a spouse. Failure in an academic program. Betrayal by a friend.

They are low-probability, thank goodness. But high impact.

So what are some of the skills that we can develop to survive the black swans that come our way? The story of the prophet Elijah from the Old Testament book of First Kings gives us a list of things to do — and not to do — if we want to survive.

Creative Repurposing -- FPC sermon excerpt

21 billion pounds.

That’s how much clothing Americans throw away each year. Shorts and skirts, tank tops and t-shirts, blue jeans and underwear — millions of tons of textiles.

The youths of our church are responsible for at least a few tons. They sure know how to dress.

Fortunately, not all of it ends up in the trash. About 2.5 billion pounds of clothing winds up in resale shops and what are now called “vintage emporiums.” Today, there’s no more second-hand clothing — it’s called “vintage.” And sales are booming.

But vintage clothing merchants are not the only ones turning trash into cash. According to Fast Company magazine (February 2009), more than 290 million tires are scrapped each year in the United States. Used tires are now being turned into playground covers and athletic fields.

And how about worm waste? I’ll bet you haven’t thought about the value of worm waste. Worms are very good at this, producing their body weight in waste every 24 hours.

Yes, it’s gross.

Also profitable. A company called Terracycle converts this garbage into environmentally friendly plant food, generating millions of dollars in revenue. You can buy this worm-waste plant food at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Whole Foods.

The fancy name for turning trash into cash is “creative repurposing.” An old shirt becomes vintage, a used tire turns into a playground cover, and a cup of worm waste — splat! — suddenly hits the shelf as plant food.

This is much more creative than recycling. It’s repurposing.

God has been doing this for years, most powerfully through the gift of his son Jesus Christ. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul says that “we ourselves are Jews by birth,” people who have been working to be made right with God by doing “the works of the law” (2:15-16).

This is an important point, so let me explain. Paul grew up believing that he would be justified — made right with God — by doing what was correct according to the laws of the Bible. Paul was a champ at this, bragging that he had reasons to be confident: “a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee … as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians. 3:4-6).

Blameless? Yes, blameless, says Paul. When it came to being made right with God through works of the law, he was pitching like Stephen Strasburg.

“Yet whatever gains I had,” he writes, “I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ” (vv. 7-9).

Hebrew, Pharisee, blameless law-abider. It’s all rubbish, says Paul. In fact, what he really says, using the Greek word skubala, is that it is “excrement.”

Worm waste.

We don’t have to be Jews by birth to understand what Paul is talking about. He was playing the religious game according to the rules he grew up with, and was doing very well with it. He was throwing hundred-mile-an-hour fastballs, like Stephen Strasburg in his Nats debut. Then Paul discovered that God was creating a whole new ballgame. The rules were suddenly changing.

We run into the same trap when we focus on work and money — goals which our culture constantly encourages us to pursue. We work hard to acquire great jobs and wealth, only to discover that these enticing goals can get in the way of having a right relationship with God. We get ahead in the world, only to discover we are falling behind with God.

Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, says that “We tend to worry about drugs, drinking, and pornography. But it’s not bad and nasty things that are our biggest problems.” Work and money are great goods, and because they are great goods, they can become counterfeit gods. “If God is second place in your life and one of them is first,” concludes Keller, “you’re cooked.”

Work and money. These are the goals we pursue today, just as Paul chased the goal of being made right with God through works of the law 2000 years ago. But they don’t really make us happy, by themselves. They are counterfeit gods. Put them in first place, and you’re cooked.

But the rules are changing. God is playing a whole new ballgame through his son Jesus. God is now in the business of creative repurposing.

“A person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,” writes Paul. “And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law” (2:16).

The Jews were correct to want to be justified — that is, made right with God. But what Paul discovered is that the “works of the law” don’t get the job done. They are the old tires, clothes, and worm waste that God needs to repurpose. And so God changes them into “faith in Jesus Christ.” Faith in Christ is what makes us right with God. Not works of the law. Not money. Not success in our careers.

Only a willingness to put our complete trust in Jesus Christ. That’s what turns us into people who are right with God.