Homily, The Force and the Trinity
Trinity Sunday, 2023
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
I’m the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Recently I introduced my son Barret to the Star Wars movies and he is all in and loving it. We are so excited for Jedi Academy Vacation Bible School this week. And watching how much he’s into these movies now, I’m reminded of being introduced to the movies myself as a kid. I can remember after watching them sitting at a table with a glass of water across from me with my hand reaching out towards it trying to move it with the Force. I’d imagine I could hear the voice of the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi saying to me the same thing he said to Luke Skywalker just after he blew up the Death Star. “Remember, the force will be with you, always.”
Alas, the glass did not move. It was just a movie. And yet the idea of this all pervasive, permeating Force that binds together all things is not exactly a foreign idea to us as Christians, is it? In fact, those words from the spirit of Obi-Wan are pretty close to a direct quotation from our gospel reading this morning. “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
What an incredible phrase. It’s no wonder it ended up in a movie like Star Wars. What an incredible promise.
And for me the power of that phrase, comes from this simple, little preposition: “with.” It’s my favorite preposition. Is that strange to have a favorite preposition? Well, it’s my favorite preposition. Because the word “with” is a word that connotes relationship. And relationship is at the heart of who God is.
Today, in the Christian calendar, we call Trinity Sunday, and it is a day to remember and reflect on the doctrine of the Trinity, the Christian belief that God is one in three persons. And while humans have always struggled to understand and articulate this concept, really the meaning of the Trinity is that at the heart of God is “with-ness.” Not witness, “with”. W-I-T-H, “ness.” God is always a God with. God does not stand alone, independently, God from all eternity is a God in relationship. In the Trinity we recognize that from eternity the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell with one another in such intimacy that they are one God in three persons. The heart of God is “with-ness”.
And that nature of God to be with, does not constrain itself to just the members of the Trinity, but spills over inviting all of creation to participate in the Divine “with-ness” as well. In fact, as we read in our first lesson today, we, humans, are created in the image of that very “with-ness.” Like the Force, we and the whole universe are permeated with this incredible impulse to be with one another, and that impulse is the very presence of God. “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But we don’t always feel that, do we? Loneliness is a pervasive feeling in our society. We live in a world that values individuality and independence sometimes to an unhealthy degree. So much so that we often segregate and separate and sever ourselves, one from another. Even though Divine “with-ness” is at the very center of our being, in this world we have to work to foster an awareness of it. We have to practice intentionality to see it.
Which is exactly why in our gospel passage Jesus commands his disciples (and by extension us) to remember. “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” And baptism—being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit—is sort of a way that we do the work of remembering. To be baptized into the name of the Trinity is to be baptized into “with-ness”. It is to be baptized into a way of life which recognizes that at our core is the desire to be in relationship. To be connected. It is a commitment to reflect the “with-ness” of God by extending that “with-ness” to all those around us. It is a way of becoming one with God, like Jedi work to become one with the Force.
In Star Wars that faith statement of Obi-Wan about the Force also takes the form of a blessing throughout the films, and comes up time and time again. I’m sure you know it. “May the Force be with you.” Well, again, there is an ancient Christian greeting that sounds very similar to that, isn’t there? We use it every Sunday, we’ll use it all this week at VBS. “The Lord be with you.” Or the “The Peace of the Lord be with you.”
Every week, when we use these words, we are not simply offering pleasantries, we are invoking Divine “with-ness.” We are invoking our baptism in the name of the Trinity. We are invoking a memory of who we are in God, and who God is calling us to be. To say “The Lord be with you” is to invoke a power that permeates all existence, and is much more compelling than simply moving a glass of water across the table.
So in all of our lives, in all of our relationships, in all of our actions, may we be a people of holy “with-ness.” And friends, may the Lord be with you. Amen.
Thoughts on Faith 