Divine Dance

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Own, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”                                 Mark 1. 9-11

I have the wonderful opportunity of working with people who are seeking ordination in the United Church of Christ. Just last week I read the ordination paper of Jamie Coley, who recently graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary. I was deeply moved by Jamie’s theological explanation of The Doctrine of the Trinity. Now, let me say here, that if you’re confused by The Doctrine of the Trinity you’re not alone. Perhaps that is because even our best efforts to assign meaning to God, fall short. God, and especially our Christian Trinitarian understanding of God, remains a mystery to encounter rather than an object to define. Still, to engage the mystery means that we draw close to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and enter into the mystery.

As I read Jamie’s paper I had an awakening of sorts and as I share this brief excerpt from his paper I hope you will, too. Jamie writes:

The theological notion of perichoresis, which describes the interconnectedness of the Persons of the Trinity provides a perfect example of the type of relationships humanity should seek in this world through recognizing the connectedness, equality, and agency all persons should have in their lives and in the lives of others. . . .  Migliore’s description of the Trinity and perichoresisdescribes well the possibilities contained in (the theological construct of) human “just love”: “The three of the Trinity ‘indwell’ and pervade each other; they ‘encircle’ each other, being united in an exquisite divine dance; or to use still another metaphor, they ‘make room’ for each other, are incomparably hospitable to each other.”

We can certainly see this perichoresisin the opening words of the Gospel of Mark that describes Jesus’ baptism. Jesus comes to the River Jordan for baptism seeking blessing and transformation, the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in a gesture of anointing and blessing, and the Voice of God is heard, naming and claiming Jesus, calling Jesus “my Own,” and “Beloved.” Do you hear in this passage the “indwelling,” the “encircling,” and the “divine dance,” as the Three-in-One are incomparably hospitable to each other? Now, consider how we might do that for each other and those who are “the other” to us.

This Sunday, August 26, 2018, our faith community, New Church – Chiesa Nuova, United Church of Christ, and Central Congregational United Church of Christ, both in Dallas, Texas, will enter into a Listening Session. We have, in a sense, been together since May of last year when New Church lost our lease and Central Church threw open their doors and welcomed us. Then this last May, we decided that we would worship together for the summer with an eye on possibly working toward uniting our congregations in the future. Well, the future is here. This Sunday we will meet separately to respond to questions and talk about our hopes and dreams for our collective future, with a vote to go forward slated for September.

I can’t help but hope, and pray, that as we enter these conversations that we might look a little more like our God, The Three-In-One, and “indwell” with each other, “encircle” each other with love, and enter the “divine dance” of “making room” for each other and moving alongside each other into the future. Come to think of it, those images would be a good way to think about, work with, minister with, and live with each other and those who are “other” to us. Don’t you think so? Wouldn’t it be an amazing world to live in if we could learn to be “incomparably hospitable” to each other. May it be so.

Holy One, break open my heart, mind and very soul, that I might put on Your grace, mercy and love for others and engage them in Your divine dance and incomparable hospitality. Amen.

(Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004), p. 79.)