“Have Peace” by Jim Bayne
Thus says the wisdom of God: When he established the heavens, there
was I, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; When he made
firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the springs of the deep; When he set
for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command;
When he fixed the foundations of earth, then was I beside him as an artisan; I was
his delight day by day, playing before him all the while, Playing over the
whole of his earth, having my delight with human beings. (Proverbs 8:27-31)
When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon, and
stars that you set in place—What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son
of man that you care for him? (Ps 8:4-5)
Brothers and sisters: Therefore, since we have been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in
hope of the glory of God....the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-2,5)
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when
he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not
speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the
things that are coming." (John 16:11-12)
Piety
[to our God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]
God, we praise you:
Father all-powerful,
Christ Lord and Savior,
Spirit of Love.
You reveal yourself in the depths of our being,
drawing us to share in your life and your love.
One God, three Persons,
be near to the people formed in your image,
close to the world, your love brings to life.
We ask you this, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, true and living, forever and ever. AMEN
Study
Last Sunday was Pentecost. We celebrated the arrival of the Holy
Spirit, as promised by Jesus. Now we celebrate Trinity Sunday. It is the day we
celebrate and try to understand more fully, the magnificence of the
three-in-one God of love made known to us by Jesus. This triune God, who is
forever beyond our comprehension, will always remain a mystery.
Jesus used stories – parables – as a way of explaining great mysteries,
including this one. We still use stories to explain deep things.
“The Shack,” a highly acclaimed fictional story written by William P.
Young, tells the story of one man’s encounter with the Trinity. I decided to
watch the movie version of the book on YouTube to see if this modern-day tale
could shed some light on this great mystery. As the movie unfolded, I kept
notes to see what I might learn and share with you.
MacKenzie – Mac – the hero and father of a young daughter brutally
murdered in an old, dilapidated shack.
Mac finds a note in his mailbox, telling him to “meet me at the shack”
and signed “Papa.” Papa is the name his wife Nan uses to address God. Mac thinks
it may be a trick and goes to the shack armed with a gun. It’s a cold, snowy
day. The first person Mac encounters is the Jesus figure, played by Aviv Alush.
Jesus invites Mac to follow him through the snowy woods to a bright green and
sunny area along the shore of the same lake where the murderer kidnapped his
young daughter. “Jesus” takes Mac to a lovely house on the banks of the lake.
Upon entering the house, Jesus introduces Mac to “Papa.”
This scene tells me that Jesus is usually the first member of the
Trinity that we encounter. His role is to take us from the desolation and
darkness in which we sometimes find ourselves and lead us into the light where
we can meet the other members of the Trinity. Later in the film, Mac asks,
Jesus how he is different from the Father and the Spirit. Jesus tells Mac that
he provides the best way for us to relate to the Father and the Spirit because
he is human. It is much easier for us to talk to God through Jesus because he
has experienced everything we have experienced and then some. It was easier for
Mac to follow Jesus from the darkness of the shack into the light than it might
have been for him to follow a more mystical representation of God.
“Papa” is portrayed by Octavia Spencer, an affable, loving African
American woman. She is very much the loving, mother figure Mackenzie needed in
his life at that time.
Later in the movie, “Papa” is portrayed by Graham Greene, the father
figure our hero needs when he is taken to recover the body of his daughter and
is asked at the same time to forgive her killer. With the aid of this strong
male representation of “Papa,” our hero can deal with the grief of seeing his
dead daughter’s body while at the same time forgiving the man who killed her.
What I took away from this portrayal is that God the Father is not
static. He is not an old bearded white man pointing a finger at us. He comes to
us in the form that can best meet our needs in a given situation.
Next Mac meets the Spirit figure, played by the actress Sumare. The
Spirit seems to work in the background, ever present, lightening up the
environment. She tends the garden out back growing beautiful flowers and
vegetables to provide nourishment and beauty.
At one point, Spirit tells Mac that she has always been with him. Jesus
tells him that He is still with him. “Papa” says he will always be with him.
God is with us from the beginning to the end and beyond.
Not long after meeting “Papa,” our hero angrily wants to know why God
abandoned his Son on the cross. “Papa” says she never left the Son. “We were right
there with him.”
“Papa” then shows Mac the nail marks in her hands. Later we see the
nail marks in the hands of the Spirit figure as well. A reminder for each of us
that God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – never abandons us. The three-in-one
accompany us on our journey from beginning to end.
There is much more that this book and movie can teach us about the love
of God in the Trinity. I came away from the film with a little more profound
understanding of the nature of the Trinity. Just as Jesus’ parables taught us
the deeper meaning of so many things, so stories – including fictional ones –
remain an excellent way to gain a deeper understanding of even the most
profound mysteries.
Action
We, too, are called to take whatever form is necessary to best serve
our brothers and sisters. Sometimes we can best help by being a consoling and
comforting mother figure. At other times we can best serve by being a father
figure, challenging a brother or sister in trouble to take action to remedy
their situation. We may need to administer some tough love. On other occasions,
we may need to be a spirit figure, bringing inspiration, affirmation, and
energy. Always we must be available to listen with empathy and compassion and
with tough love when necessary.
We need to walk with each other faithfully from where we are in the
moment to where we are going in the future. It is a ministry of presence at all
times.
We need to be the kind of person who someone is comfortable calling at
2 AM and saying, "I need you right now." That is how the Trinity
works for us. It is how we must work for one another.
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