Reflection by Keith Funk
They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8 NRSV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19 ESV)
I have given them the glory that you gave me so that they can be one just as we are one. (John 17:22 CEB)
I heard a loud voice from the throne: “Now God has his dwelling with mankind! He will dwell among them and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them.” (Revelation 21:3 REB)
In my years in the pastorate, I officiated many funerals. Often, neighbors and friends from the larger surrounding community would attend. Many of these came as members of other congregations, Protestants and Catholics alike. My own background, the Church of the Brethren, worships from a low church perspective. This simply means that our worship services are simple: not highly liturgical and creedal. However, and this was especially true of funerals, I would close our worship offering blessing in the name of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In doing so, our Catholic friends who were present would respond by crossing themselves. While this was not a part of my tradition, I came to practice this response as I thought it a rich and expressive way of acknowledging God’s presence with us in going forward from our time of worship. I recently read that Pope Francis had emphasized that this gesture reminds believers of the presence of God’s love, “from top to bottom, from left to right, like an embrace that never abandons us.” What a beautiful understanding and explanation of this practice, and what a truth it conveys.
In these recent weeks, I have been sharing with us of God’s new creation. I have tried to show something of the importance of new creation from a biblical and theological perspective. I confess that I have also shared this to offer a corrective to viewpoints on the afterlife that are often more culturally based than rooted in Scripture. I pray I have done so in a spirit of encouragement. I also pray I have done so without being condescending or patronizing. In this week’s blog, I hope to share something of a pastoral nature regarding new creation. Here I find a Trinitarian understanding most helpful.
When we think of the Trinity, we can’t help but think of the sublime relationship and fellowship shared within the Godhead. In his first letter, John writes, “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). John speaks of this love as that which authenticates the Christian. This love both expresses the essence of who God is and what God does. I have a saying hanging on the wall of my office, “God cannot not love” (However awkward this looks and sounds, just let it soak in.) Life within the Trinity is the essence and activity of love expressed in complete and continuing fellowship one member toward the others-- received and shared. This love, expressed within the Godhead, is also the yearning God has for us. This is the story of Scripture: God in his love purposes relationship and fellowship with us and all creation.
Following creation, there was a break in relationship and fellowship that resulted in humanity living away and in hiding from God. At the same time, discord was introduced between human beings. New creation is about the full realization of restoration of relationship and fellowship of God and humanity, and among all peoples. This is where God’s story is going, from Genesis to Revelation.
However, this is also God’s story for the meantime. Before his death, in John 17, Jesus prayed for his followers. This is a prayer for those who were immediately present to him. At the same time, it is also a prayer for all of us going forward. Jesus’ prayer “to be one”, at its heart, is a prayer for us to know and experience life with God and one another that is known and experienced among the members of Trinity. Here is Jesus’ trinitarian prayer for us. And where this "being one" happens, we give witness to the world as we become a picture of God’s new creation.
Peace be with you.