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“Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father” (John 14:9) “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) “Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?” (Proverbs 8:1) A few years ago, on holiday, and in Florence, we went into a cafe for an ice cream. The radio was on, and it was playing operatic music. The man serving the ice-cream joined in, singing with a voice like Caruso, or Gigli, or Pavarotti. What a voice he had! What was he doing working in an ice-cream parlour? It seems as if everybody in Italy sings opera. Just a week ago yesterday, I sat glued to the telly, watching a programme about the great Pavarotti. It gave a fascinating insight into not only Pavarotti, the tenor, but also Pavarotti, the Italian boy from Modena. When he was 8 years old it was D Day here in Western Europe. In Italy, the Partigiano - the Partisans - were engaged in their own struggle. No doubt they were regarded by those they fought against as terrorists, and the reprisals against the civilian population were heavy. So it was that as an 8 year-old boy, Luciano was caught up in that part of the war when his father and grandfather were taken away with 48 other men (one of whom was his grandfather), chosen at random, to be hanged, in retaliation for a Partisan attack in which 5 German soldiers had been killed. Both were released when it was discovered that they were needed because of the work they did. Luciano’s father, Fernando, was a baker. But he was more - much more. He was also a singer, a tenor, and when the young Luciano’s voice broke, he tried to emulate his dad. When he became famous, his father used to tease him and say “Ah! If you had my voice, just think what you could have done!” The most moving part of the programme for me was when at a Mass in Modena Cathedral, father and son, Fernando and Luciano, sang in duet during the distribution And what did they sing? They sang ‘Panis Angelicus’. What a treat! For it was abundantly apparent that Fernando did, indeed, have a voice as good as his son’s. And the thought of a baker singing about the bread of angels - ‘Panis Angelicus’ - at the Mass, well, that was out of this world for me. Truly, Luciano, the son, was one with Fernando, his father. Looking at the son, you saw the father. Today is indeed D Day, and it is also Trinity Sunday. At the heart of what Christians believe about the Three-in-one God is this notion of the relationship between Jesus and God, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is central to our understanding of both.. If you see Jesus, you see the Father - God. If you know Jesus, you know the Holy Spirit. Just as you looked at Luciano and saw Fernando, so if you look at Jesus, you see God. One of the earliest theological truths I ever learned was this: Jesus came to show us what God is like. Now I know that our picture of Jesus is sketchy, to say the least. There is much about Jesus the man we don’t know. Really, we have only the New Testament to guide us - principally the gospels. But I believe that we do, in fact, get enough to be able to build some kind of picture of him. And looking at that picture, we get a good glimpse of the nature of God the Father. We learn principally, of course, that God is love, and about the grace of God, about how he treats us as if we were the best, and does not deal with us according to our misdeeds. Which is just as well, or else we’d all be without hope! And Jesus is also key to our understanding of our celebration last Sunday - that of the gift of the Spirit. Another theological truth I picked up very early on was that the Church is the extension of the Incarnation. The Church is the Body of Christ - visible to the world, enlivened and empowered by the Spirit of Jesus, which we call the Holy Spirit. That means that for Christians, nothing less than a Christlike spirit will do. We are called to be like him, and the way we are enabled to do that is by invoking the power of the Holy Spirit. So, let me repeat - Jesus is central, is the key, to our understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that which we call ‘The Trinity’. Once, in Kenya, I was asked to go right up to the North Eastern Province, into the desert, to carry out an assessment for World Vision - an organisation which I have to say I did not much care for in those days. It was a fascinating glimpse of a way of life which was unique to Kenya. Traditionally it was the home of nomadic people, who measured their wealth in camels. The camels, of course, were vital to their survival., providing them not only with sustenance, but also with transport when they upped sticks and moved on. Many - most - of this particular tribe were Muslims. Traditionally they had not had towns, but over the years of colonial government, settlements had grown up around the watering places which they used. One such place was Wajir, and I shall never forget the sight one evening of the camels coming to be watered, each taking their turn, in a most orderly fashion. I see from the Internet maps that I use that Wajir is now so large and well developed that it has a Ring Road! But the other unforgettable experience I had at Wajir was that of being asked to go one evening to talk to the Christian Union at the newly founded boys secondary school. Most of the boys were local, and therefore Muslim, but there was a handful of lads from other parts of Kenya who were Christians, and they were the ones who had invited me. When I got to the classroom where the meeting was to be held, I was surprised to find that it was full to capacity and more. The Muslims had got in first, crowding out the Christians. And boy, oh boy! Did they have some hostile questions for this Christian minister. I was totally unprepared for this assault on my religious belief. One question the asked which has always haunted me, especially on Trinity Sunday, was: ‘why do Christians worship three Gods?’. Well, what would you have said? Trying to explain ‘the Trinity in Unity’ to a Muslim is about as difficult a theological proposition as I ever want to grapple with. But make no mistake. In these days, it seems to me that it captures something of the crisis, the moment of judgement, we are facing in our inter-faith relationships. What became clear to me from that moment on in Wajir in 1970 was the fact that our problem with Islam is not only that we do not understand it. We are, in fact, ignorant of it. And as far as Muslims are concerned, they for their part are just as ignorant about Christianity. The time has long passed when we could sit comfortably and look down our noses at other world religions. Islam is a force to be reckoned with, and for our part now, we must seek dialogue with the children of Mohammed - peace be upon him - if there is to be peace between us. We have an awful long way to go, for we have not really started that journey yet as Christian people. That dialogue has also to be honest and open, for the people of Islam expect nothing less. That is why I believe that the pussy-footing around in education and local government is misguided, where Christian festivals, for example, are played down lest they cause offence to people of other faiths. They look at us in amazement, as if we do not have the courage of our convictions! What has all this to do with today? Simply this. The success or failure of living peacably with all depends very largely on each of us having much more than just an inkling of what we truly believe. Christians can no longer play the ignorance card when it comes to matters of faith. On this anniversary of D-Day, why not make it your D-Day, your decision day, that from this moment, you will strive not only to be a better Christian, but to be a better informed Christian, able to give an account of your faith. "Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?” Oh, and by the way, let me remind you. You are not alone! Explaining the Trinity was a struggle for me at Wajir with the Muslim boys! |