by Mike Stavlund
Gospel Reading: John 16:12-15
For Sunday, May 26, 2013: Year C—Holy Trinity
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus seems to be a bit greedy. Or at the very least, territorial.
The doctrine of the Trinity is all about sharing and partnership and ultimate inseparability —and even perichoresis, that lovely metaphorical dance between Father, Son, and Spirit —but this sounds like an internecine debate about who gets to lead, where Jesus claims preeminence and prior ownership over the Father, and makes the Spirit into a puppet. Not to mention the sequentialism that leaves us thinking that the Spirit has been waiting in the dressing room since the beginning of time.
Back to the Beginning
Our (modern) minds can get so wrapped up in this conundrum of divinity that we might miss Jesus’ opening salvo. Aimed not at his fellow members of the Trinity, but rather at his followers. Which might just include you and me:
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (John 16:12)
What do You Want from Me?
So what was it that Jesus’ followers weren’t ready to hear? Has it been revealed yet, or is it still to come? Are we living in this future Jesus describes, or are we as un-ready as Jesus’ initial listeners were? How much can we bear, and what are ‘the things to come’?
Even unto our day, devotees of the late Dallas Willard are saying that we’re not ready to take the 200-year-old teachings of Jesus seriously, while advocates of the emerging camp of Radical Theology are suggesting that we are not quite ready to face the future.
He’s Talking About Me…
…too!
This is a popular proof-text for whatever our special interest group is promoting. Pentecostals —still soaring from Pentecost a couple of days ago —know it is about spiritual gifts and miracles. Social justice folks think it is the eradication of poverty and economic inequities. Some folks think it’s about socialism, while others think it is the death of socialism. Process theologians believe Jesus is talking about physics and the unfolding of time. Post-colonialists see it through the lens of injustice and empire. Progressives are all excited because we’re moving forward from Jesus’ dark ages, while contemplatives want to allow that same age to speak to their nowness.
Everyone, it seems, is hitching their train to the enigmatic engine that is John 16:12-15.
What are we Waiting for?
The ministry of Jesus was, by all reports, a rather impressive tour de force. What in the world did he leave out? Has it happened yet? Is it still to come? What good things does God have in store for us yet? Or are we still too blind to perceive them?
The Hardest Question
Did we miss something in the past, or are we missing something that will come yet in the future? Or are we living in it right now, yet longing for something else? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Stavlund writes from a 5-car pile-up at the intersection of his Christian faith and real life. A husband of over 15 years and a father of 4 children, he lives with his wife and 3 daughters in a small house outside Washington, DC. He’s a part of an innovative emergence Christian community called Common Table, a co-conspirator with the Relational Tithe, and a proud part of the collective called Emergent Village. He blogs at MikeStavlund.com, and his first book, "Force of Will", was published by Baker in the Spring of 2013.
