A meditation by Richard Rohr, OFM, 

on the Holy Trinity and Racism

A Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr is an author and spiritual leader living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation.

 

 

Our common form of dualistic thinking just could not process such three­-fold and one-ness evocations at the same time. It was frankly, illogical. How could we reconcile what seemed like a huge logical and theological problem? The human ego is so resistant to anything its mind cannot quickly process and control; it prefers separateness and a sense of superiority - precisely what the Trinity rejects.

 

Yet if we do not discern and celebrate difference on the level of what is visible in humanity, what hope is there on issues where "difference" is often much more striking (race, gender, and class)? Every one of these issues is searching for its own locus of authority today, and as naïve as it might sound to some, I believe the Trinity does provide such an appropriate locus of authority for those who are willing to trust it and allow it: God is precisely one by holding together very real difference.

 

God's pattern and goal has never been naïve uniformity but radical diversity (1 Corinthians 12:4ff) maintained in a communion "of perfect love" that infinitely self-empties and infinitely outpours-at the same time. This Divine pattern is, of course, most beautifully revealed in "the array of creation" (Genesis 2:1). God is forever "making room" and "infilling" all things throughout the creation; this is the Way of the Flow.

 

This is, in our finite understanding, an utterly new logic and is the foundation for the success of the human project for those ready to embrace at the level of experience what they already confess in the creeds.

 

Of course, it is precisely self-emptying that the human ego resists and opposes; yet without this self-emptying, the whole waterwheel of divine love does not flow through us. We may like infilling, being "empowered," but we do not know how to make room for that infilling. This is always and forever the spiritual problem. This is the root of racism: failing to make room within our communities and ourselves for others. This is what the tradition courageously refers to as "sin."

 

In my reading of the Gospels, this explains why Jesus exemplified the path of self-emptying (the kenosis of Philippians 2:7) and making room for "otherness" (John 16:7). The Jesus path is a constant visible lesson in both allowing and handing on, receiving and giving away what is received. He makes the Divine Waterwheel visible and attractive, so we can trust this process and even fall in love with it (1 John 1:1-2): we can step into what this mighty river of God's mercy and restorative justice has always been doing - challenging the idol of superiority, the idol of false oneness under their guise of uniformity, the idol of exclusion. Christ is the choreography of new creation made visible, and we are still being invited to this dance, this making room for "otherness" in our lives.

Richard Rohr, OFM, "How God as Trinity Dissolves Racism," 

in  Sojourners , August 2016

Presiding Bishop Curry's Word to the Church:

When the Cameras are Gone, We Will Still Be Here

Hospitality - it's time to sociali ze!

During this time of separation, we are looking for ways to stay connected as a family of faith.  One way is to gather as family and friends of St. John's on Sunday after our worship service for a virtual time to be together - "Coffee Hour".  So bring your coffee, tea, juice and whatever pastry you want to eat and join us for our Zoom Coffee Hour.

You will be sent the Zoom link prior to Sunday.  Click on the link (or enter the identification number if you already have Zoom).  If you have never been on a Zoom session you may be asked to download a small program or application.

For security purpose, you will be put into a "waiting room", where the host (me) will let you in.

In Zoom, "Gallery View" view will allow you to see the most amount of people.

Please join us!  This is a time to reconnect, socialize, see friends, and support one another during this time.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

   

A huge THANK YOU to all the churches and

 individuals who supported the virtual ECS Gala this year! We are so grateful for your partnership and investment in our work to support, empower, and encourage some of our most vulnerable neighbors - the men, women, and children served by our programs each day, especially during this challenging time in our country and world!

Opportunities for Service

ECS Call For Volunteers

* Pill Bottle and Monthly SBCS grocery list collections are currently suspended at St. John's.   

If you had a medical emergency at church on Sunday morning, would the Wardens or church  staff know who to contact? If you would like to add someone to St. John's emergency contact  list in case of such an emergency, please contact Maria, our parish secretary (619-422-4141 or

maria@saint-johns.org). A sign-up sheet will also be available in the church lobby to collect this information. Please provide your name, the name of your emergency contact, their relationship to you, their phone number and/or their email address. This is one more way we can show how we love one another.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May God's face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short;

Grace to risk something big for something good;

Grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth 

And too small for anything but love.

So, may God take your minds and think through them;

May God take your lips and speak through them;

May God take your hearts and set them on fire.

-William Sloane Coffin