It’s a Lot (Holy Trinity Sunday)

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About a week ago, I posted pictures on Facebook of my completed garage addition, with the words, “stick a fork in us, we’re done!” And by that I meant, the contractors are all done with their work, and most importantly, we got final approval from the County and WSSC.

But as with any big project, things are never really “done.” While the building permit part of the project is over, I still have to organize and set up the shop, which includes installing cabinets, shelving, pegboard and all kinds of other stuff which will probably take many weeks yet. As part of the construction work the contractors did, I have a new gas fireplace in my den. But, that’s just the very first part of a much larger renovation of the entire den which I’m mostly doing myself, and that will take many months yet. I still need to finish off my portion of renovating the front porch before the end of the summer. And also, I’m now remembering that there are a bunch of other unrelated maintenance items I need to deal with now that I have space to work and have access to my tools!

It’s a lot! A few people have asked me, “so, what’s the first cool project you’re gonna do now that you have a new shop?” But while I’ve got some ideas about cool, new things to do, for now, I still have a lot on my plate. And it’s going to be that way for a while.

I suspect many of you can relate to the feeling of having a lot on your plate right now as well. Even if you haven’t been involved in home renovation, for most of us – most of the time – it just feels like there’s a lot. Many of us are constantly on the move for personal reasons or for work. Kids and grandkids keep many of us hopping. And even when we open our news apps, we get overwhelmed with everything going on in our country and in our world. It’s a lot.

And that’s how it was for the first disciples as well. In today’s Gospel reading, we’re still back in Holy Week, where the disciples have been on the move and have now arrived in Jerusalem, which is full of the chaos surrounding Passover. Jesus is about to be betrayed and killed. And even after the Resurrection, there will be even more new things that the Risen Jesus will be calling them to do, and even farther places he’ll be sending them to. It’s been a lot already. And it will be a lot in the future, too. Jesus knows that. And the disciples probably know it, too, at least to some extent.

And when I’m in a place where I feel like, “it’s just a lot right now”, what I’d really like to be told is, “don’t worry – it’ll all calm down soon and you’ll feel on top of everything.” But in fact, that often doesn’t happen in my life. Frequently, when one set of things calms down, some other stuff arises to take its place. It’ll still be a lot! Probably, you can all relate!

I’m pretty sure the first disciples would have related as well. And maybe they wanted Jesus to tell them to just hang in there until after the Resurrection, and then it wouldn’t feel like there was so much on their plate.

But instead, he tells them the truth! More is coming. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” That is, it’s a lot. And you’ve already got a lot right now. But more is coming.

And while that truth sounds like bad news, in fact, it’s good news, both for the first disciples and for us. It’s good news because in these few, short words of Jesus he tell us that:

  • He understands our actual lives – sometimes, when you’ve got a lot to deal with, a little empathy goes a long way. Knowing that people understand and appreciate what you’re going through helps you to deal with stuff and get through it. As Jesus says these words, he tells all of his followers, both then and now, that he’s understands and cares about what we’re going through. And that, after all, is what the Incarnation is really all about – it’s about God becoming so enmeshed in our human lives that we know God understands and God cares. And so Jesus tells his disciples that he cares enough not to dump everything on them now, when it would literally be “too heavy” for them…
  • God is not done with us – “more is coming” can sound like bad news when we feel overwhelmed. But in fact, this is really the good news that God will continue to guide us and lead us and show us things when it’s the right time. We don’t have to do it all or learn it all right now, or else we’ll miss out forever. One of the things I’m trying to remind myself of as I move into what’s really the next phase of my project is that I have to pace myself. If I try to do all of these projects at once – or even keep thinking about all of these projects at the same time – I’ll exhaust myself. And in a world in which we’re often told by many people we have to drop what we’re doing and focus IMMEDIATELY on the crisis of the moment – or even on the “special offer” that we’ll miss out on if we don’t take advantage of it RIGHT NOW – Jesus tells us that we can and should pace ourselves, and that God will still be helping us to move into the next thing as we’re able to do it…
  • We don’t have to bear it all by ourselves – certainly, Jesus empathizes with us. And certainly, Jesus calls us together to help one another when there’s a lot in our lives. But here, Jesus also promises us the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives – that is, the actual, living, energizing presence of God to give us strength and courage and hope to meet the challenges we face. We sometimes call this portion of John’s Gospel the “farewell discourse” because it’s a long speech by Jesus just before he’s betrayed and killed. But “farewell” is not a word used by Jesus, and it connotes the idea of “good-bye and good luck! Hope you all can manage by yourselves!” But that’s not what Jesus says. We’re not alone, and Jesus – through the Spirit – will continue to walk with us, and guide us and gives us strength to deal with a lot – both “a lot” right now and all of the “a lots” that are yet to come…

On Trinity Sunday, we sometimes focus on the majesty and power and mystery of God. And when we do that, it often feels like we’re imagining God as a mystical being “out there” somewhere.

But Jesus reminds us that the real majesty and mystery and power of God is found when God is intimately present in the midst of our real lives – especially when we have a lot to deal with. 

And that means that the majesty of God is most clearly experienced when God humbles himself to become one of us so that he can share and empathize with our needs. It means that the mystery of God is most clearly experienced when we feel the presence of God helping us to navigate through the chaos of life. And it means that the power of God is most clearly experienced when we feel the strength of God helping us to get through all the things that are a lot in our lives.

Amen.