"Theurgy"

(The following is a homily given on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 15th, 2014)

As I was preparing this homily, I came to the realization early on that I had a problem: I had two topics -- big topics -- to talk about: The Most Holy Trinity and Father's Day;

These are big topics indeed, and yet if I gave the time that each really demands, well, I think it's fair to say that any invitations to dinner that have been made would quickly be retracted.

I'm very interested in finding themes, though, and one particular theme seemed to link these two topics, so I I'd like to discuss it with you today.  It is the term I learned a few semesters ago at seminary in my Trinity class: “Theurgy”. 

Now, before I go further I should warn you that I'm a recovering Protestant, and so I have a few eccentricities that persist, one of those eccentricities is understanding how the Church has used the Greek language in her theology. 

The term "theurgy" comes from two Greek words – θεός (theos) meaning 'God,'  and ἔργον  (Ergon) meaning 'work.'   For Christians in general, this term has come to mean the intervention of God in the world that allows the world to participate in God.   And for Catholics particularly, theurgy is best expressed in the Mass, where the Work of God in the Eucharist is expressed within the work of the people -- theurgy and liturgy -- working together to bring forth "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (II Cor. 13:13) In so doing, it makes us a family of believers by bringing us the intervention of God in His own Beloved Son.

Now I'd like for you to open your bibles -- I mean hymnals --
to page 1102, where you will find the reading for the Mass today.  I'm asking you to do this because It's important to be "full, conscious, and active participants of the liturgy." I'd like for you to follow along as I continue to preach, all the while asking yourself whether or not you see the connections I'm going to present, and if those connections elicit a feeling or a response from you.

In the first reading for today, we see foreshadowing of this theurgy (the work of God), when Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from the LORD.  We see God “come down in a cloud,” and proclaim to Moses his Name. (see first reading)  This is an important point that modern scripture readers might miss.  You see, in the ancient word, to know the name of another meant more than simply knowing how to acknowledge the other; it meant that you had a level of power or control over that person.  This is why in Genesis, when we hear Adam naming the animals of the world (Gen 2:20), Adam is fulfilling God’s command to “subdue the earth” (Gen. 1:28) by coming to know it, and hence its proper relation to him, and vice versa. 

 Then, the first time we see Moses in the presence of the LORD is at Mount Horeb, in the Burning Bush (Ex 3). Here we see Moses ask God for God’s name: a way of trying to grapple with and control a situation that is overwhelming him – and for good reason; it is God after all -- but God only replies with “I AM WHO I AM”; a cryptic reply that both answers and refuses to answer Moses’ question. 

In our reading today, though, God not only gives to Moses but to the people of Israel his NAME: a way of relating to him, of understanding Who He is:  "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."  Here we see God begin to lift the veil that separates Him from His people; a veil of sinfulness that, since the fall of Adam, had not allowed God and Man to be in right relation with one another. 

In the second reading (II Cor. 13:11-13), This right relation is developed by St. Paul.  First, he shows what right relation means for us as Christians.  To be in right relation means to be “brothers and sisters,” not just mere acquaintances.  As brothers and sisters we are called to live as Christ our Brother and our Lord, by “mending our ways” of sin, “encouraging one another” on the way to heaven, and "liv[ing] in peace" with one another.

 This is all well and good within the context of our Christian community.  But how can this be applied to the world?  How can we possess the power to bring this fraternity to those we barely know?  What name can we give to this experience that we wish to share? 

The irony of it all is that the answer we seek, the name we wish to possess and so control, is a name we cannot come to know unless we become selfless.  We cannot possess the “peace which surpasses all understanding” (Ph. 4:7) unless we lay aside our desire to control: ourselves, our future,  each other, and ultimately even God.  We must follow in the footsteps of Christ, who has already freely given himself entirely into our hands (quite literally), and so has allowed us to come face to face with the name that hides nothing from us; that rends the veil between God and man forever: the name of the triune God, which is "LOVE." 

This is a type of love transcends any personal desire.  It is a love that expresses the need for communion and relation because it is the love of God found in the Trinity.  Jesus, acting as a bridge for us and God, shows us the essence of love.  By his incarnation, he gives humanity the ability to see the nature of “true love” as based on relationship and self-gift.  For God, there is no other way to love.  It is what the Father feels for His only-begotten Son; it is what the Son shares with His Father; it is the bond of the Spirit that irrevocably ties each Person of the Trinity to the other. 

And the beauty is that we are called, indeed, we have been created to participate in this love found in the Trinitarian communion that is not only real, but essential to God’s nature.   

This leads us to the Gospel for today.  In it, we hear the oft quoted “John 3:16.”  Many of us could probably say that verse by heart.  But how can we understand what it says in light of what we have learned so far today?  When we hear the phrase “God so loved the world,” what do we think?  Do we liken this love for the world to our love for one another? Is there a price to this love?  Is there a need for a response?  When we show charity, do we expect more?  And if so, what does this say about our ability to love? 

By grappling with the idea that God indeed does love this world,

Love it enough to offer his most cherished possession -- his own Son --for it's redemption, we come to the amazing realization that God’s love for us springs from the love found in the Trinity.  In other words, our redemption is a theurgy – a work of God  – that is an integral part of Who He is.  God’s love overflowing from the Trinity into creation needs nothing, requires nothing, expects nothing – it is complete without us.  And yet it is given to us, so that we can share in God’s very life.

No matter how much we may strive to possess and control love by searching for it in this world, we can only experience the reality of love by making the choice to join ourselves to God.  We can only poorly mimic the love God gives us so freely, because we do not have the capacity on our own to truly love.  We will fall short, and we will fail. That is, until we realizes our calling -- our vocation -- which is not to stand on our own; not to command or control our fate, but simply to point -- to Him (pointing to the tabernacle) -- who does not fall short and who will never fail, thereby uniting ourselves to God;

The God Who loved us so much, that He performed the greatest theurgy that He could: He gave himself up for us “so that whoever might belief in Him should not parish, but should have everlasting life.”  

Indeed: blessed is the holy and glorious name of Christ, our LORD and our LOVE: praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. 

Amen.