ccreedTrinity C, June 15, 2025.  The Very Rev. Pamela L. Werntz

Proverbs 8:1-4,22-31. Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? ….”To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.”

Romans 5:1-11.  We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God…because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

John 16:12-15. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

O indescribable Holy One, grant us the strength, the wisdom and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth, come when it may, and cost what it will.

For any who struggle with the Gospel of John, today’s Gospel reading is for you. It begins with an acknowledgement that, while there is much more to say, Jesus knows that you cannot bear it now. Perhaps this is recognition of saturation, of exhaustion, of grief, of the lack of additional capacity among Jesus’ followers. It seems like it might be compassionate or parental; or perhaps it was the confession or projection of a tired scribe. Whatever the case, I like to imagine it is a true statement in every age, that there are more things than we can hear or bear. (Just keep up with the news, and you’ll know what I mean.) I find it to be a hopeful idea that there is more wisdom and truth than are recorded in the scriptures. Wisdom and truth were not fully revealed in Jesus’ time; they are not completely revealed even yet. The revelation of the Divine is ongoing, continuing. “God is still speaking,” as the United Church of Christ’s banners proclaimed some years ago; and we are still listening. Continue reading →