Savior of the Nations, Come
John 16:12-15
Rev. Tom Harris
December 13, 2009
Hymn number 14 in the Presbyterian hymnal is entitled, “Savior of the Nations, Come.” Of the four hymns we are looking at in this series on Advent Hymns, this is the oldest. In fact, it probably qualifies as ancient. It is attributed to Ambrose the Bishop of Milan who lived in the late fourth century and was the mentor of St. Augustine. Of course, Ambrose wrote in Latin and the Latin title of the hymn was “Veni, Redemptor Gentium”. The original hymn has 7 or 8 verses. The tune is an adaptation of a Medieval tune and was first found in the Einsiedeln Hymnal from the 12th and 13th century. In modern terms this hymn is totally retro.
Ambrose of Milan is known for his struggle against the Arian heresy which taught that Jesus was not equal to God, but somehow inferior to God. The controversy arose shortly after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire and started to have more enforceable beliefs. Before that time there were no heresies because there was no orthodoxy to be heretical against. Eventually Ambrose and the Trinitarians won out against the Arians and their beliefs became orthodox doctrine. We can hear their theology in the hymn. “Marvel now, O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth” points to the pre-existence of Christ with God and God becoming human in the person of Jesus. The second verse, “From the God-head forth you came and return unto the same” expresses the divine nature of Jesus and his equality with God.
Arguing whether Jesus was equal to God or slightly lower than God but perhaps slightly above the angels might seem like splitting theological hairs. Who really cares if Jesus is of the same substance with God, whatever means? Who cares whether Jesus was eternally the second person of the Trinity or reached divinity through his life on earth or is only nearly divine or is an expression of divinity? Does it really matter to us today? According to church history, these questions were huge in the time of Ambrose. Historical documents reveal that everyone from bureaucrats to church councils to people selling fish at the docks were discussing and debating the nature of Jesus and the Triune God. It was a hot topic. And though we might feel that people aren’t interested in these questions anymore, a recent book called “The Shack” indicates otherwise. “The Shack” by William Young delves head first into questions of the Triune nature of God and divinity of Jesus and how the Trinity really matters as people deal with the hard stuff of this life. The book has sold over 5 million copies and was on the New York Times best seller list for 35 weeks. The story follows the spiritual journey of a man named Mack. Mack’s six year old daughter at the beginning of the book is kidnapped and murdered. Some time later, Mack receives a note from someone named Papa inviting him to go the shack in the woods where his daughter was murdered. Papa is his wife’s name for God. He goes to the Shack, a symbol of his deepest pain and has an experience of God including a long conversation with God in the form of the Trinity. The Trinity appears to Mack as a folksy, African American woman named Papa, a middle eastern man in his 30s named Jesus and an artsy Asian woman representing the Holy Spirit. These three persons of the Trinity laugh and joke together and spend a lot of time cooking, gardening and eating. The theology with a few exceptions is pretty orthodox. What I found meaningful about the book is the way these persons of the Trinity each have something to offer Mack in the course of his grieving process. As he wrestles with why his daughter died, his feelings toward her murderer and how he will go on with his life, each person of the Trinity engages him differently.
The Trinity however you define it is about the nature of God, the person of Jesus and the place of humanity in the universe and people are hungry to understand those things. We may legitimately recoil at anyone declaring a final authoritative position that defines God, but we should be open to the questions and speculation. Who was Jesus? Was he divine? If so, was he divine in a different than you and are divine? Who is God? Is there only one God? Then beyond the philosophical and theological questions we confront the deeper question of why does all this really matter when someone I love is dying or I am dying or I’m making an ethical decision? “The Shack” does a nice job demonstrating how meaningful the Trinity can still be in a person’s life. It does a nice job showing how we engage the divine in the multiple ways. For some problems a thirty year old Middle Eastern religious teacher and healer may be a helpful expression of God. For some people a folksy, African American woman may be a meaningful image of the Creator. For some pain, we may need artsy, earthy Asian Spirit to catch our tears.
Religious people have often wrestled with polytheisms verses monotheism. Are there many gods or One God? It is often said that Jews were the ones who first imagined a monotheistic deity, though we can read the Old Testament and find many examples of other gods. That’s because as hard as theologians or priest may try to convince the people that there is one God, the people will have varied experiences of divinity from day to day and some of those experiences may not fit the mold set by the priests and theologians.
The Trinity then could be seen as a kind of compromise between monotheism and polytheism. In fact, Muslims in interfaith dialogue with Christians, don’t believe we are really monotheists. They hear us explain the three divine persons of the Trinity, and say we are polytheists who are just kidding ourselves. But maybe one God in three persons is a way to balance the truth of monotheism and with our diverse experiences of the divine. Yes, God is one, but my experience of God is never the same from one day to the next. My mind cannot wrap itself around the oneness of God when that oneness is so vast and I am so small.
So then, as we approach Christmas day and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Second person of the Trinty, we should open our hearts and minds to experience God however she may reveal herself to us. In fact, the wonderful diversity of divine expressions in the Bible, in the hymns and beyond may demonstrate that God is trying to reach us in any way we are open to receiving him. God meets us where we are, in our joy or pain, in our sharing or selfishness, in our trust or fear and invites to a deeper experience of divinity and new life on earth.
