Thoughts going in, May 22nd, Holy Trinity Sunday

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

            This Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost, a Sunday that is also observed as a principle festival of the Church—TRINITY SUNDAY. The doctrine of the Trinity is misunderstood as much today as ever. Rationalists complain that it cannot be understood; literalists complain that the word isn’t found in the Bible. In reality, both are correct. It **is impossible to [fully] understand the Trinity—at least with rational wisdom—and any online search tool will confirm that the word doesn’t appear in the Bible.

            So if both of those observations are true, then why all this fuss about an arcane doctrine that dates back through the mists of time to Church councils held in lands far away? In short, the point about the doctrine of the Trinity is that it states TRUTH. Some truths—especially biblical truths—defy our ability to rationally comprehend. How can God take on human flesh and become human? How can Christ’s bodily presence be joined to such mundane things as bread & wine? How can humans go on living even though they’ve died? None of these questions have readily understandable, rational explanations, yet they must all be true or we make God a liar in His word.

            “Trinity” as a word (not found in the bible) was coined to express truth. It expresses the truth of the ‘Shema’ of the Old Testament: “Hear O Israel, the LORD your God is ONE (Deut 6:4).” But it also expresses the truth that has been progressively revealed in the New Testament…. This ONE GOD is revealed and KNOWN as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

            More than one person has pointed out that what we cannot fully understand can, nonetheless, be EXPERIENCED. St. Paul has something like this in mind in the reading from Romans appointed for this Sunday. Though Paul does not use the moniker "Father" in the text, he seems to move seamlessly through the way we experience life in relationship with the Triune God: (1) By being declared or considered righteous in his sight (this is the basic definition of the word "justified")--an act on the Father's part that creates peace. Note: in terms of this peace, it's much more than an absence of open hostility; it's the Old Testament Hebrew concept of 'shalom'... a sense of full covenantal relationship... being a welcome part of the family. The same Creator who decreed "Let there be..." in Genesis, is also the one who declares righteousness and shalom.  Paul goes on to say that life in relationship with the Triune God is also (2) experienced by faith, specifically, in our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand. Granted, it would be more explicit if Paul had stated here what he states in other places, but it is precisely through the death and resurrection of Christ that this grace in which we stand becomes ours. In theological terms, this is Redemption. Finally, Paul goes on to mention how we experience relationship with the Triune God by mentioning (3) God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. When we think of the Holy Spirit being given to us, we are reminded of a life-long presence, drawing us ever-closer to God; something that is both complete and on-going. The theological term for this is Sanctification. In short, in our salvation, in our personal relationship with the Triune God, we experience God's Creative Power, God's Redeeming Power, and God's Sanctifying Power.

            But in the end... our task as faithful Christians is not to fully, cognitively, understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Our task is, rather, to humbly worship and sing: Holy holy holy, Lord God Almighty… God in three persons, BLESSED TRINITY.

Cheers,

T.M.