The most profound teaching about the Trinity each year, for me, is not in the preaching, but in the artwork and hymnody.
Our readings this week tell us very little about the specific triune shape of God, but more offers us glimpses of God from different perspectives, almost like looking inside a crystal from different angles. We see the mighty and powerful alongside the gentle and, even, whimsical.
In Proverbs we hear the voice of Wisdom, a feminine voice that sounds almost lyrical, speaking the delight of God’s heart in the act of creating the universe. Wisdom also gives voice to the relationship that exists between the persons of the Trinity.
Since the exact Trinitarian formula that we use is not logically outlined in Scripture, sometimes it seems we scramble to find four readings for Trinity Sunday. Our Romans reading is actually a concluding argument about Abraham being our ancestor by faith. Then, verse 5 brings us to the action of the Holy Spirit pouring God’s love into our hearts, the same love that holds the Trinity together.
The gospel reading reminds us that the Trinity is, ultimately, a mystery. Any theologian who has written on the relationship of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and their individuality and sameness all at once has stated, no matter how many years and pages they have devoted to it, that their effort is inadequate. That is not a reason, however, to dismiss the Trinity altogether. To declare something a mystery is not to dismiss it as something not to engage in. A mystery beckons us to explore more deeply, knowing that, along the way, we will learn far more about ourselves and our God than what we set out to learn.
How will you be sharing the life of the Source, the Word and the Spirit this week?
By Dawn Leger May 23, 2013 - 2:16 pm
As I’m moving farther into my preparations, I am taking a page from Karl Barth, that the Trinity can only really be understood through revelation.
I am going to encourage my congregation between now and our parish picnic on June 23 to look for signs of the Trinity in their lives, to take a picture or write about it, and let us share it on our website.