Today is Trinity Sunday. The day we focus on the three persons of God, united in one. I have
given children sermons about the trinity saying it is like water taking on three different forms,
steamy vapor, liquid water and frozen ice. Not ideal, but it starts us thinking about three in one.
Or how about the example of a tree with its three parts, the roots extending deep into the ground,
the solid trunk and the branches reaching for the sky. Three in one – at least the tree example is
more biblical, yet it still falls short.
We just read Psalm 8 that focuses on the majesty of God while wondering what are humans that
God is mindful of us? What are mortals that God cares for us? The Psalm asks, why does God
even bother with humanity? Then we get a bit of an ego boost when we learn “we are a little
lower than God” and crowned with honor. Recapping the creation story, we are reminded who
designed and formed all creatures and creation and we are brought right back to God.
Our gospel lesson is from Matthew, where the final verses tell of the Great Commission. It is the
only time the disciples see their risen Lord in Matthew’s gospel. No fish eating by the seashore,
no upper room appearance, no Thomas doubting. Just this. Interestingly when the eleven see
their risen Lord some worshiped him and others doubted. We see their humanity, their
uncertainty in understanding that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. Jesus, their beloved teacher and
Lord has returned to them after his death to give them a job, to give them a mission. And this is
our gospel lesson for Trinity Sunday. Read Matthew 28:16-20.
“As I mentioned, this is Trinity Sunday. God in three persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do
we fully understand this wonderful doctrine? No, (but let’s explore it.)
You may remember that ancient story about St. Augustine. One day he took a break from writing
about the Trinity to take a walk along the seashore. There he came across a child with a little
pail, intently scooping up a pail full of water out of the ocean, then walking up the beach and
dumping it out into the sand, then going back down to scoop out another pail of water to pour
into the sand.
Augustine asked the child what he was doing, and the child explained that he was ‘emptying the
sea out into the sand.’ When the Bishop tried to gently point out the absurd impossibility of this
task, the child replied, ‘Ah, but I’ll drain the sea before you understand the Trinity’
(Sermons.com, King Duncan). Out of the mouths of babes (Ps 8:2).
I concede we will probably not fully understand the Trinity today, but I would like to focus on
three aspects of it. The doctrine of the Trinity developed over time. Trinity is a mystery. Trinity
illuminates our relationship with God.
When I read the Great Commission, we are to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit, I hear the Trinity. A very clear trinitarian declaration. But the word trinity never
appears in the Bible. Yet Paul writes this benediction which is the earliest trinitarian formula
known: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor. 13:13). Understanding the Trinity took centuries to develop.
Heresies were fought and won over the idea that we worshiped three Gods or one God, were they
of different substances or origins. When in reality we worship One God manifest in three ways.
It took time and many great minds praying over God’s word to see the examples sprinkled in
scripture, such as Jesus’ baptism where Jesus, the Spirit as dove and God’s voice are all present
declaring Jesus as God’s Son and initiating his ministry.
In the fourth century, Gregory of Nyssa helped to settle these debates writing, “No sooner do I
conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish
them than I am carried back to the One…When I contemplate the Three together, I see but one
torch, and cannot divide or measure out the Undivided Light”(The Mystery of the Trinity, Keith
A. Mathison). Calvin later quoted these words to support this deeper and ultimately mysterious
understanding.
The Trinity is a mystery, one we long to understand but one that is beyond our knowing. The
simple reason is that we are not God, we have a hard time holding two realities together. How
can God be both one and three at the same time? Still struggling to get it? I do too! So, let’s try
another metaphor. I am one person with at least three different roles. I am a sister. I am a
partner. And I am a pastor. But I am still only one person. I perform those roles in different
ways, and I am perceived in different ways in each of those roles, but I am never anyone besides
who I am. I am always me.
The Trinity is a mystery, a holy mystery. But the Trinity explains what happens in our
relationship with the fullness of the divine. Henri Nouwen writes about this in Following Jesus
(Ch. 6). God is introduced to humanity as “I AM” meaning I am the faithful God who journeys
with you. God says, I am always with you. But we didn’t get it, so God sent Jesus and Jesus
became God with us, Emmanuel. In Jesus, the faithfulness of God becomes even more visible,
because in Jesus, God became flesh and dwelled among us. God wants to be with us to share our
struggle, to suffer our pain and celebrate our joy. The incarnation of God in Jesus makes that
possible. There is one more part of the mystery. Jesus said, “when I leave, I will send my Spirit,
and my Spirit will be able to dwell in you” (Jn. 16:7). Then Nouwen introduces the idea of
presence revealed through absence. Like when we leave home and we discover a new
relationship with our parents because we moved away from them and became independent.
Presence through absence. Or how when a beloved person dies, he becomes present to you in a
new way. A new intimacy can grow in you with the beloved one who died. Their memory
becomes a real, active presence in your life. I share this not to stir up painful feelings but to open
our minds to how the Spirit works within the Trinity. Jesus will soon be absent; his presence
will be known through the Spirit. Scripture would just be a book without the Spirit. God would
be a distant deity without the Spirit. Jesus would be an ancient teacher, not someone we have a
relationship with, without the Spirit. Nouwen writes, “The great mystery of the Holy Spirit is
that Christ is Christ-with-us through the ages. Christ is Christ-with-us in the most intimate way”
(p. 122).
Jesus often speaks of the Spirit, as the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17,15:26, 16:13). Truth here does
not mean doctrine, but a full betrothal relationship. Troth means truth. Jesus is saying, “I give
you intimacy. My Spirit will lead you to a full betrothal with God and only my leaving will
make that possible. The Spirit of Jesus can lead us to that most intimate communion with God
(p. 120).
Maybe that is why Jesus used trinitarian language when giving us our ultimate mission, making
disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We need an
intimate relationship with God to share Jesus with those we meet. Because then, you see the
Spirit in them. The Christ in you sees the Christ in them. The heart of God in you sees the heart
of God in them” (Following Jesus, p. 129). That is the relational power of the Trinity. The
communal mystery of the Trinity.
Why does God bother with humanity? Because through the mysterious and profound Trinity, the
three and oneness of God, we are united with God. God is present with us. God the great “I
AM” is intimately united with us. And maybe that is why the risen Jesus, in his final teaching to
his disciples promised, “I am with you always to the end of the age.” Jesus means, “I am so intimately with you that you and I are one. You can breathe my breath and you can say, ‘Not I
live anymore, but Christ lives in me.’” (Following Jesus, p. 116). AMEN.
