Skip to main content

On The Trinity: Life and Love


In The Name of the Father, and of The Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Life and Love Within the Trinity
God is love, let heaven adore him.  These words were written by Timothy Rees and are now found in the 1982 Hymnal.  This simple statement speaks volumes towards the life and love that exists within the Holy Trinity.  The Trinity has been such an important topic that the early Church doctors spent most of their theological work coming to an understanding of this great mystery.  The ancient creed Quicunque Vult, unfortunately relegated to the Historical Documents section of the present Book of Common Prayer, describes its importance this way, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith … And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship on God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.”


I always point out that this sounds great in heady theological discussions, but how does this concern the everyday Christian.  This definition was never meant to be a spiritual handgun that says, “Believe or else.”  What I will claim though, is that the Trinity is the very essence of the Christian faith and life.

Dr. Robert Kellemen in Soul Physicians describes the Trinity as an Eternal Love Story.  Before creation, Dr. Kellemen suggests that between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “were experiencing constant, uninterrupted, intimate relationship. (Soul Physicians pg 62.)” When I first read this book, my mind brought me to two separate Biblical accounts that illustrate what we’re talking about.

The first is The Baptism of Christ.  Which ever account you consider, be it Matthew, Mark, or Luke’s, a common image is that of the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father saying, “This is my Son, my beloved.”  (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-23) 



The second account is similar: The Transfiguration of Christ.  Here Jesus is on a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and a cloud envelopes them.  This should bring to mind the cloud that Moses entered into to speak with God during Israel’s forty years in the wilderness.  From there they heard a voice, again saying, “This is my Son, my beloved.  Listen to Him.” (Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36)  Consider both of these events from the perspective of love and relationship.  The Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus like a dove is a very intimate, and gentle act.  The words of The Father are of the utmost love, affection, and affirmation.  This is the kind of relating that human beings crave at their very core.  If Dr. Kellemen’s thesis is correct, love to this degree is occurring continually throughout eternity.


 And yet, these three persons, with their continual exchange of love, affection, affirmation, respect, etc. constitute not three gods, but one God.  That in the oneness of God there exists all of these qualities that require both subject and object.  The three are never confused, nor is the substance divided, and only in this way, can perfect love actually exist.

God is love, let Heaven adore Him.  This is the essence of the Christian faith.  Jesus commands us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:35-40).  But God does not command us to do that which God does not already do as Trinity.  This is wonderful news, and the news keeps getting better.  In future posts, I’ll demonstrate how through Christ’s incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, we can not only imitate this Trinitarian love, but actually experience it and be a part of it.  Until then, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, be with you always.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 8 and 9

Weekends can be a busy thing around the holidays.  Ironically Advent invites us to slow down while the world around us is speeding up with decorating, parties, shopping, etc.  That's why a challenge like reading a chapter of Luke every day is important - it refocusses you. Chapter 8 starts out with a parable about a farmer sowing seeds.  Most of the seed ends up useless, while the seed that fell on good soil yielded a massive harvest.  When the disciples asked what the parable is about, Jesus described it in terms of the Word of God, often falling on hearts that are either unwilling or unready, and it doesn't take hold.  But for some, it lands on a heart that's willing and ready, and bears much fruit. This sets the stage for two miracles that come next - the calming of the sea and the healing of a demoniac.  Jesus and the disciples went out on a boat, and a big storm came upon them.  While everyone else was panicking, Jesus was fast asleep in the stern...

Setbacks, Disappointments, and New Opportunities

Yesterday I received a phone call I had been waiting anxiously for. It was about a job I had put in for - and I didn’t get it. The person delivering the news was kind, and even encouraged me to apply for another position that, in her opinion, was a better fit for me. It is a different kind of job, would require a decent commute, and I’m not sure I have it in me to enter another process right now.  This morning I got myself showered and dressed and put on my clericals. Even though I was home all day I wanted to shoot a video and hence the outfit. Somehow just dressing up had me feeling less dejected - like I still could do something I was proud of. I remember years ago when my dad was looking for work. Each day he put on a shirt and tie before filling out job applications.  After the video I scheduled some more content, opened up my notebook, and started working on my plan. The ideas began to flow, time seemed to flow by, and before I knew it I had a pretty great outline for a ...

Advent Challenge - Luke Chapters 1 and 2

It's been a long time since I published here - about 10 months.  My life has taken some twists and turns.  As I went along I reflected on last year's journey, and my plan to launch Parish Development Ministries.  When I look back at everything I intended to do, I do think I had a decent road map.  But I didn't do a lot of it.  As it turns out, my heart really is in parish ministry, and I'm really glad to be back in that role. Last summer I accepted a call to St. Mary's Church in Wayne, PA.  So we moved again, and I'm settling into this new and wonderful place.  Since it is a year of new things, I decided to launch an Advent Challenge for the new year.  Things worked out nicely.  There are 24 days of Advent this year, and it's Year C, when we'll be reading the Gospel of Luke.  Since Luke has 24 chapters, it just makes sense to read one chapter a day this month, and be prepared for Christmas. Luke is an interesting Gospel.  He has one...