Musical Prelude and Service.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 & Matthew 28:16-20
So, what actually is the Trinity?
We name the Trinity frequently. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Parent, Christ and Holy Spirit. Creator,
Redeemer and Spirit. But what is the image that comes to mind? What is definition of that Trinity and
how do we see the various persons of the Trinity? And finally, how do how we see or experience the
Trinity help to shape our faith?
The generally accepted definition of the Trinity in Protestant and Catholic Christianity is that we
experience God in three persons. Each person, God the father or parent, Jesus the Son and Christ
and the Holy Spirit is God. And God is all three.
Christianity has struggled and sadly fought over what that means pretty much since its beginning.
A seemingly small aspect and disagreement over the relationship between Creator and Son led to the
fissure between the Eastern and Western churches at the beginning of the second Millennia.
Christianity experienced and continues to experience God in various forms or persons; as God our
Creator, as Jesus the Christ, God with us, the redeemer and as the Holy Spirit, the bond of love that
connects us to one another and to God. But Christianity has its roots in Judaism.
Jesus was Jewish. His disciples were Jewish. And that is a religion committed to the vision of One
God. It had resisted for centuries the pressure from empires that held pantheons of deities. But they
insisted they worshipped one God.
So how do you reconcile this experience of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the declaration of
one God? It led to debates and frequently conflicts that on level or another continue to this day.
It led to attempts to explain the Trinity that were declared heresies. Modalism, Partialism, Arianism.
God is found in three persons but there is one God. Make it make sense.
As far as I am concerned, rationalizing this idea or vision of God is impossible. Just trying to concisely
explain the ongoing controversy of the Trinity is maddening.
As something I read by an Australian minister named Andrew Prior noted,
“It took St. Augustine 15 volumes to describe the Trinity. Here are his seven summary statements:
The Father is God.
The Son is God.
The Holy Spirit is God.
The Son is not the Father.
The Father is not the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not the Son.
There is only one God.”
Such luminaries as Martin Luther and John Wesley have declared that comprehending the Trinity is
beyond human capacity. So why do we bother? Because as human beings we strive for
understanding. We yearn clarity. We hunger for the ability to describe what we feel deep in our
souls.
And that is why art is so important. Where our words to often fail us, we can make some sense
through the art of imagery, painting, sculpture. Or through music and poetry. We can inch a little
closer to how it is we experience and understand the divine that touches. And wrestling with our
experiences with who we call God, be it the creator, or Jesus or the driving force of the Holy Spirit,
we long for the words to make sense of it all and communicate that with our neighbour.
The Trinity can become that tool that helps us provide a little clarity speaking of experiencing God in
the magnificence of a sunrise. We can talk about realizing a profound conversation was an encounter
with the risen Christ. Or a nudge to make a difficult decision or finding ourselves choosing to say
goodbye to a life we had taken for granted to start something new was the unpredictable work of the
Holy Spirit.
But through all of that we experience God in relationship; God in relationship with God’s creation;
God in relationship with us. And God in relationship with God. Parent and child and the spirit that
binds them. The creator and the redeemer and the spirit that enlivens creation. God is relationship,
God is in our relationships and God yearns for relationship.
The closing of Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth says so much in a few lines. He refers to
the people of that church as family. He wishes them peace and urges them to find ways to work
together despite their differences. And finally, to be moved and inspired by the love and intimate
connection offered by God.
The close of the Gospel of Matthew – often called the great Commission, has frequently been used to
justify forceable conversions to Christinaity as empires colonized the world. Insisting on mass
baptisms of indigenous communities, separating people from their traditional ways of life, and
causing indescribable pain along the way.
Baptize nations in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But it can be argued, and I
would argue that those actions forgot the instruction that comes right after that. To teach my
commandments. If you are going to teach a way of life, it is important you live that same life. What
does Jesus command in particular in Matthew’s Gospel?
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.
You are the light of the world. Don’t hide your light. Turn the other cheek. Walk an extra mile with
another’s burden. And finally; love the lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your might. And love your neighbour as you love yourself.
These so-called commandments leave little room for self interest and malice. They leave no room for
cruelty or to justify inflicting pain and suffering on individuals, communities or other societies.
The vision of the Holy Trinity for me is about a dance. It’s about relationship and love. It is a
reminder that we are connected to one another in ways that are often beyond our comprehension.
That we are intertwined in an intimate relationship with the rest of God’s creation in ways that we will
always struggle to describe but which we know is true and we can only approach in our words, our
song and our art.
We are drawn together; we too are one. We are not the same, but we are one and we are loved.
And we are called to love.
So when we spend time reflecting on how we experience God as three-in-one and one-in-three;
Parent, Christ and Spirit, we also find ourselves reflecting on how we as humanity are one-in-many
and many-in-one. We are connected and cannot be separated. We are distinct and unique as
persons, but we are still part of something that is beyond our description. And we are bound by love.
May we be open to reflecting on what it means to be connected to all of humanity, through God;
through Christ; and bound together by the Holy Spirit. May we be moved to live in peace and love
with one another, celebrating God and offering our gratitude to all the ways Christ walks with us and
the Spirit moves us to express our faith through our love in action.
And so, in the name of God, the Creator, Redeemer and Holy Spirit, may we all be placed in what we
say, hear and do. Amen.
Rev. Warner Bloomfield

Music provided with permission through licensing with CCLI License number
2701258 and One License # A-731789