God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16)
An adult bible study group was wrestling with the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. They had reviewed the basic teaching: One God, three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Then they began to discuss how the Three relate to each other and got hopelessly confused, when someone pointed to their pastor, Fr. Mike, who was sitting nearby. “Father, can you shed some light on this perplexing issue?” Not one to be intimated by trying to explain the unexplainable (and having just recently preached on the Ascension), Fr. Mike said: “Sure let me take a crack at it.”
Turning to one of the group, he said: “Matty, do you play guitar?” “Well,” Matty replied, “let’s say I play at it.” “Good enough,” Fr. Mike said. He continued, “How does a guitar produce music?” “There are three things involved, right? The mind tells the hand what to do; the hand strikes the strings, and the strings make the sound. The mind doesn’t make the sound, the hand doesn’t make the sound, but the two in combination with the strings make sound. In other words, all three work together, although the special work of the strings is to produce the sound.” “Do you follow me?” “Well,” he concluded, “the Holy Trinity works something like that.” The group agreed that although not quite as good as St. Patrick’s shamrock, Fr. Mike’s guitar metaphor wasn’t bad.
Today is Trinity Sunday, traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The logic is inescapable. On Christmas we talk about the birth of the Son sent by the Father into the world to redeem humanity, as related in today’s gospel from John. On Easter we talk about the resurrection of the Son who died a terrible death on the cross. On Pentecost we talk about the outpouring of the Spirit sent by the Father into the world, 50 days after the resurrection, to remain until the end of time. And on Trinity Sunday, you guessed it, we talk about Trinity, our feeble attempt to understand God, the divine force behind these cosmic events; the force which exists in a dimension beyond space and time and is totally incompressible by the human mind. (“The Force,” any Star Wars fans out there?) If you’re confused, you’re supposed to be because, bottom line, God is mystery. Reason and logic can take us only so far, and then faith kicks in to take us the rest of the way.
The word “Trinity” appears nowhere in the bible. What we find are passages in the Old and New Testaments that mention the three Persons we call God, either singlely or in combination. Jesus never uttered the word, but was clearly familiar with the concept. For example, when he taught his disciples how to pray, his model prayer begins, “Our Father….” When he was baptized, the sky opened and he heard the words, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” And after his resurrection he appeared to his apostles, breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
All theology results from people of faith seeking understanding – trying to put into words and thought patterns their experiences of God. Early Christians struggled long and hard to understand who God was for them in context of what had occurred in a around Jerusalem. Who was Jesus of Nazareth? God? Man? Part man? Part God? Neither, Both? It took four centuries, lots of debate, a few heresies, a schism or two and numerous church councils to define what ultimately became the doctrine of Trinity.
For ages our ancestors in faith had experienced God in different ways. For example, they experienced God in nature, Yahweh, the all-powerful distant Creator God of Genesis. They experienced God as Liberator and Lawgiver, the God of Exodus, still distant, who freed them from bondage in Egypt and gave them Ten Commandments to live by. Then they experienced God as Redeemer, the loving, healing, reconciling Word made flesh, who walked among them, Jesus of the Gospels. A short while later, during Pentecost, they experienced God in still another way, as animating Spirit, the God of the Book of Acts, the one who motivates and strengthens them for discipleship, the one who speaks to their souls and enlightens their minds.
The concept of Trinity, our ancestors’ attempt to explain their different experiences of God, envisions the sacred as relational and dynamic. Because God is love and love can only exist in relationship, divine nature, they concluded, must be relational - a relationship of love between Father and Son, expressed as Spirit. Like the mind, hand, and guitar strings making music, the three work together as an animating force in human history. The bond of love within Trinity is so strong that we still experience it today, more than two thousand years after the Son’s Ascension into heaven. Are you still with me? Well, if you are, then maybe, for an encore in my next homily I’ll explain Einstein’s theory of relativity!
One more point. We most resemble God when we live in harmony with one another. Why? Because the loving relationship within Trinity, demonstrated perfectly by Jesus’ life on earth, offers us the perfect model for human relationships. A key concept from the opening pages of the Bible, you will recall, is that you and I are made in the image and likeness of God. But how can we resemble God, a force without shape or form? First and foremost, in loving. When we relate to one another in love we both image God and work together with God to bring about the kingdom on earth, achieving our salvation in the process. Dare I say and also make beautiful music together?
This homily has been shorter than usual because of the admittedly challenging nature of its content. Children, who aren’t quite as slavishly rational in their thinking as us older folk, may actually have an easier time with the concept than us older folk. Why not talk to them about it on the ride home? Also, as you exit church today, stop a moment and take a look at one artist’s rendering of Trinity, displayed on the easel by the kiosk in the gathering hall.
Today in just a few brief moments, I’ve attempted to explain not only the nature of our unfathomable God, but also 5000 years of salvation history – a rather ambitious undertaking, wouldn’t you say? If, despite my valiant attempt, what I’ve said isn’t quite yet crystal clear, I invite you to visit our parish website starting tomorrow, click on “Deacon Tony’s Homilies,” and at your leisure read and reflect on the printed version of this homily. You may also want to do some independent reading or discuss it with a few friends who also like puzzles. But if after doing all that you still have questions…. I invite you to ask Fr. Mike… and bring along a guitar!
Anthony J. Sciolino
The Most Holy Trinity.
May 22, 2005. (Cycle A)
Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9/164
Corinthians 13:11-13
John 3:16-18.