Trinity Sunday
Every time we make the sign of the cross, we acknowledge the mystery like no other. How can three persons be one? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all distinct Persons yet one God. Once the triune God is accepted, there is a tendency to explain how something so distant from human experience can be true. Throughout history, many religious leaders and theologians have tried to explain the mystery, always falling woefully short.
The mystery is so profound that an eternity of contemplation in heaven will never exhaust its meaning. In joy and for all eternity, we will contemplate and worship the Trinity and never tire.
Some with little or no faith would respond to my prior comment as a cause for disbelief. Religions, except Christianity, have trouble with the mystery, even though there are numerous examples of Jesus speaking about his Father and the Holy Spirit. The criticism should not cause us alarm or worry. Not being able to articulate the mystery or reality fully does not mean our belief is absurd.
Outside of Jesus’s direct words about his Trinitarian relationship with the Father and the Spirit, there are additional and equally powerful examples for us to draw upon. As human beings created in the image of the Trinitarian God, we have been endowed with the gift of an immortal soul reflective of the spiritual attributes we share with beings (angels) who do not possess a body.
The spiritual characteristics of any human being manifest in something we have all hopefully experienced or will continue to experience—love. The mystery of the Trinity is centered on how well we know or live in love. Jesus told his disciples something certain: his relationship with his Father is perfect love, and Jesus can say he and his Father are one, for nothing but love can explain the oneness. Before ascending to heaven, he reassured his disciples he would not leave them alone and promised to send his Spirit to them.
By sheer logic alone, the mystery of the Trinity is revealed. The Father and Jesus are one, and the promise to be with us always, Jesus sends the Spirit to be with us. Theology has described the union of the three in terms of love. The Father and the Son love each other perfectly, making them one, and the bond of perfect love is so pure and potent that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Logic is not the only human experience that can be drawn on when meditating on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Human beings were created in God’s image and have been imparted the Trinitarian characteristics: immortality and the ability to receive and extend love. It is easy to see the relationship through marriage, where a husband loves his wife, and a child may be born from that bond of love—all three distinct individuals in one family.
However, we need not rely only on marriage to observe our trinitarian connection. Any person who understands love knows it has an immortal and spiritual quality. It is the only thing that, when exercised, doesn’t diminish but, contrary to logic, increases not only with the beloved but also with others who can become loved. Love is the only thing we experience in life that will transcend the grave because it is immortal.
Only by love can a person scratch the surface of who and what the Trinity is. Anyone who chooses to love extends it to another, and if reciprocated, our existence of being created in the Trinity’s image is revealed.
If the love is genuine and not self-serving, the bond between them unites them as one. Often, the dynamic is referred to as viewing the other person as “another self.” If two see the opposite as another self, the unity between the two unites them as one, even though they retain their individuality. Then, the bond of love itself must be accounted for. The bond of love is a reality; both share the bond equally and is independent from their love for each other, while simultaneously integral to the bond. Everyone who loves and the love is returned; the image of the Trinity is present.
When you reflect on your loving relationships, remember and worship the source of your love: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is a great mystery, but one not totally shrouded. The more we love, the more we know about it. And isn’t that the point? To know more fully the God we worship and the people we love.