Several hundred years ago when I was in elementary school, teachers would tell us to put our thinking caps on. You knew you were going to have to think really hard when they used that phrase.
Trinity Sunday is a thinking cap kind of Sunday because it invites us to think really hard about a very complex and difficult to understand doctrine known as the Trinity.
This is vitally important because the doctrine of the Trinity is trying to help us comprehend how God who is one can also be 3 distinct beings. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God known in three persons. So to make a long sermon short, here’s the short answer. The doctrine of the Trinity is and always will be a mystery to us.
But since most of you know me pretty well, you probably are already aware that you’re going to get the long answer as well. Hey, I got to fill up my fifteen minutes somehow!
How can God who is one God also be known in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Great theological minds have looked at this over the centuries and I’ll offer a very brief summary of how they have tried to explain it.
First of all, I should say that the word, “Trinity” is never mentioned in the Bible. The word, “Trinity” was simply a name that theologians use in understanding who God is.
Our appointed scripture readings from Romans chapter 5 and John chapter 16 mention all three members of the Trinity.
In our Romans reading, the Apostle Paul refers to God, the general name for God, also known as Father, and then he refers to Jesus through whom we have access to God’s grace. And then he says how God’s love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus is telling the disciples that the Spirit will come and guide them in all truth. Jesus also refers to God, the Father and that all that the Father has belongs to Jesus as well.
Throughout the New Testament, we hear how all three persons of the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are worthy of our worship. And since we are to only worship one God, then this means that all three persons of the Trinity are part of who God is. “God in three persons, blessed Trinity” as the hymn puts it.
So how have theologians sought to explain the mystery of the Trinity? Here’s where we all need to put on our thinking caps! Let’s strap them on! By the way, these imaginary thinking caps never really made that much of a difference for me, but it is kind of fun.
Here we go:
The challenge in understanding the Trinity is holding on to the biblical belief that there is only one true God and at the same time holding on to the biblical belief that God, the Father, and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also God.
Even when we turn to analogies in nature to try to explain this, they eventually fall short. They only take us so far. So for example, some people talk about how water can appear in three different modes as liquid, ice and steam but yet it’s still water.
The problem with this analogy is that unlike dividing water into liquid, steam, and ice, you can’t divide God in three different ways because God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time, all the time. In the water analogy, water is sometimes liquid, sometimes ice, and sometimes steam, but never all three at the same time.
For example, at Jesus’ baptism, we have all three persons of the Trinity present at the same time. At Jesus’ baptism, God, the Father is speaking words of assurance to Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is descending upon Jesus.
The other problem with the water analogy is that liquid, steam, and ice do not love each other. I guess they don’t dislike each other but they do not interact with each other in a loving and caring way. They don’t have a personal relationship with each other.
On the other hand, there is a love relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the scripture, God is not revealed as a thing or as a what but as a who. God is the Father eternally loving His Son in the Spirit which is something you don’t get in the water analogy.
Other nature analogies are also used to explain the mystery of the Trinity. In addition to the liquid, ice, steam analogy; we also have the egg analogy; the 3-headed man analogy; the pie with 3 slices analogy; sun, heat, and light analogy; the shamrock analogy; the apple analogy of the apple skin, core, and fruit.
All these analogies fall short because of the uniqueness of the biblical perspective in describing who God is.
The doctrine of the Trinity was formed into a creed thanks to early Christian theologians who relied heavily on the Greco/Roman philosophies of their day. Of course, even philosophies cannot fully unravel the mystery of the Trinity either, but at least they include biblical references to get us closer to the heart of who God is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We can thank the early Christian theologian, Tertullian who lived near the turn of the 3rd century as the first person who used the word, “Trinity” which is derived from a Latin word. Like other theologians who would follow after him, they were attempting to use the philosophical categories of their day to explain how God can be one God but at the same time be known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It would be another century or so later that other theologians would end up developing what has become known as the Nicene Creed in describing the Trinity in philosophical language. We said that creed together earlier in the service. This creed is what helped the church to have a common language in formulating their understanding of who God is, especially during a time when there were other views being shared that were contradictory to the biblical witness.
I appreciate this Sunday on the church calendar each year, because it gives us an opportunity to really think about our faith. Sometimes, we can easily go through the motions of our faith and never really stop to think about what we’re saying or hearing during worship.
Our discipleship strategy here at Athens First is to help each person to have a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith.
By this, we mean that we offer ministries that help us to have a loving faith where we use our hearts in loving God and each other. We offer also offer ministries that help us to have a learning faith where we use our minds in understanding our faith in a deeper way. And we offer ministries that help us to have a Living Faith where we use our hands in living out our faith in serving others.
Trinity Sunday invites us to grow in what it means to have a Loving Faith and a Learning Faith as we reflect on the mystery of the Trinity and what it means when we refer to God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; one God, but known in three persons.
We grow in having a Learning Faith because we seek to understand who God is. And we grow in having a Loving Faith, because the more we know who God is, the more we are drawn into a loving relationship with God through worship.
One of my favorite parts of being a pastor is when people are eager to learn more about their faith. Like this story that happened at one of the churches I served.
With only a few bible studies left before our summer break, someone in our study group approached me at the end of our weekly time together with a request. "Sometime, I'd like you to explain the Trinity at one of our bible studies,”she said with a determined look on her face.
This was not an unusual request. She would often come up to me following a bible study to ask me a question, offer one more thought from our discussion, or share something that she found really insightful from our time together.
For the three years she attended our bible study, it was very obvious to me that she was a life-long learner, a true student of the bible and someone who wanted to know how it connects with our daily living. In short, a pastor's dream.
In many ways, she reminded me of my mother who would have been about the same age as this woman and who also enjoyed reading and studying the bible.
In response to her request, I replied, "Trinity Sunday is only a couple of weeks away, so for our last Bible study before we break for the summer, I'll offer as much as I know about the doctrine of the Trinity. It's not easy to explain, but I'll give it my best shot."
A great big smile came to her face and she said, "Oh, that would be great. Thank you!"
At our final bible study gathering, I came prepared. I listed the many scripture passages in which all three persons of the Trinity have divine attributes that are only associated with God. I also referred to Jesus' baptism and his transfiguration as examples in which all three persons of the Trinity were present at the same time. I went on to share pretty much what we have been focusing on today.
For example, when Jesus (the Son) was baptized, a dove (the Holy Spirit) descended upon him, and a voice came from heaven (the Father) stating that this is my son with whom I am well pleased.
I also shared that while the word, "Trinity" is not used in the bible, it's the best word to explain how God is known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, especially when we read a verse like Matthew 28:19 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
After offering my best effort to explain the Trinity, I then told the bible study group that it's still a mystery. How can God be one and yet be known as three persons? The scriptures point us to the doctrine of the Trinity, but they don't remove the mystery that is behind it. "We accept the doctrine of the Trinity by faith," I said to them as we concluded our final session with a prayer.
As I was packing up my bible and notes, she was one of the last to leave and I knew that she wanted to speak with me. "Thank you for helping me to understand the Trinity. That really helped. And I really like it that you admitted that it's still a mystery to you."
I left from that bible study feeling like I accomplished something. Her kind words following that bible study lifted my spirit.
Just a couple of weeks after Trinity Sunday, this wonderful saint in our church passed away unexpectedly. I met her son and daughter at the church that week as we began to plan their mother's funeral service.
I told them what a wonderful mother they had and I also told them this more recent story of how their mother wanted to know more about the doctrine of the Trinity.
As I told them this story about their mother and how she wanted to know more about the Trinity, that’s when it dawned on me.
And now, she knows.
Thinking Cap Sunday
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