In the Christian Calendar, depending on the year cycle, the last Sunday of May or the first Sunday of June is designated as Trinity Sunday.
The celebration of Trinity Sunday provides us with opportunity to THINK about God. To do this, we must try to find words adequate for such thinking. For us, this is a problem since our human words are so inadequate. However, GOD-TALK is not a problem for two groups: those who believe God is dead and those who think they have a hot-line to heaven and daily receive the messages from the divine. Each in its own way avoids the reality of God as mystery.
According to the death of God people (usually associated with Nietzsche), we must stop looking for any transcendent meaning of life. All values must come from within ourselves. God is dead and all things are possible. We must use our creative power to foster life in this world. However, there is a dark side to all of this. Nietzsche in his Thus Spoke Zarathustra expressed the death of God in a profound way:
“Whither is God?” he (the madman) cried; “I will tell you. We have killed him, you and I. All of us his murderers….What were you doing when unchained this earth free from its sun?… Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up and down? Are we not staying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing on us?”
God’s death is not cause for joy.
As the other extreme are those who proclaim that God is alive and speaks to them each day with a message for all who believe. Such messages are usually given, for some reason, to TV evangelists. They are in constant touch with the Almighty according to them. They have no problem understanding God and his ways. All one need do is read the Bible and stay in touch with this preacher and his or her ministry.
The doctrine of Trinity is a REJECTION of both of these teachings and positions. It affirms that God is the ULTIMATE REALITY, THE SUPREME BEING. God is the ineffable mystery that cannot be totally captured in our theologies and philosophies. God extends beyond any human formulation. We must use human symbols and words to talk about God. However, we humbly and gratefully acknowledge that God is always greater that our human attempts to understand him. We must keep on wrestling with the LIVING GOD, knowing that the prize is worth trusting. The doctrine of Trinity moves us to struggle with the God who is totally other, became one like us, and dwells in our hearts.
How do we approach the mystery of the One True God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? We do not understand God as we understand other realities. It is not we who control God and initiate contact with him. Rather, it is God who calls us and challenges us to respond in faith to his word.
The inadequacy of our GOD-TALK and the mystery of God are best understood in the reality of God’s love for us. We find it incomprehensible that God loves us in a total, forgiving way. There is no way to express fully the mystery of God and his love. But we must try to express it partially, as our faith seeks understanding. The Trinity is expressed in the THREEFOLD divine love:
GOD THE FATHER’S LOVING CREATION OF US AND THE WORLD;
GOD’S FORGIVING LOVE MADE VISIBLE IN JESUS CHRIST;
CHRIST AND GOD’S ABIDING LOVE THROUGH THE INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT.
We could spend a lifetime talking about the Triune God of Love. Better than talk, however, is the experi-ence of God’s love and our sharing that love with one another.
For more personal reflection, read these following Biblical texts:
Isaiah 6:1-8 Psalm 29 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
NOTE: If you are traveling for summer vacation, I pray for God’s traveling grace for you (and you family).
Pastor Gideon
