My brain thinks in song.
And one of the song snippets that comes to mind when I think of the Trinity is, naturally, God, in three persons, blessed Trinity. The end of the first and last verse of a hymn that appears in almost 100 different hymnals and worship song collections.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity. So, what does it mean?
One theologian describes the Trinity this way, “It is a human attempt to explain who the Christian church has understood God to be, on the basis of Scripture.” “and that God is known to us in three persons—distinguishing God’s eternal being as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all of whom are equally “God” and who, biblically and historically, are distinctively at work in the world. God’s work in “three persons” is still the work of the “one God,””
EXPLAIN
God the Father
Genesis 1
“In the beginning when God created[a] the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God[b] swept over the face of the waters.”
Exodus 3
“But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”[a] He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[b] the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.”
God the Son
John 1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
John 10
“29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand.[c] 30 The Father and I are one.””
God the Holy Spirit
Proverbs 8 (our scripture today)
Wisdom is sometimes connected to the Holy Spirit and here we have a depiction of wisdom that seems almost as preexistent and in the beginning as the Word.
“Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
26 when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there,”
John 16 (scripture today)
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
All Together
Matthew 28
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit are unique but also connected, they are all God but three different persons of God. They are distinct and yet not distinct. They are individual and interact with humanity and creation in different ways and yet are collective and indivisible from one another. They are God, God in three persons.
On another level, the Trinity is an expression of the fullness of God’s love for us. And this level, this level for me, makes all the difference. Now, it is good to know why we believe God is three in one. It is good to explain and lift up the scripture we use to come to that conclusion and belief. And, I want us to know why it matters. Why should we care about the Trinity, here in Omaha Nebraska in 2024? Because the Trinity, God in three persons, expresses the depth and breadth of God’s love for us. The Trinity shows us the lengths God goes to love us and be in relationship with us. God cares about us so much that God does not limit Godself to one way of connecting with humanity but shows up for us in three ways – God the Father as creator and sustainer, God the Son as Christ the redeemer and salvation, and God the Holy Spirit the indwelling inspiration and guide.
Now, for me, God the Son was my entry point to Christianity. It was through the humanness of Christ that I experienced God’s presence and love. At that point in my life, I had to know that God felt my pain, that God knew what it meant, and felt and bled and cried, knew the difficulties and struggles of being human. Back then, I barely understood what the Holy Spirit was and God as Father and creator felt distant and incomprehensible. But God the Son, God who cried for Lazarus, who prayed in Gethsemane, and knew what suffering, loss, struggle, and pain felt like? That, that hit home.
We all have different experiences in life. We go through different things and each of us, connects with God differently too. We recognize, we feel God’s love and presence in our own ways. The good news, is that God is not boxed in or limited. God is three in one, and in honoring Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the depth, breadth, and lengths God goes to to love us.
And you know, there’s actually another song that also comes to mind when I think of the Trinity.
“My love is warmer than the warmest sunshine, softer than a sigh
My love is deeper than the deepest ocean, wider than the sky
My love is brighter than the brightest star that shines every night above
And there is nothing in this world that can ever change my love”
So this Sunday, believe in a love so complete that it meets the needs, pains, joys, and wants of our heart, whatever they may be. Trinity Sunday teaches us that no matter where we find ourselves in life and what we are going through, God reaches us. Embrace the Trinity, and know the depth and breadth of God’s love for you. Amen.