Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024: Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17; Psalm 29
It is a fearful thing to see God. God reveals themself to Moses through the burning bush; even when delivering the commandments, Moses does not see God’s face. When Isaiah sees the Lord, sitting on his throne, he is distraught: “Woe is me!”
Today is observed as Trinity Sunday, the day when we focus in particular on the central mystery of Christianity: the idea of “God in three persons”: one God, with three aspects. I grew up with “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”; not all families, however, are healthy, and that language can be difficult for some. Some now use “Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer”, which provides a functional description, if not exactly a person. I find both helpful, but also reminders of the fundamental mystery of three “persons” making one God, one God with three aspects. It’s not surprising that there are Jewish and Muslim theologians who doubt that Christianity is a monotheistic religion.
I don’t pretend to understand the Trinity, but reading Isaiah this week, I wondered if the fear he expresses is a clue. It is, after all, easier to see the face of Jesus than the face of God. The concept of the Trinity to some extent makes God more accessible. When we see Jesus, we are reminded, we are seeing God. One of the ways I find the Trinity helpful as a concept is that there is always at least one person of the Trinity with whom I feel a relationship. Sometimes it’s Jesus, sometimes it’s the Creator God, occasionally it’s the Spirit.
Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we are “children of God”. As children of God, we are, *with Christ*, God’s heirs. That places us in a special place in relation to Jesus, but also in relation to each other. Anyone with siblings knows that being siblings is not a guarantee of getting along, or liking each other. But most of the time, we understand our connection to them, and often, our shared histories and mutual obligations.
The Trinity is a mystery. But it is a mystery that holds us together. May we hold the mystery in our hearts, and always grow in our relationship with God: three in one and one in three.