It’s so very difficult – ok, impossible – for us as mere mortals to
wrap our brains around the mystical, mysterious concept of the Trinity, or in
heavenly math-speak: 1 + 2 = One. Two out of the three persons of this, our
Trinitarian God, are genderless although many refer to God as Father and some
think of the Spirit as the feminine of Wisdom, or Sophia as it is written in
Biblical Greek. While our human minds cannot possibly grasp the Trinity in its
complexities, we still wrestle with how to reduce it to fit in a small box in
our minds that we can pretend to understand. The mind naturally seeks to sort
and file its collected data into usable bits amidst the consternation of those
pieces that simply don’t fit the space allotted.
The Christian Trinity is,
plainly and purely and simply, a mystery. Yet if it is able to be rationally
explained there is no mystery and it can be easily dismissed. What is
God-like in that? Some minds clamor for any mystery to be reducible and
solvable to fit neatly into that file as in wanting to know the steps an
entertaining magician uses to perform an illusion. Others are comfortably
engaged in the wonder of the ways it is unfolding.
The mystery of the Trinity is
nothing if not confounding. One God/Three Persons – separate yet one, equal
with different roles that are ultimately the same, belief in one is meant to be
belief in all and the One that is the same but different. “Stranger than
we think and stranger than we can think,” to borrow from physicist Neils Bohr’s
description of the Universe. Franciscan Richard Rohr tells us that some ancient
mystics have suggested that we are called as an almost fourth person in the
flow of God, as Jesus says later in John’s Gospel, …so that where I am you
also may be. [John 14:3]
One of my favorite ways to attempt a
workable sense of the Trinity – gender language aside – is through a
piece of a 6th century creed from Dublin known as Tírechán’s Creed ~ when
speaking of God it says:
He has a Son who is co-eternal with himself;
and similar in all respects to himself;
and neither is the Son younger than the Father,
nor is the Father older than the Son;
and the Holy Spirit breathes in them.
And the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are inseparable.
Perfectly clear now, yes?
Well, here’s another wrinkle someone else once wrote ~ I don’t remember who ~
that if your understanding of the Trinity is 2 men and a bird, it is time to
rethink! If we can truly understand the mysteries of God, then that god, for
me, is way too small. Only through faith can we believe in and answer the call of heavenly things.
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Abba, Redeemer, Advocate, release us from
our quest to reduce You and the vast mystery of faith to our human level of
certainty and understanding. Grant us openness of mind, sincerity of heart, and
willingness to come to You unknowing, allowing the wind of the Spirit, the
redemption of Christ, and our birth from Above, to move through us in Your many
and miraculous ways.
Most Holy Trinity
RESPONSE: In
faith we answer Your call
~ Abba,
Redeemer, Advocate, in a world where principle and integrity are obscured
in the smoke of fear and confusion, let us answer “Here we are; send us” to
seek Your Voice, speak with clean lips, and to bear witness for truth and
justice in the halls of governments in our World, our Nation, and in our
Community. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Most Holy Trinity
In faith we answer Your call
~
Abba, Redeemer, Advocate, embrace and sustain
the hope and faith of those bowed low by illness, addiction, or loneliness, and
give comfort to all who give them care. We now join our hearts together
to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
Most Holy Trinity
In faith we answer Your call
~
Abba, Redeemer, Advocate, we joyfully ascribe
the glory due Your name as you receive those we love into everlasting life, in
the beauty of holiness they have now achieved. We pray especially
for… add your own petitions
Most Holy Trinity
In faith we answer Your call
~
Abba, Redeemer, Advocate, we pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
Most Holy Trinity
In faith we answer Your call
~
Abba, Redeemer, Advocate, we lift to Your care
the souls and hearts of our Earthly Guides, ordained by You to walk with us,
beyond the bindings of earthly things toward the glory of all things of
heaven. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Most Holy Trinity
In faith we answer Your call
The Celebrant adds: Creator, Savior,
Sanctifier, grant us the blessing of Your peace as we accept the
strength You have given us as joint heirs of Your eternal Kingdom. Expand and
amplify our faith that its depth and constancy are revealed in the ways we
answer Your call. We ask through each and all of the Three Eternal Persons
in the sacred mystery of the Holy Trinity, who are One God, forever and
ever. Amen.
I always find some new understanding when reading your blog posts. Thank you ����
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