Trinity Sunday

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…"

Matthew 28:19 CEB

This Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost, is traditionally Trinity Sunday. You will find some churches that will focus their services on the Trinity. But not many. At St. Andrew’s we will be continuing our series on Summer At the Movies this Sunday and just highlight that the day is commemorated as Trinity Sunday.

The term Trinity is fundamentally a theological term. Defining the Trinity is rather simple. It is the notion in Christianity that God is a unity of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a way of saying something about who God is and the way we experience Him. Although the definition is simple, understanding what this means is the hard part. If it were possible to look at a portrait of God, we could see a Father, who would mirror the almighty author of creation. We would also see the Son whom the Father sent to our world to make Himself known to us as a human. And we would see the Holy Spirit who is working His invisible power, transforming us to be more like Christ. Yet what you would see is clearly one and only one God.

It is sometimes easier to explain what it is not. The Trinity does not mean there are three Gods. There is one and only one God. Nor does it say that there is the Father with His subordinates, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same and equal in standing. Some have tried to explain the Trinity with the comparison to water. Water is water, but it can be a solid in the form of ice, a liquid in the form of water, and as a gas in the form of steam. But even this is not a precise comparison. Water cannot be ice, water, and steam at the same time, but God can be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time.

This is why when you hear people try to explain the Trinity they always use the word ‘mystery.’ There are no words to describe precisely how it is to be understood. But it does reveal to us that God is a unique and intricate being. And it tells us of the character of God. Just as He is one being of three persons, He is a relational God, relating within Himself and desiring to relate to us.

At the beginning of this devotion, I stated that the term Trinity is fundamentally a theological term. But it is really not. It speaks of our experience of God. The God we worship is a God who chooses to be known in relationship, and therefore, it is about us as well. Trinity Sunday is not about the concept of God, but the experience of God. For that, we give thanks and praise.

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