In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
I don’t know about you, but there are many things about the Christian faith that I find
difficult to comprehend. I’ve tried really hard to understand the doctrine of
Transubstantiation- if you want me to explain it to you see me afterwards if you’ve got a
spare couple of hours- I’ve tried really hard to understand the reality of the resurrectionstill working on that one- and today, we are confronted with the Holy Trinity, surely one of
the most misunderstood, misquoted and misinterpreted doctrine that we possess. It was
always said at theological college that curates always get the job of preaching about the
Trinity because no-one else wants to do it, but since I don’t have that luxury I’m going to
have to give it a go myself.
The Trinity, of course, describes to us the relationship of God; being of three personsFather, Son and Spirit- but one substance; all God. We can imagine that concept in lots of
ways- as an egg, or water being steam, liquid and gas, or even Aquafresh toothpaste! But
whatever the mechanics of that arrangement- and again if you can offer any insight please
let me know; the point is that God is a God based upon relationship. The Trinity is three
persons, yes, but what binds the three together is love. And the love which binds God
together is perfect and complete, existing in an unbreakable unity. God is three persons, but
one in his divinity, united by perfect love.
That’s all well and good, but the problem with what I’ve just said is that it makes God seem
very grand. And that’s true, because he is, but it also makes God seem very distant. Faced
with God as this amazing, unbreakable force of unity and divinity, we can easily fall into the
trap of thinking that he is a God of detachment, that he isn’t really interested in what we
have to do or say, because actually, he’s above us all really, and much too glorious for us to
understand. But God is a God of relationship, who longs for nothing more than to know us
and to love us and to share life with us- because that’s why he created us in the first place.
Believe it or not, God, in all of his Trinitarian glory, delights in human beings. You may have
seen Rublev’s icon of the Trinity- it’s one of my favourite pictures. It shows God as three
persons, Father, Son and Spirit, united around a table. But you will notice hat that there is a
space for another guest. And that person is you. Our God, who is a God of relationship,
invites each one of us to share in the loving bond which connects Father, Son and Holy Spirit
together. You matter to God. And that is how the Trinity differs from previous
understandings of divinity- in the old Roman pagan religion, human beings were just pawns
in the designs of unknowable, untouchable Gods; but with our God, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, the opposite is very much true. God longs to be in a relationship with his people; and
that’s why we come to Church- to experience that relationship of love between us and God,
even if just for a few moments. That relationship is a lifelong journey- which we start at our
Baptism.
If the Trinity is seeking a relationship with us, and we with God, then we can be assured
that, like any relationship, it’s going to have it’s highs and lows, it’s ups and downs. As we go
through life, its often our experience that occasionally, we feel very close to God and,
perhaps in difficult times, very far away. But that’s the nature of any relationship. God might
be perfect, but we are not, and that means it’s ok if we sometimes get things wrong;
Christians are only humans after all. There has long been an assumption in our faith that it is
important that we don’t get anything wrong- that we must be perfect at all times for God,
and that when we stumble, or doubt his love for us, then somehow we have catastrophically
failed. But the Trinity reminds us that God is a God of relationship, and that’s not the way a
loving relationship works. I remember when I first started going to church at an early age,
and my abiding memory of it was not one of spiritual growth and a joy in Christ- rather it is
of my grandma- very much a traditionalist- saying “you must do this”, and “you mustn’t do
that”, to the extent that I often felt like I’d failed at something or was never quite good
enough. But perfection is simply beyond us- Jesus demands our best, but understands when
we fail. Our Gospel reading this morning reminds us that God is continually seeking us,
calling us and leading us onward, and whilst sometimes we might find the going difficult, he
is still there, and will always be, inviting us to take our seat at his table.
And so today we come to remember in words and music that the Trinity is grand, and
glorious and perfect and almighty and all-powerful. But we also come to remember that the
person of Jesus shows us clearly that fundamentally, at the heart of the Trinity is love, and
more than that, a desire to share that love with us. Ultimately then, perhaps it’s not so
important that we understand the Trinity, but rather the important task for us is to
experience it. As we gather together this morning, on this Trinity Sunday, in our small corner
of the Kingdom, we know that thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection, God, in all of his
fullness as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is present with us, seeking us, calling us and drawing
us into his embracing love that we may share in the mystery of his perfect unity. In the
words of St. Paul- thanks be to God for this gift that is too wonderful to understand.
Amen.