Reflections – Holy Trinity
3 Visitors - The Holy Trinity - By Rublev (14th C.)
Genesis 18
Beginning
with worship this weekend I will be focusing on a series of lessons taken from
the book of Genesis which tells the story of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of
Israel: Abraham & Sarah; Isaac & Rebekah; Jacob & Rachel (and Leah
and Laban and Esau); and Joseph and his brothers. These are terrific stories
and have much to say to us today, but there is one verse in particular which
lay at the foundation of each and every one of those stories – in fact, it
might be argued that this verse really lay at the foundation of both the Old
and New Testament – here is the verse:
Now
the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2I
will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name
great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:1-2
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity; the one church
festival that is given over entirely to celebrate a church doctrine. And as
central and important as this doctrine is, it is at the same time a
particularly difficult doctrine to understand and one over which there has been
a lot of conflict over the years. I am
not going to try to explain it, because it is as much a mystery to me as it is
to anyone else. And, I do not have all
the right answers here. But I can share
a few illustrations and thoughts. All of
which are not the whole story and have their limitations, but perhaps they
might help us to think about the Trinity in a new way.
First, a story from St. Augustine: One day St. Augustine was walking on the
beach when he encountered a little boy trying to pour the whole ocean into a
hole he had dug. When Augustine told him what he was trying to do was
impossible the little boy said "neither can you fit the Holy Trinity into
your tiny mind." From there St.
Augustine offers this illustration of the Holy Trinity (and it is one of my
favorite images): When you think of the
Trinity, think of love – God the Father is the lover, the Son is the beloved
and the love shared between the two is the Holy Spirit.
Here’s another, from the Desert
Fathers: Think of the Holy Trinity as
Light – The source of Light is the Father, the light itself which provides the
illumination is the Son and the warmth one feels from the light is the Holy
Spirit. And one more, from Meister Eckhardt:
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