[Pearls Ep. 123: the Holy Trinity]
This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Church, in her great wisdom, places this feast immediately after Pentecost – the Son returning to the Father and the Father sending us the Holy Spirit.
The Trinity is the greatest truth and mystery of God. We come to the Trinity only through God’s revelation – we could not have discovered it on our own. You can’t see it in a telescope or model it on a computer. It is beyond our faculty of reason.
Buddhism endeavors to transcend reason using “koans” – expressions that serve to quiet the mind and turn from human reasoning to “enlightenment.” A classic koan is “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” Another one is, “why would anyone order a raised donut instead of cake?” (it’s not written down anywhere, but we’re certain the Buddha meditated on that).
Here again we come to a key difference between eastern and western spirituality. Reflecting on “one hand clapping” might quiet the mind, but to what end? It leaves us only with an absurdity; it leads only to nothingness.
Christianity offers its own marvelous “koans” – but they aren’t absurdities to confound the mind – they are mysteries that invite us into relationship. One of the greatest is the Trinity – three Persons sharing one divine nature. Christianity offers many other “koans” – like the hypostatic union of Christ – one Person with both a divine and human nature.
Returning to the Trinity, our basic understanding is that the two great actions of God are knowing and loving. God’s self-knowing is so real that it is a Person – the Son. And the love between Father and Son is so real that it is a Person – the Holy Spirit.
The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. The Son is not the Spirit and the Spirit is not the Son. And the Father is not he Spirit and the Spirit is not the Father. But all are God.
That is a mystery with meaning – God truly exists as three Persons. As opposed to the absurdity of koans – because, by definition, one hand can’t clap, any more than a man can give birth. But we digress…
In this week’s Pearls episode and our follow up emails we’ll look closer at each Person of the Trinity and, especially, how we fit into their relationship.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: The interior “conversation” of the Trinity
Here’s a question – what does the Trinity “talk” about? They’re all God. They share the same Divine Nature and same Divine Will. What is left to talk about?
Well, what about us when we’re alone? Don’t we tend to have near-continous conversations with yourself in our head (especially all you introverts out there..)? But yet, what happens when we’re captivated by a great sight, like a beautiful sunset over the ocean? Often the internal conversations are lost, and we’re left contemplating the sunset – simply lost in that experience of beauty.
Or, what of the classic example of the long-married couple. They need few words because they have grown so close to one another. And when one is brought home, the other is often soon to follow.
Perhaps these sorts of simple human experiences give the slightest glimpse of the eternal relationship, self-knowing and self-giving of the Trinity.