Trinity Sunday
Do you remember the days of the ‘killer phrase’? that phrase that used to end all discussion on the subject of God – i.e. ‘it’s a mystery’. Well today being Trinity Sunday that’s what comes to mind as I begin this reflection. When we’re asked to reflect on God as Father, God as Son and God as Holy Spirit I’m tempted to think of those killer phrase days. ‘Sure it’s a mystery anyway’ the teacher used to say ‘and no one can understand a mystery’ – bang! – there went your question and to open your mouth to pursue it any further served no other purpose than to resemble a goldfish which opens and closes his mouth as he just goes round and round and round in circles in his bowl.
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Being a bit older now, and hopefully a bit wiser, I’m not at all convinced that such phrases have to kill any useful reflections on the mystery of God. Our intellectual capacity isn’t the only way an individual has of knowing the Trinity. So each year on this Feast I try to high-light an appreciation of its truth in a way that’s not dependant entirely on any intellectual understanding alone.
I normally start by trying to focus on that experience of my life which actually tempts me beyond its limits when I begin to wonder before the mystery of God the Father.
You know the experience I mean: – the love for which we long, the peace which we crave, the purpose we pursue, the meaning in life we cannot do without. None of these we can guarantee, by ourselves alone. Could God as Father, who is beyond the reach of my furthest grasp (intellectual as well as physical), be the source of all that. Could God actually be the goal of that aspect of my life?
And what about God the Son, where does serious reflection begin there:
Well, you know that sense of well-being we have when, in company with others, we really do know the power of hearts beating ‘in tune’. That experience that seems to bring the best out in us, and in others too! Could that be God as Son, who has promised to accompany me in the everyday experiences of life.
But when it comes to God as Spirit – where do we start to focus on this aspect:
Maybe it could start with ourselves as persons who, with the help of silence and reflection, can sometimes soar, (or sometimes sink) in terms of having to wrestle with concepts much greater than our minds can ever fully control.
Such an experience can really draw me close to the real core of my being, and the being of my Creator too. Could God as Spirit, the God within my mind, my soul and my being, be the source and the goal of that experience too?
Yes! Trinity Sunday is particularly relevant for thinking people – for those who don’t think too much I guess maybe it could seem easy to reject – but for those who do, it’s a far greater challenge! – welcome to the club!
AO’N