From the locum
Today is Trinity Sunday. The Gospel passage from John was chosen by the lectionary compilers for this day because it is one of the few that mentions all three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in one place. Some on this day may rather focus on the subject of truth found in this Gospel, and ignore the Trinity. But let’s take on the challenge. The Trinity has been explained in many ways from very heavy philosophical ideas to simplistic visual metaphors like Patrick’s three leaf clover. With any of these it is important to remember that none of them describes God in God’s very being or essence. That cannot be done. The Trinity is a statement of how God relates, not how God is. Or perhaps how anyone relates is indeed how one is. When it comes to relating we can’t pin God down to one thing or one way. When we consider one way to view God there is always another way, on the other hand. But why three, as in the Trinity? Who knows? But we do know that just as we can’t pin God down to one of our simplistic ideas, we also can’t pin God down to three either, or any one of the three. God is relating everywhere; and because of the multiplicity of God’s relating God can never be missed. Look at the beautiful sunset. God is there. Look at the home destroyed by a bush fire, flood or cyclone. God is there. God is in the tears of joy and in the tears of sorrow. What a gift of self! So can we be like God? We are the image of God. In that image we also cannot be pinned down to one way of relating. We are all many things. We may say God is this way; but on the other hand . . . What wonderful surprises we all are, just as God is always a wonderful surprise. We are all, like God, a sincere gift of self.
Fr Michael