Trinity - Talking About and to God

To talk about God as Trinity is to accept an impossible challenge. And yet one worth doing for it reminds us how mysterious, beyond imagination and yet intimately present, and loving the nature of God is. But to imagine for even a minute that we can adequately describe, much less prescribe, the nature and meaning of God is to be like the amateur astronomer who sees a comet tail in the sky with their naked eye and presumes they understand the galaxy through which the comet passes!

Speaking about the Trinity always humbles me and reminds me that God is ultimate mystery. While God is always being revealed in creation; in history; in the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus; in the lives of the saints and the church; and in presence; we can only know God in part. God is constantly being revealed and shared and yet remains mystery. Therefore, we should not be surprised when new and different descriptions are ventured as we continue to explore the mystery.

You may like to read what I wrote previously about Sally McFague’s Model of God.

Models of God

Secondly, speaking of God as Trinity reminds us that the very nature of God is communal and inclusive. That relationship lies at the heart of all being. God has never been less than a community that is also oneness. Ebb and flow, dance and embrace, communion are better descriptions than hierarchical relationships within the godhead.

You may like to read what I have previously written on this.

The heart of God is community

And thirdly, God holds all things together in perfect and sacred balance and tension. God is somehow all powerful Creator, powerless vulnerable Redeemer, and energizing renewing Spirit. Forces that we do not think belong together hold together is perfect harmony in the triune nature of God. As those invited to surrender to the divine embrace we may find ourselves needing to consider things, people and ideas that we do not think belong together also being present in that loving embrace.

And what does all this mean to us now? I think we need to be open to ongoing revelation as individuals and as community. And I think it helps us to stay open if we use a wide range of language and images when we talk about and talk to God. We know the trinitarian description of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit (it is given to us in Matthew’s gospel). We may be familiar with Sally McFague’s model of God as Mother, Lover and Friend. But for me it is not simply about replacing father with mother but broadening our language and therefore our perceptions. We also have Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier in our liturgy which invites us into the breadth of God’s good creation and activity in the world.

There are also many other images of God given to us in Scripture such as God as shepherd, as bridegroom, warrior, midwife, mother eagle, mother hen, wisdom of God, breath of God, prince of peace, refuge in times of trouble, advocate, counsellor, comforter and many more. When we use a variety of names and titles for God we are reminded of the always-present far-reaching love of God which knows no bounds. At different times in our lives and in different people’s lives these different names may bring great comfort, encouragement and challenge as we are reminded that we cannot define God or make God stay inside our particular creeds or liturgy.

When we consider the communal and inclusive nature of God as trinity we are encouraged and challenged to consider who belongs to the community that we have made it difficult for? Who have we intentionally or unintentionally kept out? Jesus seems to spend much of his time and healing energy reaching those who were on the edge. If we are seeking to be true to God as revealed in Scripture then we may need to reconsider some of our ideas and ways of being church.

And if we believe that the triune nature of God means apparently opposite things hold together then maybe we can allow ideas and persons who seem to be at odds to coincide and to trust that God may be able to hold them together in a more inclusive and expansive oneness! After all the Wisdom of God was present in the chaos of creation. And we have been promised that the spirit of Truth will continue to reveal God’s own self to us. The revelation of God is not finished or finite and as seekers of truth and wisdom we are invited into the divine dance, the communal meal, the embrace that includes all and will in the fullness of time reveal all that we need to know.

Even so, come Lord Jesus the Christ, come reveal the oneness that we too are invited into.

This is my work informed by everything I have heard, read and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others.