About The Trinity
Dr. James Mayfield
February 15, 2004 Text: Matthew 28:18-20 Today I am going to talk about the Trinity. What are we saying when we pray or when persons exchange vows in a wedding or when benedictions are given, and we say: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?" What does it mean to say "in the name of ...?" If I do something in your name, I am your agent, acting on your behalf, doing what you would do. I am doing it "in your name." And when we speak or act "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," what we say or do is said or done on behalf of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. However, the phrase "in the name of" means more than that. In any language but especially in Hebrew, to speak the name of someone is to invoke that person's presence. For example, if we speak the name of a mutual friend who is far away, our mentioning that person's name brings him into our presence, in a deep and profound sense. So, for us to say, "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" is for us to speak not only of us acting as agents of the Trinity but it is also to affirm that as we do what we are doing, we are doing it in the presence of the triune God. But does it make sense to speak of God as being the Trinity? What does it mean to call God: "Father, Son and Holy Spirit"? Whatever we mean, we are not talking about 3 gods. We Christians reject polytheism. We affirm and proclaim, God is one. The creation poem found in the first chapter of Genesis, speaks of the God and Spirit of God being at work in the creation. God and the Spirit are one and the same. And remember how the Gospel of John begins? "1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... 14 And the Word became a human being and lived among us ... ." God the Father is God the Son as well as the Holy Spirit. God is one. How all this fits together is a mystery. But most of us are somewhat impatient with mystery -- especially those of us who are not comfortable until we analyze, identify and define the how and why of things. Yet, when it comes to understanding God, we run into that which is beyond our ability to analyze and explain. Moses wanted to know who God is, what God is. "I am what I am" God said to Moses. Job wanted God to explain why he had had to endure so much pain and heartache in life, but the only answer Job received was not the answer he asked for. Job was overcome by a profound awareness of the God-ness of God, and driven to his knees in the face of this awesome mystery. God is beyond what our brains can comprehend. However for us to confess God is a mystery beyond our knowing is not to say we are speechless about God. It is to confess that when we are truly aware of the God-ness of God, we realize our words are little more than small signs in a dense fog by the side of a road pointing to something far beyond. These small signs are not to be confused with the Mystery to which they point. So, what can we say about the Trinity? What are we saying when we speak of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit? During the past few decades, in a reaction against the male metaphors the Bible uses to talk about God there has been a growing popularity of describing the Trinity not as Father, Son and Holy Spirit but as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. I think there is helpfulness in this language that is more profound than merely a reaction against male metaphors. God is all three, all the time: Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. All these activities of God are going on all the time, and going on in all sorts of ways, whether we are aware of it or not. But although God is doing all these things all the time, because of our limitations we experience or focus on these expressions of God one at a time. So, when we are aware of the magnificence of the universe or when we are aware of our God-given talents and are enabled to use them for good, we think and speak of God as Creator. When we are aware of God's grace, rescuing us from whatever we need to be rescued from, or when we see persons transformed, or social injustices corrected, we are aware of God's work as Redeemer. When we are aware of being given what we need so that we are able to face whatever we must face, we are aware of God's work as Sustainer. And in the midst of these experiences of God when we stop to think, we know God is not Creator some of the time, Redeemer at other times and at other times Sustainer. We know that although we experience these aspects of God one at a time, God is all of these all of the time. The truth is God is more than Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. God does more, much more than create, redeem and sustain. For example, God does more than sustain us, enabling us to endure what must be endured and face what must be faced; God empowers us, setting us to doing and serving in ways and places we never imagined. Then there is all that is related to God's justice and God as judge and the judgment of God. While, this is not the aspect of God we prefer to focus on, it is part of the biblical revelation of God and about God. God's action of judgment is not merely an abstract truth about life; it is a truth about life that is confirmed in all the consequences of sin that are all too evident in our lives, in our nation and around the planet. Being held accountable and having to deal with consequences is a significant theme throughout the Bible. As helpful as it is to speak of the Trinity of God as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, these words are less than adequate not only because they present an incomplete description of our experience of the Trinity, but primarily because these words focus on some of what God does rather than point toward the Mystery of who God is. To say God is Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer is like saying Jim Mayfield is preacher, counselor, administrator. These words refer to much that I do but they are not adequate to say who I am. Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer speak truth in describing much of what God does, but are finally less than adequate for pointing toward who God is. Just as we are more than what we do, so is God. God is not simply an impersonal energy that creates, redeems and sustains. God as revealed in the scriptures is relational and personal, involved with us human beings as individuals and as nations. God is one with whom we live in relationship. God is that Mystery that is like a father, not just any father, but the ideal Father. God is one who has come among us as one of us, to experience what we experience in order to save us, and God is the one whose Holy Spirit is with us empowering and guiding us. So, what are we saying when we pray or when persons exchange vows in a wedding or when benedictions are given, and we say: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit?" We are declaring we not only recognize, but also affirm and proclaim, that what we are saying and doing is being said and done not only on behalf of God but also in the presence of the one true God -- the one true God who has created and is creating, who has redeemed and is redeeming, who sustains us enabling us to face what we must face who empowers us to move on and reach out to a new future, who judges and holds us accountable, blending mercy with justice in all He is and does. When we say "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," we are declaring our faith in God who is beyond our understanding, and yet has makes Himself known as Father, as Son, and as Holy Spirit. We are proclaiming and celebrating that this triune God who is far beyond us and certainly beyond all we are and ever can be is, nevertheless, present with us, among us, and in us. This I proclaim to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Pastoral prayer: God, we are not unlike fish living in the ocean; in You we live and move and have our being. And just as fish can live unaware of the ocean that gives them life, we too can live insensitive to Your presence and unaware of Your gifts of grace. Forgive us for being so focused on ourselves and what we want, that we are unaware of You. Forgive us for taking You for granted and ignoring You until, in the midst of difficult times, we cry out for You to "fix it" and make life be the way we want. Help us to be sensitive to Your presence. Open us to Your guidance. Teach us how to be aware of Your will. Help us live as You created us to live. All this we pray in the name of the one who both showed us who You are and who we are meant to be, the one who taught us to pray: "Our Father …"
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