Belief in God as Trinity is an old tradition in institutional christianity. For some it express their threefold experience of and relationship with Divinity as Creator, Incarnate, and Spirit – meaning a God Created us into being, shares our human condition in Christ’s Incarnation, and abides with us as a Holy Spirit. The Trinity as a way of relating, however, is usually neglected in favor of the Trinity as an intellectualized theological concept. That is because the Trinity has been promulgated as an intellectual abstraction, a doctrine. The doctrine of the Trinity was conceived centuries ago by early church hierarchs. They were trying to formulate creeds. Creeds are the beliefs or intellectual aspect or doctrines of religion. They are secondary, if they are necessary at all, to relationship. If creeds are primary, ahead of relationship, creeds are harmful. They block relationships because creeds are often developed to concretize in-group vs. out-group membership divisions, such as institutional hierarchs vs. sinners.
Jesus did not relate via in-group vs. out-group divisions and therefore never formulated any creeds to set them. He spent his time gathering diverse people together, helping them to relate beyond divisions – as human beings – one to another. Thus, when this Sunday’s Gospel has Jesus saying: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Creator, and of the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit,” what is being encouraged is not a theological doctrine to secure in-group membership. Instead Jesus is encouraging relationship. The essence of all life is to be in eternal and dynamic relationship. Thus, we too can relate as a Creator and give birth to new life. We too can relate as an Incarnate vulnerable gift from God in love with our brothers and sisters here on earth. We too can relate as a powerful healing Spirit of joy, peace, and kindness.
Our relationships with and as creators, lovers, and powerful healers is a mystery. Pondering a mystery is not the same as trying to solve a problem. Mystery is not an intellectual puzzle done to figure out the right answer. Rather, mystery is a surprising, unfolding adventure to be lived. Mystery calls us into the depths of our being. From our core we relate with all life in a creative, incarnational, and powerful way.
Prayer: Spirit, we live a surprising depth of being.
Question: How do my relationships need to move from my head to my heart?
May 31, 2015 Gospel Matthew 28:16-20 Solemnity of Most Holy Trinity