This
is the Sunday that has, over the years, caused me to give thanks for
Assistants, Seminarians, Deacons, retired priests in the parish and even
talented lay preachers ...anyone to preach on Trinity Sunday besides me!
Today
is the Feast of the Trinity—the only Holy Day on the Episcopal Calendar that
celebrates a ‘doctrine’. The Trinity is a ‘doctrine’ of the church, which means
two things: the Church “made it up” and we are meant to ‘believe it’ without
question!
But
let me give you an example of the verbal gymnastics necessary to explain the
doctrine of the Trinity. Listen
The
Trinity is a Christian doctrine stating that God is one Being who exists
simultaneously and eternally as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the
Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Since the 4th
century in both Eastern and Western Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity
has been stated as “Three persons in one God”, all three of whom, as distinct
and co-eternal persons, are of one indivisible and Divine essence, a simple
being. The doctrine also teaches that the Son himself has two distinct natures,
one fully divine and the other fully human, united in a hypostatic union….Each
of these divine persons is said to be eternal, each almighty, none greater or
less than another, each God, and yet together being but one God.
Okay,
there will be a pop quiz before communion about what that means!
There
have been, over the two millennium of the church, many attempts to explain the
Trinity in a way that a normal human being might begin to understand the
doctrine. Most of those attempts have been to replace the doctrine with
metaphors. Like this:
*St.
Patrick used the clover—with three leaves connected to one stem as a symbol of
the Trinity;
*a
equilateral triangle with three equal sides and three equal angles has often
been a metaphor for the Trinity;
*flour,
water and yeast made into bread has been a powerful image of how three distinct
substances can be brought together into one;
*I’ve
often said that Bern, my wife, experiences me in one distinct way, as her
husband; Josh and Mimi, my children, experience me as their father and my
friends experience me as a friend though I am one person—another way to try to
make the Trinity sensible.
But,
you see, the Trinity only makes sense in metaphor and images. As a ‘doctrine’
it fails miserably and escapes our understanding.
Eldridge
Cleaver, one of the Black Panthers from the 60’s, wrote a book from prison
called Soul on Ice. In his book, he tells how going to the Roman
Catholic confirmation class would get him out of solitary confinement for an
hour a week, so he signed up. He even enjoyed the conversation and theological
interchange until the day the priest asked, “Can anyone explain the ‘mystery’
of the Holy Trinity?”
Eldridge
was about to raise his hand and say the Trinity was akin to ‘three-in-one oil’
when the priest said, “Of course you can’t explain it—that’s why it’s a mystery.”
Cleaver never went back to another class.
He
was going to suggest that a metaphor might give some insight into the ‘mystery’
but was told that wasn’t valid.
I
believe it is only ‘metaphor’ and ‘simile’ and ‘poetry’ that can give life to
the moribund doctrine. Doctrine is dead—metaphor lives.
Perhaps
the greatest living religious observer of our time is a woman named Karen
Armstrong. She agrees with me—makes me lucky, huh? Karen Armstrong believes
that doctrine must be seen as poetry if it is to live. Here's her poem about
the Trinity.
“When I am alone, afraid, depressed
Unwilling, unable to face the world,
I need a parent to soothe my pain,
To calm my fears and tell me
Everything will be alright
I can be brave.
When I am brave, ready to fight the fight,
Ready to face the world and make things right,
I need a strong brother to walk with me
And give me strength and make me free.
When I am free, a friend I need
To be with me.”
That explains
it about as well as possible. Amen
