Reflection One plus One plus One equals One. You may accuse me of being a terrible mathematician but instead you might ask, “One what? What three ones add up to One?”
The Ones are names for God, words we use to describe the experience of our “with God” life. Since God is more than a transcendent philosophical concept, more than a teacher, guide and friend, and more than the generative breath of creation no one word makes whole the holiness of One God. Which I believe is why in the mid second century the Christian writer Tertulllian offered the first argument for the Trinity of God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit even though it does not appear anywhere in the Hebrew or Christian Testaments.
Imagine three persons sitting at a table. The figure on the right represents God, known as Father in relationship with the figure in the center, Son. Father and Son are known by their relationship. Theirs is a dance of mutual indwelling. Jesus explains, “The father is in me as I am in the father.”(John 14.11) “For I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak.” (John 12.49) The Father and the Son are intimately interconnected; the Father pouring himself out to the Son, the Son emptying himself to receive the Father. Theirs is a mutual in-dwelling, an interpenetration.
The third person at the table represents the Spirit, meant to arouse relationship among the Father, the Son and Humanity. The gospel of John explains, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14.26) The Spirit, the Advocate, the Third Person of the Trinity comes to indwell humanity and thereby fulfill Jesus’ inconceivable promise that concludes Matthew’s text, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28.20)
The self, love is poured out and received. This is the dance, the eternal movement or aliveness among the Three Persons of the Trinity. God pours God’s self out to be incarnate in the Son revealing to us that God is both transcendent and immanent, which is to say, God is both beyond all things and within all things. By this same interpenetrating love, Jesus gives himself away to everyone he encounters. Then, to insure the succession of the dance, the Holy Spirit breathes in each of us so that we too participate in receiving and giving ourselves away for the love of others. Taking our place in the dance of the Trinity we too have a place at the table.
For those of us drawn to the philosophical, transcendent, all powerful image of God as father our desire for safety and security in the care of a protector is satisfied and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Father. For others God as father evokes fear of judgement or misused authority. For us, the doorway into the Trinity marked Father is odious.
For those of us grounded in the visible and persuaded by matter the incarnate image of God as son satisfies our desire for a teacher, guide or friend and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Son. For others the image of God as Son may be exclusionary and un-relatable and the doorway into the Trinity marked Son is impassable.
For those of us compelled by the unborn, undying breath of creation the mysterious image of God as spirit informs and inspires us and we may enter the Trinity through the doorway marked Spirit. For others the image of God as Spirit is frivolous and frustrating. And for us the doorway marked Spirit is beyond all reason.
Thanks be to the One plus One plus One equals One God, not only are there more than one doorway through which we may enter and dance in our “with God” life but the Community of God, the Trinity, refuses to be limited by the names ascribed to it more than eighteen hundred years ago.
Intending to invite everyone into the Community of the Trinity, The Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church offers even more doorways through which we may enter and dance our “with God” life.
Sovereign, Savior, Shelter
Author, Word, Translator
Parent, Partner, Friend
Majesty, Mercy, Mystery
Creator, Christ, Compassion
Potter, Vessel, Holy Fire
Life, Liberation, Love*
One plus One plus One equals One with room for us, One more.
How we see and what we say about God matters for how we live our lives.
If we see God as Father, a towering figure judging and demanding sacrifice, we may live in fear. If we see God as the only Son living an idealized life we may justify excluding others and deny accountability whining, “We are only human.” If we see God as fickle Spirit, by turns breathing blessing and demanding death we may withhold our breath and refuse to speak of God.
If there are words that keep you from dancing with the One plus One plus One equals One God, replace them. If there are words that invite you to dance, keep them because relationship is the essence and substance of God. It is the dance in which we are meant to participate. One plus One plus One equals One God, unbound by names and abundant with doorways through which we may enter. Shall we dance?
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* Gafney, WIlda C. A Woman’s Lectionary for the Whole Church (New York: Church Publishing, 2021) 205.
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