Trinity Sunday - Bigger Than We Imagine

In pulpits throughout the world on this Trinity Sunday, sermons were preached on the Holy Trinity, possibly
the greatest of all theological mysteries.  Theologians have debated the importance and the impact of the doctrine of the Trinity for centuries.  And for nearly just as long, pastors and laity have been excommunicated from the church by reason of heresy because of their "misunderstanding" of Trinity.

However, if truth be told, none of us have ever understood this doctrine perfectly.  It is and always will remain a tremendous enigma.  It must be this way.  It is important for us to remember that we cannot get a complete handle on the divine.  God will not fit neatly within the boxes we have fashioned in our vain hope to contain the uncontainable.

Yet as confusing and confounding as the doctrine of Trinity can be, it is a vital doctrine for the church for within it we come face to face with the ineffable. Trinity reminds us that God is completely Other. In a world where we attempt to strip everything of its uncertainty and arrogantly cloth ourselves in our ability to solve
every problem, it is vitally important to remember that God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is beyond our grasp and yet closer than our very breath. As Shirley Guthrie once wrote, "The Trinity is a mystery to be confessed, not a mathematical problem to be solved."

On this Trinity Sunday at Second Presbyterian Church, the Sanctuary Choir sang a beautiful K. Lee Scott arrangement of the following words from the pen of Brian Wren entitled Trinitarian Blessing that speaks to the essence of Trinity, the divine mystery.  May these words serve as benediction for us on this Trinity Sunday as we fall headlong into the mystery of the Three-in-One.

"May the Sending One sing to you,
May the Seeking One walk with you,
May the Greeting One stand by you, in your gladness and in your grieving.

May the Gifting One relieve you,
May the Given One retrieve you,
May the Giving One receive you, in your falling and your restoring.

May the Binding One unite you,
May the One Beloved invite you,
May the Loving One delight you, Three-in-One, joy in life unending."

God is indeed bigger than we imagine.
Amen.