I used to think that the doctrine of the Trinity was one of those obscure and optional theological statements, meant basically for professionals, having no impact on the lives of regular Christians. Having worked at a church named Trinity for as long as I have, and having to wrestle with the doctrine as often as I have, I no longer believe that. I’m also not all that interested in explaining the doctrine. One of the Church’s greatest theologians, Augustine of Hippo, admitted that he couldn’t understand the doctrine, so why should we expect to? Episcopal preacher (and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year) Barbara Brown Taylor says that explaining the Trinity is like describing ballet to an oyster. So why do I think it matters?
Church names aside, Trinity is the ultimate statement of worship, acknowledging a God who is both present and known, but beyond our comprehension. In a word, Trinity gives us the story of our faith, not just a point of doctrinal orthodoxy. While the creed begins that story with the first person of the Trinity, God the Father, I think it helps to tell the story backwards, starting with the Holy Spirit. That’s because the Spirit is our source of inspiration, and so is where we begin to make the connection.
The Holy Spirit inspires us to be more and to dream of more, always calling us forward. The world we know is not as good as it can be—God has a plan for community, justice and life, a plan Jesus called the Kingdom of God. Our lives are not as good as they get—we may hide behind excuses, resentments, or limitations, but the Spirit calls us into freedom. These dreams of more, never self-centered or self-delusional, are real because they are grounded. That grounding, which we might call hope, leads us to the next person of the Trinity.
Jesus brings us the Good News of God’s Kingdom in his ministry, teachings and life. But it is his death and resurrection that seals the deal. In dying Jesus defeats death. There are lots of theological ways to describe this, but the point is the Gospel: Death does not have the last world. All this is true, and not some sort of magic trick because—leading to the first person of the Trinity—
Jesus is sent by God with God’s ultimate message of love. It’s not that Jesus persuades a reluctant God to care about his creation—Jesus is the Creator’s demonstration of love and purpose. Knowing Jesus, we cannot imagine that the Creator is not on our side, which leads us back to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who breathes life into the creation. And round and around the Trinity goes.
Our confession of this faith is simply the theological way of saying that the Christian experience is real. We believe, not in a creed, but in the relationship we have been invited to share with one God, three persons, one reality. As Trinitarians in Trinity Church, that one relationship is what we proclaim with word and deed. What does your life have to do with the inspiration, the message and the love of God? That answer, more than any orthodoxy, is your statement of faith.