Tragedy and The Trinity

I am pondering this in the shadows of the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma May 20th, 2013 and in light of Trinity Sunday that is approaching this weekend. The Trinity is the nature of our God and is often described as a mystery. Why God allows horrific acts of nature to mow down schools and houses is a mystery as well.  A lot has been written striving to answer the question, "Where is God?" Not all the answers seem satisfactory which is probably why God allows more than one theologian to speak. Not all descriptions of the Trinity are satisfactory either but we know God is a Trinity as this is what Scripture reveals. And here we enter into the mystery of both tragedies & the Trinity. It is my goal to enter into both mysteries.

The bible reveals the nature of God and the nature of man. God comes first. He created man. What God creates is good for God Himself is good. Man was created good along with all of creation. This is the story of the first chapter of Genesis. But man was tempted and disobeyed God. We call this the Fall. Man is no longer good for he did not do good as directed by God. Now how does a good God deal with a bad man? God must be just or He would not be good. And since God is holy, man cannot be in His presence as man is not holy. Man was expelled from Paradise into a world where death reigns. And here is the rub. Death reigns in the world. This is our judgement for being bad. Man is not happy. And God is not happy. What parent is happy when their children are disobedient. So in order for God to right the wrong of man, He became incarnate. This is Jesus. Scripture is clear that Jesus was with God from the very beginning of time. And Jesus is clear that He and the Father are one. And man is still not one with God and very bad. And so Jesus who is man and God offers Himself as an atoning sacrifice so that God's justice may be met. God is still just and He is our redemption. The nature of God is not violated. Now that we can enter into His presence we are still bad by our nature and we need help. So we have been given a Helper. He is the Holy Spirit. He is one with God the Father and Jesus the Son. He helps us identify our sin and leads us to repentance. Repentance is the changing of our mind away from our bad desires toward those desires that are good. After all, God is good. So gradually we are being created into a new being.

So why then do we still have earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes? Because not everyone acknowledges God is good and themselves as bad accepting God's justice and need for redemption. The reminder of death is ever before us in order that we may repent and put our trust in God. What person wants bad people to live forever. The time we have on earth is short lived compared to eternity. But a true Christian knows of God goodness and mercy. He knows of God's help to live the life God wants him to live. He also knows that putting God in the dock questioning Him as if he were the guilty one is blasphemous since we are pretending to be God. In other words, to know God's triune nature requires us to know our nature.

There will never be easy answers to such tragedies. But God is interested in us having a relationship with Him so that we see Him as The Answer. And when we see Him as The Answer, we will know to ask the right questions. And in this way we live into that which is a holy mystery.

The Holy Trinity in 500 Words or Less!

How does one describe the Holy Trinity in 500 words or less? This may be an impossible task. But the doctrine of the Trinity can be a stumbling block if we do not try to help the average person understand its significance. Below is my attempt for a meditation that goes into my parish's Sunday bulletin for Trinity Sunday. Beneath that is a diagram that has often been used to give a visual of the doctrine. It, too, has less than 500 words. Then beneath that is a link that will take you an article on the Christian and Research Ministry Website. It is more than 500 words!


The Holy Trinity is the distinctive nature of our God that we worship. It is very hard to describe in theological terms why this is important to know in less that 500 words, the length of a meditation for a weekly bulletin. But, nevertheless, we should understand that our God has a distinctive nature and not all religions understand our God this way.  So why is this important? Because if we do not understand the nature of something we may misuse it and this can be dangerous.

Let’s take the nature of gasoline. It is a liquid. It is flammable. It is toxic to the human body. While we cannot drink it, it is a very valuable fuel that runs our cars and other machinery to great benefit to humanity. Hence, we argue about it when its comes to supply and demand! To understand the nature of gasoline helps us to understand how we should relate to it. The nature of God is no different. The Trinity describes a quality, not a quantity. And by understanding God’s quality, we better understand His nature. And by better understanding His nature, we better understand how we can relate to God!

Let me give you an example from two denominations that claim to be Christian but are not. The Mormons (LDS) and the Jehovah Witnesses (JW) both deny the Trinity. Both groups believe we can earn our way into heaven through good works. Both have some doctrine that humans can become divine. There are other doctrines that both denominations hold that are non-biblical. So, because there is a false understanding of the nature of God, the JW’s and LDS end up having a false understanding of mankind. Let’s go back to the nature of gasoline. If I do not have a proper understanding of just one of it’s nature, I could burn down my home! To those who say the Trinity is not taught in Scripture, I say, neither is God taught in Scripture. From the very first words of the Bible we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” God “is” from the beginning. His divine nature is best described as three persons with one substance. Jesus understood this when He commands us to go and make disciples of peoples in the “Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 28:16-20) There is no teaching on the Trinity, that’s just God’s nature from the very beginning! For a complete treatment of the nature of God, I refer you the Creed of St. Athanasius (p. 58, 1662 BCP) in our prayer book!

For more on the Trinity with biblical citations go here http://carm.org/trinity!

And when all else fails, use poetry!

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me. (John Donne, Sonnet XIV)