Trinity Sunday
Getting to Know the Trinity

As difficult as it is to understand the Holy Trinity, I am amazed that Jesus even bothered to tell us about the Father, the Spirit, and himself. As if his own life, his teachings about God’s love, his miracles, his death and resurrection were not enough, he told us something about God that we never would have imagined: There are three Persons in one God. It is also something we cannot completely comprehend. So instead of trying to explain it, let’s look at what it means for us believers.
One thing it shows is that God wants to be known by us. Since theologians and spiritual writers have been helping us do that for almost two thousand years, it may not seem like a big deal. But in ancient times, people expected their gods to be mysterious and hidden. Many cultures thought that you could control a spirit or god if you knew its name. So knowing anything about the inner life of a god would be huge. But our God is the only God, whom no one can control. God sees us not as a threat but as beloved children. Just as a couple falling in love wants to know everything about each other, so God wants to be known by those whom God loves. That leads to my second point.
The Trinity also shows us that “God is love” (1 John 4:16) because the three Persons are united in one God. The Persons of the Trinity already love each other perfectly, so God shares that love with us. God calls us to be united in love with God and with each other. Remember that God knows us perfectly and still loves us. How many of us would want another person to know everything about us? Yet knowing our weaknesses and our sins does not hurt God’s love for us. On the contrary, our weaknesses allow God to help us by answering our prayers or inspiring someone to come to our assistance. God permits us to sin, knowing that we can experience divine love in forgiveness. We may not be able to grasp the full meaning of the Holy Trinity, but knowing that God shares this with faithful people helps us to love God even more.
Tom Schmidt

Short Version

As if his own life, his teachings about God’s love, his miracles, his death and resurrection were not enough, Jesus told us something about God that we never would have imagined: There are three Persons in one God. It is also something we cannot completely comprehend. So instead of trying to explain it, let’s look at what it means for us believers.
One thing it shows is that God wants to be known by us. In ancient times, people would expect their gods to be mysterious and hidden.  Many cultures thought that you could control a spirit or god if you knew its name. God sees us not as a threat, but as beloved children. Just as a couple falling in love wants to know everything about each other, so God wants to be known by those whom God loves. That leads to my second point.
The Trinity also shows us that “God is love” (1 John 4:16) because the three Persons are united in one God. God calls us to be united in love with God and with each other. Remember that God knows us perfectly and still loves us. Yet knowing our weaknesses and our sins does not hurt God’s love for us. On the contrary, our weaknesses allow God to help us by forgiving sins, or inspiring someone to come to our assistance. We may not be able to grasp the full meaning of the Holy Trinity, but knowing that God shares this with faithful people helps us to love God even more.
Tom Schmidt