Looking

out to sea - Sunset Borth, Wales 2014

Understanding
the
Doctrine of the Trinity.

Sermon by Mandy Stanton - Reader www.christchurchfulwood.org

Sunday 31st May 2015
Do you understand the doctrine of the Trinity?
Im not sure I do, but then I dont think were meant to understand the Trinity:
its like claiming we understand God, who is way beyond our understanding.
I suspect most people come to know God rst through what they experience,
rather than through reason or doctrine; and there are various ways of thinking
about the Trinity to help us to connect the doctrine with our experience. The
key is to remember that they are word pictures illustraCons that are meant to
shed light on parCcular aspects of the doctrine, just as a lot of Jesus teaching is
based on pictures and analogies the kingdom of heaven is like this
Theyre not full explanaCons. If we forget that, we end up like poor old
Nicodemus in Johns gospel (John 3), trying to make sense of a literal
interpretaCon of being born from above, or born again. Were going to share a
couple of those illustraCons in the hope that they might shed some light on the
doctrine of the Trinity.
The rst illustraAon is a CelAc way of thinking about the Trinity as being like
the sun.

Looking across elds, West Linton, Scotland 2014

Like God the Father, the creator, the sun is the source of our light, our life: its
nature is to emit light. But its too bright for us to look at it directly.

SomeCmes, though, we see rays of

light the sun present in a
parCcular way in a specic Cme
and place.

In same way, Jesus is God present

in a parCcular way in a specic
Cme and place, sent into the world
from the eternal source of light
and life.

Rays of sunlight -
Beacon Fell Lancashire -
Walk of Faith - 2013

Sunrise in
Fulwood
Preston -

May 2015

And someCmes we dont see the sun itself, but we experience the eect it has
on the world around us we see the light, feel the heat;

Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, May 2015

SomeCmes we just see the shadows cast by whatever is between us and the
sun.
Just as someCmes we know Gods presence through the work of the spirit:
working in peoples lives, changing us, changing others, bringing Gods life and
light into the world, showing us whats geTng in the way.
Father, son and spirit: dierent aspects of one God, just as we experience
dierent aspects of the sun, but sCll the same light.

The second illustra0on is Rublevs famous icon, created in the 15th century in
Russia.

Image taken from wikipedia and a photographic reproducNon which is in public domain and is free to use.

It shows the three angels who visited Abraham and Sarah in the Book of
Genesis (Genesis 18) to say that Sarah would have a child.
I dont know whether the arCst originally intended the icon to also show the
Trinity but many people have seen that in it (to see this icon and a meditaCon
on it, see the Wellsprings website hWp://wellsprings.org.uk/wellsprings.htm )
The gures are very similar they have the same face, they all wear a garment
in the same blue the colour of the heavens.
The gure on the leY is oYen seen as represenCng God the Father. He holds a
sta, the sign of authority; his blue garment is almost hidden by a robe the
Creator cant fully be seen by his human creatures. Behind the gure is a house
in Gods house are many mansions.
The gure in the centre is seen as represenCng Christ; he wears the blue of the
heavens, the brown of the earth or humanity and the gold stripe of kingship;
he points to a cup lled with wine. Behind this gure is a tree it could be the
tree under which the three angels rested in OT story; it could be the tree of the
cross.

The gure on the right, represenCng the Spirit, wears the blue of divinity and
the green of new life. He touches the table earthing the divine life of God.
Behind this gure is a mountain, the place where so oYen in the Bible people
encounter God.
Both the gure in the centre and on the right seem to look towards the gure
on the leY, they are both looking to the Father.
There are three gures, disCnct persons; but they look similar, aspects of one
God. They look towards each other theres a relaConship, a mutuality.
Theologians use a Greek word, perichoresis it means to move around, or
dance around each other there are implicaCons of making space for each
other, almost being part of each other but it also implies acCvity and
movement.
The three persons of the Trinity, the same in essence but revealing dierent
aspects of God, allowing us to experience God in dierent ways; showing the
same light, but also disCnct, dancing around each other.
And if we go back to the Rublev icon, we see that there seems to be a space at
table for someone else, maybe for us; we are invited to sit at the table, to join
in the dance. We are invited to become children of God, whose debts are paid:
led by the Spirit, adopted by the Father, joint heirs with Christ.
We are invited to be born from above, born of the Spirit, through Christ who
was sent into the world through love to bring the light and life of the Father.

The alternaNve Collect for Trinity Sunday:

Holy God, faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Photographs by Graham Hickey: used by permission.

Rublevs image taken from wikipedia and a photographic reproducNon which is in public
domain and is free to use.