Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. It is when we focus on the unity of the Three Persons of God in the One God. Although the word ‘Trinity’ does not appear within the scriptures; the holy writings offer us both subtle and clear references to the Trinitarian theological understanding of the Almighty God. This is evidenced within today’s lessons and gospel reading.
We will begin with the first reading, which is from the very first book of the Bible in the first chapter. The reading is one of the Creation stories found in the Book of Genesis. For those unfamiliar with the Book of Genesis, there are two creation stories. The one we are looking at today is the first creation story. In this story of creation, we are given our first insights into the revelation of who God is.
The scripture reads, “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind* in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth,* and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ 27So God created humankind* in his image, in the image of God he created them;* male and female he created them.”
From this scripture we learn several things about God. First let us look at the first part of the first sentence: “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind* in our image, according to our likeness…” In this sentence God speaks of God using the plural pronoun ‘us’ and ‘our’. We also have God saying that God will create humankind according to God’s own likeness by saying ‘our likeness’, meaning the likeness of God. Then the scriptures go on to say in the following verses: “So God created humankind* in his image, in the image of God he created them;* male and female he created them.”
So our first clues revealed to us about God is that (1) God is a plural being; (2) as humans we have been created in the likeness of God or image of God, meaning that our very form is like a reflection of God’s image; and (3) even though God refers to himself by using male terminology, he creates both male and female humankind in the image of God.
Sadly, human beings failed miserably from the beginning in maintaining the likeness of God in our souls and spirits through disobedience to God’s will. Instead, our mortal bodies that once were immortal (until death came into the world through our sins) have become like empty shells that are a poor reflection of the image of God. We became like poor shadows no longer filled with the brightness of the glory of God within us.
Not until our fallen state in this fallen world was redeemed through the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God was the hope of glory offered to us. It is only through the receiving of the Christ into our lives that payment is paid in full and we are set free to once again reflect the image of God. Yet, it is not ourselves giving off this reflective glory, but only the glory of Christ’s light and likeness within us that transforms us back into the very image of God.
In our second reading for today, which is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians; St. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ lives within us, if we are living in the faith. He writes, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!”
In other words, those of us who choose to live according to the faith set down for us through the apostles and Holy Scriptures are able to live in the faith, because of the presence of Jesus Christ within our very beings. As Christians we have been made new creations in Christ who lives through us.
St. Paul goes on to further describe the Being of God a few verses later. He writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” God, of whom St. Paul earlier described as the God of love, is revealed directly in two of the Persons of the Trinity as (1) the Lord Jesus Christ and (2) the Holy Spirit. The Third Person of God is referred to indirectly as (3) the love of God. Although St. Paul does not specify the Third Person of the Trinity as such; it was because of the love of God the Father that God sent His only Son, Jesus the Christ to earth for our salvation in order for us to once again be able to have communion with God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit connects us to God the Father through the Christ who lives within us.
In the gospel reading today from Matthew we are given the Great Commission; which is the command from Jesus to go throughout the world to spread the gospel. In this command we are told to baptize believers “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. These are the names given to us from Jesus, who through His teaching reveals the names of the Three Persons of the One God. Jesus teaches us that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are the names of the One God of whom we have been commanded by Jesus our Lord Christ to bring all people into the Kingdom of God through baptism. There are no other names for the Trinity other than these that have been revealed to us through the Only Begotten Son of God. There are many attributes of God, but the names of the Persons of the Trinity are Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The revelation of the Three Persons of the One God has been given to us to better understand God’s gift of salvation to a fallen world. From the beginning the Three Persons of the Trinity were involved in the creation of all things. Because of the love of God, we and all that is and were and will be were created. In the beginning, we were created in the image of our Father God just as the Son of God also shares the image of God. Through the Father God’s redemptive gift of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have been reunited through the Holy Spirit to commune with our Maker, God the Almighty, the Blessed Trinity.
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