Trinity Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 15 June 2014

Why do we need to start defining God? I suppose as a theologian I should be able to answer that, but as a priest, preacher and praying person I don’t want to. I know that the definition of the Trinity fascinates people, it’s easy to grapple with One God, quite comprehensible to deal with Father and Son, and lets not beat about the bush, yes, we can understand the Holy Spirit, but just what is the ‘Triune’ God of our faith tradition?

I’ll share a simple answer, just don’t worry, don’t get worked up about it! As you progress in your faith life of prayer and worship, that ‘mystery’ will begin to reveal itself in interesting ways. We use the word ‘mystery’ of God in an anglicised manner: an incomprehensible problem to be solved. So, like a spiritual Sherlock Holmes, we go on the quest of discovering the idea of the Trinity, making the unexplained into something that can be understood. Except that’s not the meaning of the greek word ‘mysterion’, in that vocabulary we are talking about something that will be made comprehensible, it’s all about awe and wonder, but a wonder that will be revealed.

Perhaps I’m being confusing to you all? I hope not because I’m hinting that understanding the Trinity comes in quite a simple way, by worship, prayer and opening our hearts in love to this mysterious God. I’m not ruling out study, but for most of us the mysteries of God will be revealed in those ordinary moments of life and relationship.

The Byzantine Eastern Churches can help here. Because they have a really deep understanding of icon, image revealing the hidden presence of the ‘holy’, for the Icon is a ‘door to the sacred’ and can only really be understood in prayer and contemplation. We gaze and let the icon connect, for it is the ‘Holy’ working through them. And so it is with God, once we grasp that the God revealed in Jesus is a merciful, just and unconditionally loving presence reaching out to US, then we connect!

What can we do? Be open to the glory of God in life, in love, in others, in yourself and in worship. Make the prayer of Paul your own: The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Britain.

To sign Fr Robin's petition to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for the creation of a Stephen Sutton award: see: www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/prime-minister-create-a-stephen-sutton-award-and-start-changing-the-honours-system?utm_campaign=new_signature&utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt#