A Trinitarian God has been with me for a long time. I was raised a Presbyterian, a part of the Reformed tradition, with an emphasis of the Three in One God. Like most of you, I struggled to get my head around the idea, the doctrine. What did it mean? How could it be? Why complicate the deity so? Reasoning only took me so far. When I tried to explain it as a part of my faith reflection for Session meeting the answer was in experience. Three different experiences of God, three different break-throughs, three different characters, yet all were one.
God, the Father, came at the end of an imaginative trek up a difficult mountain. A wise man lived in a cave on the top of the hill. I could ask one question. As I struggled with the climb, I struggled with the question. So much I wanted to know. What is the nature of the universe? What is the meaning of life? What is life? When I arrived my question just popped out, way beyond rational control. “Do you love me?” I asked. The eyes I had seen when I entered twinkled, and now I could see a small mouth slightly curved in a smile. “Yes”, he said.
God, the Son, joined me in a dream. I was quite young in my dream state; so young in fact that I needed someone to hold my hand, someone I couldn’t see since he was so tall. Holding tightly he brought me to a great hall filled with all kinds of nobles dressed in their elegant gowns and medieval suits. The king was coming, coming to sit on his throne raised at one end of the hall. Suddenly a hush covered the room. I was pushed forward, into the open center, before the throne. I was terrified! Why had the one who held my hand pushed me so? I knelt, bowed, hiding my face. A hand reached out and gently lifted my chin. The king looked at me lovingly. The Son had brought me there.
God, the Spirit, came in words on the porch at the end of a silent retreat on Lake Dallas. My experience at Montserrat this time had been troubling. I felt excluded for I did hold the same views on procreation as the presenter did. No room for even silent disagreement seemed possible. I decided to leave early, something I had never done before. To make sure I wasn’t just running I sat on the porch in the darkness of dawn. The light was just beginning to appear. In my head I heard, “Go home, I have work for you to do.” A request indeed awaited me when I got home—a request for service that changed the direction of my life with God and God’s people.
What are your experiences? How have they given meaning to the Trinity?
God, the Father, came at the end of an imaginative trek up a difficult mountain. A wise man lived in a cave on the top of the hill. I could ask one question. As I struggled with the climb, I struggled with the question. So much I wanted to know. What is the nature of the universe? What is the meaning of life? What is life? When I arrived my question just popped out, way beyond rational control. “Do you love me?” I asked. The eyes I had seen when I entered twinkled, and now I could see a small mouth slightly curved in a smile. “Yes”, he said.
God, the Son, joined me in a dream. I was quite young in my dream state; so young in fact that I needed someone to hold my hand, someone I couldn’t see since he was so tall. Holding tightly he brought me to a great hall filled with all kinds of nobles dressed in their elegant gowns and medieval suits. The king was coming, coming to sit on his throne raised at one end of the hall. Suddenly a hush covered the room. I was pushed forward, into the open center, before the throne. I was terrified! Why had the one who held my hand pushed me so? I knelt, bowed, hiding my face. A hand reached out and gently lifted my chin. The king looked at me lovingly. The Son had brought me there.
God, the Spirit, came in words on the porch at the end of a silent retreat on Lake Dallas. My experience at Montserrat this time had been troubling. I felt excluded for I did hold the same views on procreation as the presenter did. No room for even silent disagreement seemed possible. I decided to leave early, something I had never done before. To make sure I wasn’t just running I sat on the porch in the darkness of dawn. The light was just beginning to appear. In my head I heard, “Go home, I have work for you to do.” A request indeed awaited me when I got home—a request for service that changed the direction of my life with God and God’s people.
What are your experiences? How have they given meaning to the Trinity?
Blessings
Caroline
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