When I was a kid, my minister used an egg to explain this idea. He said, “It’s got the shell, the yoke, and that clear gooey stuff; three parts yet one egg.” This made sense until I made an Angel Food cake, which only uses egg whites. The shell and yoke get tossed out. The problem with this illustration is that it’s impossible to separate God from God.
I used to use water to explain the Trinity to kids, because water can be a liquid, solid, or vapor and still be water - different but the same. Then one day it dawned on me, water can be tainted and polluted. But God can’t. So there went that idea. Pope Francis did a pretty good job using a fidget spinner. He said, “As the spinner spins faster, the three arms seem to become a single disc, yet they maintain their individuality.” The Pope went on to explain that just as an improperly balanced spinner won’t work very well, neither will our faith if our view of God is improperly balanced. Not to be in competition with his Holiness in trying to explain the trinity, perhaps we should use our time today to look at how the three work together to keep us properly balanced. For that, let’s look this interesting clue Paul wrote in his letter to Titus. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly...Titus 2:11-12
You’re probably wondering where the trinity is mentioned in this passage. It’s not. Because the word isn’t found anywhere in the Bible. But that doesn’t mean the Trinity isn’t there…in a different form. And dare I say, in a different word. That word is grace.
If you ask me, grace is the easiest way to describe this idea that God is three beings in One being. More than just forgiveness or a get out of jail free card, grace is an invitation to be in the presence of God, in a relationship with God’s Son, all while being empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. Grace has many meanings, but according to the dictionary, Christian grace is defined as “the free and unmerited favor of God.” According to Paul, this favor “has appeared.” Like one day it wasn’t there, and the next day it was. In his wonderful short story, The Doubtful Guest, Edward Gorey creates an unusual character who just shows up one wild winter night. He stays with the family and causes all sorts of chaos and disruption. Gorey ended this poetic tale writing, “It came seventeen years ago, and to this day. It has shown no intentions of going away.” Grace disrupts our lives, but in a good way. And like this strange little character, Paul suggests, it just appeared and has no intentions of leaving. But grace did not just happen haphazardly or by random chance. As logic would argue, everything has a starting point. The chicken has the egg. Or the egg has the chicken, depending on how you see it. In the same way, grace comes into being from the One who brings all things into being – God the Creator – the first part of the Trinity. I don’t think I need to explain who this is, but we should all be grateful that God created and initiated grace into life because let’s face it, without it…we’d be doomed. To quote Hannah Montana, “Everybody makes mistakes. Everyone has those days.” The way I see it, grace is God’s way of saying, “I get you. I love you. And I’m rooting for you to succeed. Just please stop singing Hannah Montana!” Grace originates from God’s heart, which means it’s born out of perfect love for us. Like love, grace knows no boundaries. It’s inclusive, free, and unmerited, given to anyone who wants it – not because we earn it, but because God wants to give it to us. Which is why I like to say, grace is proof that God is for us. Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation really drives this point home, that “God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone!” This unmerited favor is God’s way of giving us what we need to save us from the stupid things we do when we’re not doing the will of God. I believe this loving gesture appeared to us in the flesh of the Savior – the second part of the Trinity. In Christianity, that Savior has a name: Jesus the Christ: the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Word of God, our Emmanuel, which means God with us. Although scripture gives him many names, his purpose remains singular: to bring salvation to everyone as the bearer of God’s love and grace. Through this important part of the Trinity, we are given a road map to be reconciled with the Creator. By following the way of Jesus, we know what it will take to find our salvation. In the many ways God’s love is made visible through Jesus, we can see how God is with us right here, in the space between you and me. Grace is proof that God’s love can be made manifest in us. Love is what we were created from. And love is what we were made for. Just as God shared Jesus with us, so too are we to share this gift to others by loving God, loving others, and serving both. Remember, Paul wrote God’s grace appeared, to bring salvation and for “training us in the present age to live lives that are upright, and godly.” I know that it’s hard enough to get by in this world without having to live a godly life. Living out our faith is and always will be challenging. But allow me to quote Miss Montana one more time, “Nobody’s perfect. We got to work it, again and again until we get it right.” I think God gives us grace because living out our faith isn’t easy. It takes a lot of practice. For every success we have, there will be plenty of failures that got us there. God’s grace is like a life coach who encourages us to keep going when we just want to throw in the towel. Which brings us to the third and final part of the Trinity - the Sustainer - the very Spirit of God who lifts us up when life knocks us down. As we learned last week during Pentecost, there’s a part of God in us and around us, that keeps the steady flow of God’s love and grace moving in and through us; enabling us to focus on doing the will of God as we live into our Christlikeness. This eternal Sustainer is our constant reminder that God is in us – always encouraging and always moving us towards the open arms and heart of God. And it's this God whose three unique parts - Creator, Savior, and Sustainer - work together as one force to unite the world in grace-filled love. This might seem like an overly simplified or convoluted explanation of the Trinity. I might even be called a heretic for suggesting it. This wouldn’t be the first time. And I doubt it will be the last. Thankfully, God is gracious and forgiving - loving us no matter what. But before I get burned at the sake, I will leave you with an illustration of the Trinity that was passed down by the early church fathers. They described this complex idea as a simple circular dance where all three unique elements of God hold hands and move together to the rhythm of a single heartbeat. It sounds a lot like Pope Francis' fidget spinner idea, the three dance in sync and in perfect balance – yet they maintain their individuality. This Divine Dance reminds us that no matter how we define the mystery of God it will always be a holy community born out of and held together by the love of God. And this holy communion is always inviting us to join the dance. In this circle, we find our balance both by being in God’s love and bearing God’s love to each other. The Triune God invites us to be in the center of this sacred dance to dwell in the gracious and steadfast love of the One who created us, the God who is for us. The Triune God calls us to walk in the gracious and steadfast love of the One who saves, the God who is with us. And to share the gracious and steadfast love of the One who Sustains us, the God who is in us. Now and forever, amen. Work Cited: Adapted from Three in One. May 27, 2018. https://www.jesusnotjesus.org/be-kind/three-in-one. Gerrard, Matthew and Robbie Nevil. Nobody's Perfect. Walt Disney: May 15, 2007. Gorey, Edward. The Doubtful Guest. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1957.
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