Trinity Sunday

God is… really big.

How can anybody describe God? It’s hard to do. The concept of the trinity tries to describe some aspects of God in a helpful manner. There is only one God. But we have three parts that merge together – and you have probably heard of them. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three in one.

God the Father is the creator of the universe. This aspect of God is sometimes known as the law-giver, so the Father is the laws of nature and also the rules in the Bible such as the Ten Commandments. 

God the Son is very easy – that’s Jesus! He was fully human and fully divine. The Son is sometimes called the redeemer – this expresses the forgiveness of God, how God understands that we can’t follow the rules perfectly all the time, even if we are trying our best. He also represents the most noble and aspirational aspects of humanity.

God the Holy Spirit is the hardest one to describe. The Holy Spirit can be everywhere at once, perhaps every TIME at once. I think of this aspect as a connective force within the universe – like electricity, or light, or a cell phone signal, but it is also associated with divine female Wisdom. We sometimes say a person is “filled with the Holy Spirit” when they have a sudden feeling of purpose and a need to say or do something that benefits the community.

These three identities fit together and complement each other and help us understand. It’s like making a braid. Three separate things that only make sense together as a whole. So for today’s exercise, braid somebody’s hair – it could even be your own – or make a friendship bracelet.