It is sufficient

At the very heart of the Gospel, we are not saved by how much we know, and finding out the meaning of life.  We are saved by what God has done in Christ in our behalf.  We do not know everything, but we know everything that is essential.  What is our response to all of this?  It is to acknowledge that we live by faith.  Living by faith is not living without question.  Living by faith is not living without struggle.  Living by faith means living with a proclamation.  Living by faith is staking our lives on the belief that what we know about God through Christ and the Holy Spirit is enough to sustain us in this world and the world to come.  This is best summarized in our second lesson from Romans, and the text is an important one for the Christian life: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.”  (From Pastor Randy's Sermon -- May 25-26 2013)  

From Pamela:  (previously posted on the Faith Formation Blog)

The mystery of  the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit -- three in one all at once -- is one that stretches the imagination of the faithful. We use words to wonder about Trinity, but the words point to a meaning that goes deeper and beyond words.  We sing about the concept: "Holy, Holy, Holy" in a familiar hymn. In our statements of faith, The Nicene, the Apostles', and the Athanasian Creeds, we declare our belief as a community in the various persons of the Trinity.

Lots of words that boggle the mind of the one who is rooted in rationality.  Few of us have a mental understanding of how to explain the Trinity, and only the most courageous of preachers attempt to offer such an explanation in the context of a 12-17 minute long sermon.

Some simply tell a cute story:

A priest was in a public place where he witnessed a man who collapsed and was clearly in mortal danger. The priest (of course) ministered to the man, kneeling by his side: "My son, do you believe in God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit?" The man opened one eye partially and said...

"What... I'm dying.... and you're asking me a riddle?"

I suppose light humor can help us get around the frustration of our own inability to articulate the MEANING underlying our songs, our prayerful phrases, or our statements of faith.

Other teachers, preachers and theologians use images.  C.S. Lewis pondered a cube as one way to get his mind around "Trinity".  

Consider the geometric figure of a cube. A cube is comprised of 6 squares joined in a three dimensional fashion, right? And squares are comprised of four lines of equal length... and lines are created by connecting two points (taken even further... the connecting lines are nothing other than a series of points)

So you are looking at the cube... and it is a matter of your focus or the intention (choice) of your mind as to whether you are looking most closely at a square, a line or a point, or the cube as a "whole" comprised of many parts. Also, as you look at various squares, look at what happens when you gaze at the bottom line. (do this for 5 seconds) Now look away from the figure (for 10 seconds) and look back, but focus upon the space above the TOP line. Then slowly move your focus to the space on the right of the cube (5-10 seconds or until you see the figure "flip")

It is amazing how we can see the points, lines and squares in so many ways all at once, simply by allowing our senses to be open to a variety of perspectives and places of full attention.

So.... back to the idea of the Trinity. God's mystery of creation, compassion and abiding/eternal/infinite presence is one that we can experience "all at once in totality". Still, there are moments in our life when our spirit, heart or mind seem to be most fully aware of one aspect of the three in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In closing, we are reminded, though, that we can never, ever fully comprehend the mystery of God through the limited vehicle of OUR understanding. We are reminded, too, that it is not at the moment of understanding Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we are activated in our mission as Christians: It is the moment when our hearts are ignited in belief!