There is not any human language that adequately describes how the love within the Trinity is the source of God’s love for the whole world. We know that God’s love is clearly present everywhere but the source of that love and how it spreads to all the people of the world is a mystery that we will likely never solve. When I think about the mystery of love, I think back to the hit song The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. The song The Power of Love was featured in the movie Back to the Future. Some of you may remember Back to the Future. The movie starts in the 1980s which was the time when I was growing up and most of the action occurs in the 1950s before the main character Marty McFly returns back to 1985 at the end of the movie. I will give you a spoiler here and tell you that love is what drives the action in the film. Marty McFly must make sure that his parents fall in love and he realizes that if they do not fall in love in 1955 then he has no future in 1985. It appears unlikely that Marty’s parents will fall in love but they do. Love is something that just cannot be explained and this is reflected in the opening lyric of the song The Power of Love which is “The power of love is a curious thing.” Later in the song is the line “But it might just save your life.” Yes, we cannot explain love and we do not understand it. However, this thing that we cannot explain actually saves our lives and makes them worth living.
In my first semester of seminary, I learned the fancy word perichoresis. Perichoresis is the theological term that describes the mutual indwelling of the three persons of the Trinity. It has been described as an eternal dance of fellowship between the members of the Trinity. Perichoresis is derived from the Greek words peri which means “around” and choreo which is “to go” or “come”. God the Creator, Jesus the Savior, and the sustaining Holy Spirit are three individual persons but they are one in being and they dwell in each other and share an intimate friendship and this deep relationship and love between the three persons of the Trinity then manifests itself in our daily lives as the love that God has for the world. The love between the persons of the Trinity is constantly flowing and so it may best represented by a circle similar to the circle that appears on the cover of today’s worship folder. However, the love of the Trinity does not just remain in the circle of the Trinity but it spills out and spreads out all over the entire world. As theologians we can spend a significant amount of time trying to analyze the intricacies of perichoresis. Ultimately perichoresis cannot be adequately explained in human language as there are not words which can describe how the love within the Trinity is the source of God’s love for the whole world.
Love is often expressed in relationships therefore looking at relationships may give us some insight into Trinitarian love. God seeks to be in relationship with each and every one of us so the idea of perichoresis makes sense because if God is a God of relationships then relationships exist within the Godhead itself. Relationships are the basis of our lives. Yes, there are some hermits out there who live in isolation but even they live in relationship with the flora and fauna of God’s creation. The reality is that humans are meant to live in community with each other. God appears to us in relationships. We see God in our families and in our community. We are all created in the image of God and we see God in the face of our neighbors. God is there in the work of healthcare professionals who heal and save lives. God is there in the work of our teachers who are preparing our youth for future success. God is there in the crying of the new born child who is just happy to have a chance at life despite being unaware of the challenges that face humanity. Because God desires to be in relationship with all of God’s children we are invited into loving relationship with God. God brings us into the circle of the Trinity and then never leaves us. We are drawn into the loving circle of God and then this loving circle of God goes with us as we head out into the world each day. The love of God dwells in us and we take the love of God to others through our relationships.
Because we see God in people it is easy to become confused about the persons of the Trinity. The Trinity is not a committee of three separate people. According to the theologian Marcus Borg the early church fathers would have viewed the Trinity as one God who is known to us and speaks to us in three primary roles in which we experience God’s presence and God’s love. God speaks to us in the Hebrew scriptures as the creator of the world and the God of Israel. God is also known to Christians as Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. Finally, God is also made known in the activity of the Holy Spirit.[1] There are three different manifestations of the same God acting in the world so that we may experience God’s steadfast love.
The idea of experiencing God through relationships would have been familiar to the disciples who were the original audience for today’s gospel text. Through Scripture they were familiar with the God who delivered Israel from Egypt and who freely offered the people of Israel steadfast love and faithfulness despite their rebellion. The disciples had experienced God incarnate as they witnessed first hand the miracles and the teaching that Jesus did in the name of God. Now they are being introduced to the third manifestation of God. Jesus makes it clear that the Spirit will always be with them. Even though Jesus is leaving them the disciples will never be alone. Jesus’ ongoing presence with the disciples will be made known to them through the coming Spirit who will guide them and lead them to see God in their neighbors. The Spirit allows the disciples to show God’s love and bring hope to their community. The Spirit will enable them to feed the hungry, heal the sick, and lift up the oppressed. Even though the idea of the Trinity is difficult to comprehend it would have been clear to these disciples as they were continuing the ministry of Jesus that this Spirit that was with them and leading them was of the same character as the God of Israel whom they knew through Scripture and Jesus the Christ with whom they had traveled. Because the members of the Trinity are fully in relationship with each other we are also able to experience God through relationships just as the disciples did.
For my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary last summer we decided to give them a Storyworth account for one year. Storyworth sends each of my parents a question each week and the questions can be kind of random and one week my dad was asked how he experienced Neil Armstrong’s moon landing. My parents actually had their first date on July 19, 1969 and the moon landing happened the next evening July 20, 1969. My father has always loved science fiction and the moon landing was actually the real thing. My mother was working at the Tastee Freeze that night and rather than staying home and watching the moon landing on tv my dad went up to the Tastee Freeze to see my mom. As my dad recalled in his story, he watched the moon landing on a small portable tv with the staff and customers who were there. It is amazing when you think about all the random things that could have derailed any one of us from being here. I think of Back to the Future and Marty McFly who successfully convinced his dad George not to stay home and watch the Saturday night science fiction show but instead to go to the school dance and stand up to the bully Biff Tannen and kiss Marty’s mom for the first time. If my dad had watched the moon landing at home it is possible that I might not be here. Fortunately for me I am the product of a beautiful loving relationship that started in the summer of 1969. Ultimately all of us have been given the gift of life because of the loving relationship of the Trinity. In the love of the Trinity God gives us the relationships which make our lives possible and enjoyable and it is this love that we feel as God accompanies us on our journey through life.
As Huey Lewis and the News told us the power of love is a curious thing. We cannot explain why God loves us so much that God created us. The doctrine of the Trinity is an attempt at explaining the unconditional love of God but like any human endeavor the Trinity can only explain so much and it does not completely reveal the mystery of God’s love. The good news is that the love of God shared between Creator, Son, and Spirit is freely available and shared with each and every one of us in our relationship with God and in our relationships with each other. We may not be able to explain it but it is clear that the love of God is present with us and saving us whether God’s love appears in the goodness of creation, on the cross at Calvary, or in our families and communities. Yes, in the Trinity you feel the power of love.
- Vicar Kyle Anderson
[1] Marcus J. Borg, Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power – And How They Can Be Restored, (New York: Harper Collins, 2011), 214.