Sunday Devotion

​Welcome to the Sunday Devotion. This Sunday is often referred to as Trinity Sunday in the Lectionary. But what is Trinity? It is God, as the one God, who is experienced in three persons: God the Creator - traditionally identified as the Father, Jesus Christ the Redeemer (the Son), and the Holy Spirit - the Comforter or Sustainer. In other words, God is one and God is three. From Community of Christ Basic Beliefs: “We believe in one living God who meets us in the testimony of Israel, is revealed in Jesus Christ, and moves through all creation as the Holy Spirit. We affirm the Trinity—God who is a community of three persons.” —CofChrist.org/basic-beliefs. How do you view the Trinity?  Is there one of the three to whom you feel you have the closest relationship- God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? Do you have a specific time in your life where you came to understand and accept God as one and three?  Or do you struggle with this concept?
 
I ask that question because I know the concept of Trinity (Three in One)- God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, can be a difficult concept to accept. When explaining this to children, I personally relate to the examples we use to explain it. “The Trinity is like an egg. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts – the shell, the white, the yoke – ONE God has THREE different Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Similarly, we often hear the Trinity compared to an Apple. ONE apple has three different parts – the skin, the flesh, and the seed.” (https://ahearttoknow.com/) To update the concept for the children of today, I use the triangular fidget spinner. The individuality of the three parts of the fidget spinner blend into one as it spins. And we see the representation of this triangle in the picture offered today.

Each of us may have one part of the three whom we address when we pray, ultimately believing we are talking to our one God. I have observed friends pray directly to Jesus. I’ve seen some speak to the Holy Spirit and others address God directly as our Father (often referred to today as Our Heavenly Parent). How do you address the Divine in your prayers and conversations?
 
Personally, I pray to God, and see God as my Creator, my Friend, and my Companion in my life’s journey. I find each of these descriptions in the Trinity. God, my Creator, I first find within the history and stories of the Old Testament. God is all powerful and has been with us forever and always. I find the humble and incredible personal love of God in the New Testament walking in human form as Jesus, showing us God through parables and loving peace-filled actions.  And I look to the Holy Spirit daily because the Holy Spirit came to walk with us daily as a promise from God when Jesus left this earth.
 
This is my reflection on how I view God as one and as Three-in-One. How I address God in my prayers today is not the same as it was yesterday and it is not the same as it will be tomorrow. That is because God provides for our needs and will be strength, compassion, love, guidance and whatever I need at any point in my life’s journey. This is what I pray for you – that you find God and all that God has given you in whichever of the three speaks to you. This is what Paul said to the people of Corinth in his letter (2 Corinthians 13:13). “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”
Author: Bonnie Barber