One primary cause of conflict between Christianity and other monotheistic religions has been our understanding of God as One and yet also Three; our insistence that we worship the One, True and Holy God, while simultaneously claiming that this One God incorporates three distinct persons within his One-Ness.
I don’t think any theologian set out to devise a doctrine so complex and ultimately incomprehensible, at least to our cognitive faculties alone. The early thinkers of the church came to this formulation through their close reading of the words of Jesus handed down from those who had known him. Jesus spoke of his Father, and of the Spirit, and of himself as Son, and of all of these entities as God. So it was on his last night with his disciples, as he tried to reinforce all that he had taught them during his time of ministry – and remembered that he did not have to do this alone:
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” (Here is this week's Gospel passage.)
What a relief it must have been for Jesus, coming to the end of his human mission, about to endure his suffering and death and tests of faith, to remember that he was part of a team, not a solo operator. He knew he could communicate on a human level, with words and signs and symbols – but he could not speak directly into the hearts of even his closest followers. And he knew his Spirit, who would be released following his death, resurrection and ascension, would have that kind of deep access to those who loved him.
That access, as we grant it, means we have the Spirit boost too. We don’t have to grasp the truth about God’s love and mystery with our minds alone – we have the Spirit to help us. When something in the Scriptures, or about our faith as we have received it puzzles or troubles us, we don’t have to think our way to an answer – though thinking is part of the process. We can pray, “Spirit, show me what this means. Help me understand.” We may not get enlightenment at that moment, but we will have taken the best action we can take, and we can release the matter into God’s hands.
At some point, a new way of seeing that particular issue may dawn on us, and in the meantime we will have invited the Spirit of God more deeply into our hearts. That's a win/win.
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