Ever notice how when we Christians say we believe in one God – who exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – people look at us like we’re friends with Bob Wylie, that lovable but very mentally unstable hero of the movie “What About Bob?” And one of my favorite lines from that movie is when Bob says, “I went to my psychiatrist and said, ‘Doc, I’m feeling kind of schizophrenic” and the doctor said “Well, that makes FOUR OF US!

St. Augustine – one of the great intellects of the Western world – once tried to explain the Trinity by making seven statements about the triune God – the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God…the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is not the Son…and then the seventh statement: There is only one God.

Then, over the next decade, Augustine wrote 15 books trying to explain what he meant by those seven statements! Bob Wylie had nothing on Augustine!

If I were to try to describe the idea of the Trinity to you, I don’t think I’d use highly technical theological language. Remember the rather strangled words of the Nicene Creed trying to describe the relationship of Jesus to the Godhead? According to the Creed, he is:

“…the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made…etc.”

You remember that, don’t you?

It seems to me that the idea of the Holy Trinity stems from the utter inability of we human beings to fully express and describe how truly wonderful God is! One word just doesn’t do it! One thought doesn’t capture it! One idea doesn’t express it! Perhaps this is why the Bible contains sixty-six books to describe God, and not just the book of Genesis! Perhaps this is why there are four Gospels to tell us about Jesus instead of just one! Perhaps this is why we give the Holy Spirit not just one Sunday of Pentecost in the church calendar, but nearly thirty Sundays! How can you fully describe or define the indescribable and indefinable nature of God?

Well, being a simple person, I much prefer to think of the Trinity in a simpler way. For me, St. Paul expresses it best in Second Corinthians 13:

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”

I’ve got a whole sermon on that. It’s called “Three Gifts That Can Change the World.” It’s from back in 2002, but you might find it helpful today. And Preachers, it’s a good reference for a Year A, Trinity Sunday sermon!