The Mystery of the Trinity

“The mystery of the Trinity is made manifest: therefore it must be freely absorbed by [each person]. Each must penetrate the mystery until ‘that which has been desired for us has been completely revealed’” (St. Gregory Nazianzen)

Three sacred services of the Orthodox Church begin with the proclamation: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.” These are the Divine Liturgy par excellence, the marriage, and the baptism, the latter two demonstrating that they had once been part of the Divine Liturgy. Besides all else that the saving phrase denotes, it invites us to that Kingdom opened for us by the life, death, resurrection and return to His Father’s Kingdom of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It means also that all three Persons of the Trinity have a part in our salvation.

In the beginning of creation the Father from silence and stillness spoke and acted in order to bring about all that exists, including the human being. The “voice” of the Father, the Son of God, was the Word, and the action or affirmation was or better stated is the Holy Spirit. As They acted in concert to create us, They act in mysterious harmony to save us from sin and death. And as we were created with the gift of knowledge, we are challenged to learn who we are, where we are going through and beyond this lifetime, and who is taking us there.

When St. Gregory states that the Holy Trinity is a mystery that has been revealed, or made manifest, he means that while God will forever remain a mystery, nevertheless, the portion of the godhead which has been revealed invites and compels us to share His divinity. Note that he says “it must be freely absorbed” by each of us—freely, because God never compels us to do anything. The choice is always ours—even when we don’t know what to do with freedom. Some would rather be saved without their input. God doesn’t work that way. You must want the gift of life everlasting. How can you desire what you don’t comprehend? And that’s why it must be absorbed. Not “understood,” since that means you would have to have the mind of God. That won’t happen. Comprehension transcends knowing. Your reasoning powers are insufficient. The term “knowing” is to be defined as it is in Genesis, where “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain” (Genesis 4:1).

To know God is to love Him—better stated, to return His love for you, or to try doing so. We grow and develop in understanding the mystery of that love which the Holy Trinity has for us as we prepare ourselves to learn and love Him in return. That is what the Lord desires for us. The more we grow into God, the more of the mystery shall be opened to our limited minds and hearts.

When we come to grasp the implications of this great mystery revealed to us, we better understand how we prepare our hearts, souls and minds to penetrate the mystery. Obviously we cannot capture the meaning of the mystery by force of will or by logic. We pray, and before our prayers have much meaning, we must develop a place within our hearts for the Holy Spirit who guides us on the way. We must eradicate all earthly distractions, pleasures, moods, and concerns. We find that by fasting we are propelled on the way better than by self-indulgence. We will treasure silence for the opportunity it gives for meditation. All of these are but means by which we channel our spiritual forces and direct them to the Lord. Difficult you may say; but the reward is worth the effort.