In Christianity God is not a static thing—not even a person—but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance. The union between the Father and Son is such a live concrete thing that this union itself is a Person…. What grows out: of the joint life of the Father and Son is a real Person, is, in fact, the Third of the three Persons who are God. The whole dance, or drama, a pattern of this three-Personal life is to be played out in each one of us or (putting it the other way round) each one of us has got to enter that pattern, take his place in that dance.
~C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in Isaiah 61
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in 2 Corinthians 13
Oh beloved, it is true. There are parts of the truth that we have to understand, in order that we might know. But as the singer, Bruce Cockburn has sung, “something jeweled slips away, around the next bend with a splash. Laughing at the hands I hold out. Only air within their grasp.”
We confess it. We say it. We think we even believe it. We say: G_d is Trinity. He is Three in One. And yet One all the same. We can draw diagrams, and argue about the heresies and modalisms that burst forth in our fallen attempts to explain. And yet anything we construct falters and shatters and sprays as it bounces off the astounding reality of Who He is.
Him. Always was. Always is. Always will be. And even though He has put eternity in our hearts, it is but a seed that only contains the DNA of forever. It is but an image of the real. And the Real is so much bigger than real, that even eternity and infinity are but constructs of His making, that He Himself might have a habitation. Said simply: Forever is home to G_d, and He is quite cozy in this little place He has built for Himself.
Perhaps though (just in the tiniest sense of the word, “maybe”), it is the beyond-infinite scope of G_d that gives us insight into the deepest mystery of Who He is. And, as we begin though, please forgive this fool of a writer for even trying. For there are ultra-beings who have tried to peer into His complete wholeness for time without measure, and can but fly on the winds of His seven-fold Spirit – and simply cry to each other in astonishment. It burns their eyes, and so they cover them with more wings. Even so, they could not leave for their love of Him, and would not for the joy of the eternal journey towards understanding Him.
And it seems that what these seraphim see (at least partially) is something impossible. They are glimpsing, in the inapproachable Light of His Presence, a Being so good, so real, so Loving, so powerful, so complete – that one of Him (even across a space larger than eternity) could not contain Him. It is as though the effulgence of who He is, forms a Wave – in exactly the same infinite amplitude and frequency. And this Wave has forever burst forth from Him as a doubling of the Infinite of Who He is. And even this is not enough to “contain” Him.
So, as this Being begets Himself fully in form, He sees Who He is, completely. For immediately apart, though completely proximate, is The Infinite Manifestation of all of Who He is. Then, in exactly the same way, this same Wave, begotten, sees the One who Fathered Him and fully returns the gaze. And the only way They see each other is in a Spirit of absolute clarity and Truth. They see in Each Other, all of Who they Are. Good. Real. Life. Full. Complete. Whole…. Love.
Then, as has forever been true, what burns between Them, is another completely infinite and full Manifestation of the understanding they have of Who They Both Are. Amongst this Father and His Son, is a Spirit of Peace – a profound agreement on the central Truth – of Who They Both Are. And this Agreement is a whole other Life of its Own. This Spirit is Them Both, as One. Said more simply: One has burst forth as Himself, and this begotten Self sees Who has begotten Him. And the relationship is so powerful, that it forms Another of them Both.
Three. One. Completely Themselves, for they burst forth from each Other. But completely Unified, for they are the exact reflection and manifestation of the One. They Are Who They Are. And these Three have complete insight into each Other. As such, there is no fear. Nothing hidden. Only perfect Love, and the utter joy and strength that comes from knowing and being fully known – and fully accepted. They are so real to each other, that they can easily and truly say to those who ask: I AM.
And still, the mystery goes deeper. This same utterly full, and completely complete Trio, has so much more of Themselves, that the only thing that makes sense to their manifold and infinite wisdom, is to share this relationship with a creation that has burst forth from Them – and yet is within Them.
It is as though the agreement and freedom and goodness and Love of Who They Are was put into words. And these words formed the strokes of the most beautiful art on an astoundingly beautiful canvas of time and space. But, at the center of the work of the Artists, comes the most beautiful part: us. The art is so beautiful that we are the image of the Artists Themselves.
Can we see it though? We are the creations of uncreated Ones. But the creation they have done is so powerful as make us like the Artist Himself. We have not been created as some sort of one-off oddity in the universe. We have been made to join the Artists in their glorious work, and then enjoy it – with Them – forever.
So, do you feel alone beloved? Don’t. The feeling is simply not true. There is a G_d so much bigger than infinity that He has burst forth in a triple and Loving manifestation of Himself. Surely we are within this goodness. There is no place to escape it. And like the angels who have a slightly better glimpse at this time, there is no reason we would want to.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to believe you are Loved. Forever.
