Trinity Sunday: "Try harder" or "It is finished?"
Why the doctrine of the Trinity is relevant for everyday life
In Apple TV’s “Physical,” Sheila Rubin believes that she needs to look great to matter. In the show, we’re let in on her inner dialogue which consists of nitpicking different aspects of her appearance. Her negative self-talk motivates her to diet and exercise, but it also results in an eating disorder and unending body shaming of those around her. By the end of season one, she’s successful, but it’s come at great cost. She’s fit, but she’s pushed away everyone she’s ever loved. The show illustrates the truth that bad ideas about ourselves aren’t neutral; they’re toxic.
In college, I read a book by Bishop Fitzsimons Allison called The Cruelty of Heresy. In it, he argued that ideas about God matter in our everyday life. The doctrines that the early church fathers and mothers spent so much time fine-tuning aren’t “abstractions” to take or leave but signposts to abundant living. He maintained that the alternatives to orthodoxy aren’t transgressive and cool but lazy and cruel.
Bishop Allison and the creators of “Physical” are saying roughly the same thing: ideas have consequences. What we believe matters for our lived reality — especially ideas about “the ground of our being.”
Today is Trinity Sunday. While many of us may question the usefulness of an idea like the Trinity, I’m here to argue that it’s an abstraction that’s always relevant. Why? Because when you start thinking about the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, you begin to ask yourself questions like, did God — in Jesus — really become one of us? Did he truly experience our grief and suffering? Did he effect something through the Cross of Christ, or is Jesus’ life merely a standard to live up to?
How many of you have heard of Roger Bannister? Before Bannister, no one was able to run a mile in four minutes. Some experts went so far as to say that it was physiologically impossible. Nevertheless, in 1954 Roger eeked it out in 3 minutes and 59 seconds. Many now say that in breaking the barrier Bannister broke the psychological impediment in the minds of athletes all over the world. Soon after his feat, many followed in his accomplishment. I mean, who can compete in the one-mile dash today if they take longer than four minutes?
I bring up this story because it helps us understand the importance of the relationship between the Father and the Son for lived reality. Is Jesus merely the best human? Has he, like Bannister, broken down the psychological impediment to human perfection? Does his life and work prove that we’ve been making excuses for each and every shortcoming, including not having the perfect body?
Now, I don’t want to be down entirely on the idea that Jesus is our example. He does show us what it looks like to be truly human. To be holy is to be healthy. To refrain from lying, cheating, and stealing keeps you out of prison, and in good relations with your neighbor. I hope that we’d all love to be holier. But think about what happens when we think that we can achieve perfection. It’s not very different than what happened to Sheila Rubin. It leads to unrealistic expectations for ourselves and those around us. It results in compulsive behavior and unhealthiness in our relationships because when we fail we see ourselves and those around us as just making excuses.
The reason it’s so important that Jesus is one-in-being with the Father is that he is more than just the best of us. His life and work not only shows something but it effects something. After we’ve undergone our various burnouts, it becomes really good news that he did what you and I could never do, and he did it on our behalf and in our place. What’s more, he gave his life for us before we got our acts together – before we even started trying at all.
My friends, God’s love for us is not contingent upon us running the four-minute mile, having the perfect body, or even showing improvement in our behavior. The doctrine of the Trinity is important for everyday life because it makes clear that the good news of the gospel is not “try harder” but “It is finished.” He died for us on our worst day, and, by the power of the third member of the Trinity, he is making us healthy and whole.