Explain The Holy Trinity...Someone! Please?

Explaining the Holy Trinity to children? Now there's a knee knocker!

From my children’s earliest school days, I still vividly recall some of the church school assemblies I would conduct on Wednesdays. Every inch of every pew would overflow with children –some of them as young as four, all the way up to teenagers. Each with wide-opened hearts and minds, eager not only to participate, but to absorb knowledge. And I was determined to create a homily that not only involved the children, but hopefully inspired them to think and talk about their experience afterwards. It’s a tall task, as any minister will attest.

One of the most challenging days was when Holy Trinity came around. Even for adults the Trinitarian concept is almost humanly incomprehensible. So how do you thoughtfully and effectively convey one of the cornerstones of our faith to a church full of children? I was always pleased to see my own children, sitting ever-so politely, trying to absorb what I would say, knowing full-well that there would be a barage of questions at home later that evening. But I wasn't so certain that other children would be as prone to 'chat' with their parents about what they had heard during the day.

The first Sunday after Pentecost is the Festival of the Holy Trinity. It is when the Church celebrates the impenetrable mystery that God is triune or three-in-one; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And although we don't see scientific proof of the triune, we accept this as a fundamental article of our faith.

One year I recall lugging into church an electrical lead, long enough to stretch from the organ loft to the transept, where I set up my small table containing an electric whistling kettle, a sizeable block of ice, and a carafe of water. It is a concept often used by clergy to help us understand the concept of three-in-one. But the truth is that this isn’t a perfect parallel to offer, whether for children or adults.

The following year I scoured London in search of a giant prism. White light consists of three primary colours: Blue, Green, and Red. By capturing the white light, you can project the primary colours onto a white board. But again, in sharing an understanding of the Holy Trinity, it isn’t perfect.

There are other parallels, but because our natural inclination is to limit ourselves only to what we can see, we either instinctively reject or foment doubt about the Trinity. In fact, the word ‘Trinity’ doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible. It didn’t come into use as a religious term until after the Council of Nicaea in AD325 – long after the last books of the Bible were completed. Clearly, even the great scholars found it difficult to put to words.

There are, however, many references to the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. Zechariah 4:6, Micah 3:8, 2Timothy 1:7, all make reference to the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:14 records that Jesus began His ministry ‘in the power of the Spirit.’ And Acts 1:8 profoundly refers to life after death: ‘You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’

Astronomers and scientists continue to reach further and further beyond the realms of our abilities and comprehension to explore the heavens. The truth is, however, that we haven’t yet the intellectual capacity to fully understand what is beyond our reach.

Perhaps now is when we must rely upon our faith.

Holy Father, we long to fill our hearts with the knowledge of Your truth. We pray that you draw us closer that we may better understand, that we may always, and faithfully, serve Your will. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen

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