But it wasn't so in the early church. A group who followed a church leader named Arius didn't believe that God the Son was on the same level as God the Father. Councils were called, a heresy was issued, and the church asserted the oneness of the Trinity.
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We are out our church camp this weekend helping get things ready for summer camp. It's our fourth time coming here. The first time we came up, we were the only ones from our former church--a diverse church that we loved, but we didn't feel a part of, no matter how hard we tried (which, admittedly, we could have always tried harder). While we were here we met our current church. Most of their members were here together. They made up the vast majority of camp, even though it was for Covenant churches from all over the Twin Cities. It was their sense of community that drew us in (and there's much more to this story, of course, but the community is the part that's relevant for today).
We play together; we play together. We worship together; we eat together. We celebrate together; we morn together. It goes beyond our Sunday gatherings.
I believe part of the importance of the Trinity is the acknowledgement that God is about relationship. God is in relationship with Himself. It is part of His being--central to His being, I believe. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We are called to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves (a trinity of loving). Relationship and community are at our core. In Genesis 1:26 God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Did you notice the pluralness of God's words (you should--I italicized them)? Relationship is part of our being created in God's image.
So on this Trinity Sunday, may you find yourself blessed by the community around you. And in that community may you notice the love of a Triune God.
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