Reflections on the Trinity

At the social time following the 9 AM Mass last Sunday there was a conversation regarding a portion of the Pentecost Gospel read that morning. More specifically, attention focused on John 14:28, where Jesus, speaking to the disciples after having predicted His death, says to them, “If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” The question that sparked this conversation had to do with the matter of how this could be reconciled with the doctrine of the Trinity as described in the proper preface for Trinity Sunday which reads, in part, “For that which we believe of thy glory, O Father, the same we believe of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference of inequality.”

This seems to me an important enough question to warrant further reflection. What follows should be understood as just that, reflection, rather than any attempt at a comprehensive or exhaustive theology of the Trinity.

A good starting point is to understand that the Doctrine of the Trinity was not the result of purely abstract or theoretical speculation by theologians. It was developed as a response to the questions raised in the early Church's disputes about the nature (or natures) of Christ. Some groups denied the divinity of Christ, seeing Him as merely human. Others denied His humanity, seeing Him as purely divine. Still others denied both, seeing Him as a unique creature who was neither human nor divine. Each of these positions was seen by the early Catholic thinkers as denying either some aspect of the Church's actual experience of Jesus or some aspect of His acts and teachings. None was adequate to express what the first Christians had seen and heard of Jesus and His relationship to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Briefly put, all of these issues were hotly, and often bitterly, debated.

In 325 A. D. an Ecumenical Council met at Nicea to formulate an authoritative statement of doctrine on these and some other issues. That Council produced the earliest version of what we call the Nicene Creed. Later Ecumenical Councils refined and further developed some of the decisions made at Nicea but did not significantly alter them. The Nicene Creed which we say at every Mass was and still is recognized as a true and sufficient statement of what the Church believes based upon both scriptural revelation and the experience of the first Christians.

So how may we accept the Nicene Creed's assertion that Christ is “God of God, Light of Light, Very God of very God” with Jesus' statement that “... my Father is greater than I?” There may be a number of adequate ways to answer that question – certainly great Christian minds in many generations have written concerning it, but my own reflection leads me to believe that one rings truest to me.

In the King James Version of Philippians 2:5-8 St Paul writes, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” “Made himself of no reputation” is an unfortunate translation of a Greek phrase, “heauton ekenosen,” which quite literally means “emptied himself.”

What Saint Paul is saying is that the Son voluntarily temporarily divested himself of all aspects of His divinity in order to assume human nature and become a fully human being. In his lifetime on earth as attested to in the Gospels, He often identifies Himself with the Father, most explicitly in John 10:30, where he states, “I and my Father are one,” but during His Incarnation He displays none of the attributes of the Father. Like all humans, he is neither omniscient nor omnipotent nor immortal. In this regard it is striking how often He tells those around Him who are awe-struck by His wise and penetrating words or His miraculous deeds that they are not the result of His own power or will but of His obedience to His Father's will. We see this clearly in the fourteenth chapter of John's Gospel, verses 8 through 10: “ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

When Saint Paul states that in His Incarnation Jesus “took upon Him the form of a servant,” he is saying far more than simply that Jesus assumed the outward appearance of a servant. The word translated here as “form” is a rare one in the New Testament, appearing only in this passage and in Mark 16:12, which is a reference to Jesus' appearance to two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus after His Resurrection, as recounted in Luke 24:13-24. Ever since the philosopher Plato (5th to 4th Centuries B.C.) the term “form” had come to mean something like “the essential perfect reality of a thing, of which all material examples of that thing are imperfect copies.” That is why Strong's Concordance defines it as “ properly, form (outward expression) that embodies essential (inner) substance so that the form is in complete harmony with the inner essence.”

To put it a good deal more directly, Saint Paul is telling us that Jesus was, in His Incarnation, a perfect servant, perfectly obedient to His Father. But Jesus' period of Incarnation was temporary; it ended with his Crucifixion. One of the lessons of the Ascension is that Christ again resumed all of the honors, glory, and other attributes that He had laid aside during the period of His earthly life. During that period it made perfect sense for Him to say, 'My Father is greater than I,” but after His Ascension He was and remains once again equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit in glory, power, and honor.

As I wrote above, these are simply my current reflections on the matters concerned, and not by any means polished or comprehensive. I offer them to you not as (insert trumpet flourishes here) A WORD FROM MOUNT SINAI, but rather as part of a conversation among believers seeking understanding and grace. That seems appropriate to me, since it was last Sunday's conversation that sparked these reflections.

-- Father Bragg +

 
All things come of thee, O Lord,and of thine own have we given thee
Please click here to donate to St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland

A special thank you to all the ladies of the parish who made the brunch and "baby shower" for the MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center such a huge success!

Services & Events
 
Sunday Services, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM, & 11:15 AM (for online participation for the services go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland) 

Sunday School is on recess and will start again in September

Nursery 9:00 & 11:15 Services

Wednesday at Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing (for online participation please see above under Sunday Services)

SAVE THE DATE: Sunday September 21, Church Picnic after combined service, invite friends and neighbors too:  Great BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages and so much more (more details coming)
 
NEEDS FOR MaRiH CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER

MaRiH Center has made some changes and additions in its critically needed items. The Center provides help to mothers-to-be and mothers in need.  Please provide some of the items that are needed..They are very greatly appreciated. (You can leave the donations where the food for the food bank is collected on the pew in the undercorft.)

Especially Needed
In Bold and with an asterisk are a critical need. Please note changes in diaper needs and additional items.

*Diapers (sizes newborn, 1, 2, *3, *4, *5, & *6)
*Lovies, Rattles, Teether
*Baby wipes
Diaper rash ointment
Baby shampoo
*Baby blankets
Baby bottles
*Bibs toddler
*Formula: *Simulac Advance Formula
Formula: other but not recalled
Wash clothes
Hooded Towels
Spring/summer clothing: 3-6 mo, 2T
*Grocery gift cards
Baby Food (make sure not expired)

Food Bank Needs
The food bank appreciates the generosity of our parish.Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). 

Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
Copyright © 2025 St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625