How (not) to think about the Trinity
“I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
The enigmatic image "Ascending and Descending" by M.C. Escher presents a visually striking metaphor that resonates with the mystery of the Holy Trinity, which we celebrate on this Sunday after Pentecost. The paradoxical and infinite looping of figures moving perpetually in opposing directions calls to mind the doctrine of the Triune God as three distinct yet inseparable Persons existing eternally in a dynamic unity.
In the interconnected figures winding their way through the architectural labyrinth, we feel an invocation of the perichoresis (or co-indwelling) of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The perpetual motion and seamless flow of the image reflects the eternal dynamism of the Triune life, where there is ceaseless movement, interchange, and reciprocal relations between the Persons. The figures continually give and receive, ascend and descend, much like the eternal generation of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Spirit from both. This endless cycling and repetitive patterns capture something of the divine fullness outside of time. The individual figures in the image are parts of an intricate flowing whole — and in an even stranger and more wonderous way, the Three Persons share fully in the one Divine Essence, forming an irreducible communion of love and knowledge. Escher's masterful use of paradox invites us to embrace the apparent contradictions — and the paradox of the Trinitarian mystery is that much deeper and richer.
In the end, for all its paradoxical genius, Escher's closed loop could never fully encapsulate the ecstatic self-emptying love that defines the Trinity's inner life. Rather than a closed circle, the divine relations form an eternal outpouring, a inexhaustible font of reciprocal self-gift. The Father's total gift of self to the Son, the Son's perfect self-surrender to the Father, and the Spirit as the consubstantial love between them - this is the primordial event from which all of creation springs. The Trinity is thus not a paradoxical stasis but a dynamic, fruitful effusion of charity.
The ceaseless movement of figures in Escher's work hints at this overflowing goodness, but remains trapped within the limitations of the finite cycle. The Trinitarian life, by contrast, is a generous, effusive ecstasy ever new and ever brimming over into the creation and redemption of the cosmos. While the perpetual flow of Escher's figures evokes something of the eternal dynamism, it cannot capture the prodigal outpouring at the heart of the divine relations. The Trinity is at once an infinite perichoresis and a centrifugal diffusion of uncreated love ever exploding beyond itself.
Your testimonies, O Lord, are very sure; holiness adorns your house for ever.
—Psalm 93:6
Trinity Sunday
Texts for This Week
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your one and eternal glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.
Everyday Trinity
Thomas Cranmer's liturgical vision — aligned with that of the ancient church — was that the Trinity be celebrated, not once a year only, but daily in the doxological life of the church. This is evident in the Book of Common Prayer, where Trinitarian themes are woven throughout the liturgy, for instance:
The Trinitarian formula, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost", is used in baptisms, absolutions, and benedictions, underscoring the Trinity's role in every aspect of Christian life.
The Trinitarian shape of the Eucharistic prayer, and the both implicit and explicit Trinitarian shape (to the Father, through the Son, by the power of the Spirit) to nearly every Collect
The doxology appended to the end of every psalm and canticle, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost...", continually directs worshipers' praise to the Triune God.
The retention of the Creeds, read at every service, which affirm the Trinity, ensures that this fundamental doctrine is regularly proclaimed and affirmed by the congregation.
The use of the Te Deum most days at morning prayer, a majestic ancient Christian hymn of praise to the Trinity, further reinforces this emphasis.
We have the strange and paradoxical privelage of worshipping the timeless Trinity in time. This recording of David Briggs’ Te Deum (2010) reminds us of this. In the midst of the pandemic, the hauntingly beautiful sounds of this new arrangement of the ancient hymn, sung by the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, resonated deeply with those seeking comfort and hope. The majestic voices, soaring through the empty chapel, transcend the isolation and fear, connecting us to a timeless and eternal reality.
