We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, please register for an account at Facebook. By checking the "Post to Facebook" box when commenting, you'll be able to find and quickly link back to this page from your Facebook account. You can also find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page.
Romans 5:1-5. God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
In her sermon called “What is the sound of three hands clapping?” (in Home by Another Way, Cowley Publications, 1999, pp. 151-54), Episcopal priest and writer Barbara Brown Taylor likens the Trinity to a Zen koan. A koan is a bit like a riddle with no answer. It is experienced more than it is understood. How can God be one and also three?
One way to look at this is that the Trinity keeps our limited perception of God in balance. Some Christians may dwell too much on God’s judgment and wrath. Others narrowly see God as Christ the redeemer, who “saves” them personally. Others have a diffuse faith that misses out on the grounding of scripture and tradition.
Our own lives probably move in and out of balance on one aspect of God. Sometimes we need that sense of God’s omnipotence in the face of our own powerlessness. Other times, we need Jesus as our companion, our role model, and friend. And, when it comes to day-to-day survival, we need the Spirit’s help.
PRAY for the Diocese of North West Australia (Western Australia, Australia)
Ps 8 or Canticle 2 or 13; Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; John 16:12-15