If there were a TV show called something like, Confessions of a Lutheran Pastor, I would have to confess that Holy Trinity Sunday is one of my least favorite Sundays of the church year. Not because I don't love the Trinity but because I believe the trinity is more to be experienced than understood. So, how do we turn the sermon into something that is experiential instead of something that is only cerebral or intellectual? 

What are things that we experience that are difficult to explain? Can we explain a hug or is it something that we experience? Certainly we can parse of the different steps of an embrace and use a number of adjectives to describe what happens when two people hug, but a hug may be one of those things that we experience more than understand. 

The Christian faith is full of experiences. We experience grace and forgiveness. Like a hug, we could explain what exactly transpires when someone receives forgiveness, but it is much more powerful when we experience it. When we share the peace we hear the greeting but hopefully we experience peace, especially during times of chaos. We experience healing. We could explain healing on a spiritual, emotional, or physical basis but what’s more important is that we experience healing. 

So, how do we experience the trinity? Over the years we have attributed titles to each person of the trinity. We refer to God as creator and we experience creation every day of our lives. Jesus is the savior and we understand what it means to be saved by Jesus from death and given the gift of eternal life. But what title have we given to the Holy Spirit? Sometimes the Holy Spirit is referred to as the sustainer. The Holy Spirit keeps us going so that we can continue to live out our faith in God’s world.

Less than understanding the trinity, how do we experience one God in these three forms and why is it so important?