Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm 8
2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Matthew 28:16-20

The readings for Trinity Sunday begin with the creation story, subtly underscoring the unity of God. There is one creator of the universe, and however complicated the Trinitarian formula became, with its talk of three persons, we are not to forget that "The Lord our God is One." The context for Trinity is ever, always, divine unity.

What's at stake here? Among other things, the goodness of creation: one God creates all and declares that all is good. There is no cosmic dualism (as in gnosticism and Manichaeism). This makes it harder for Christians to grapple with evil, but it also ensures the intrinsic goodness of every created thing-which provides many with a theological basis for their ecological efforts. The creation story, with its talk of dominion, has been used as justification for destruction of the earth and its creations; it is interesting that the same text, in the context of monotheism, contains its own corrective.

These selections seek out references to the Trinitarian formula, almost as a seal on the readings of the previous weeks, which did all the work. What remains, perhaps, is to tease out some process understandings of the Trinity. One way to do this is to use the idea of perichoresis, the eternal, flowing, co-inherence and interpenetration of Father, Son, and Spirit. Perichoresis describes a dynamic inner relationship between the "persons" of the Trinity that has also been used by some to explain the dynamic interrelatedness of God and humanity. Whitehead's model, although not Trinitarian, can nevertheless be described as perichoretic in this latter sense; that is, describing the interpenetration of God and the human being where each yet maintains a distinct identity. The idea of the Trinity then provides a model for explaining the ongoing presence of God in individual and corporate lives, for being that in which we live and move and have our being, and that which empowers us to act in the world for the common good.

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