Thoughts for the Day

Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

I once managed as a ten year old to get nought out of a hundred for a mental arithmetic test! It's one of the high-lights of my life! Maths always sent me into a tizz quite frankly, although I managed to pass my maths exams in the WRAF and to understand SPCK's accounts that ran into millions. But mental arithmetic, or conundrums like 1 x 1 x 1 = 1, leave me utterly cold.

So I looked up 1 x 1 x 1 = 1 on the internet, and this is what came up:

"1 is 1 because that is the definition of multiplying by 1. It is not 2 because x is a recognized, accepted symbol for the operation of multiplication, NOT addition. Multiplying by 1 is the unit for multiplication, meaning if you multiply by one you get the same thing."

All clear now? If so, you understand the concept of the Holy Trinity - God the Father x God the Spirit x God the Son = God.

At the end of his second letter to the Corinthians, above, Paul mentions all three names for God.and these are words that we often use to close a meeting:

"And the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with us this day and for evermore. Amen."

The one God we worship has always been composed of three. He is both Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit. Perhaps it just depends on the way you look at Him?

Almighty God,
Who is both Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
yet one God,
help us to understand this mystery
as best we can,
and to grow ever closer to You.
Amen.