09-21-2006, 03:53 PM
The trinity is a very simple concept, and does not conflict with the wisdom embodied in any of the prophets.
Jesus can best be understood as a special prophet, in that he is not the son of man but the son of God. (Virgin birth, etc.) Yet, does he say anything new? He is the news.
He is the sacrificial lamb. ie, He is Isaac. The sacrifice that Abraham did not make God made as a sign of his faith TO mankind. In other words, Faith is a two-way street. Just as God demands and wants faith, obedience and love from us, He too has set the same standards for himself in regard to his relationship with us. He will forgive us all our sins, no questions asked.
So we need to see Jesus as the Son of God because he is the son of God. That is why Jesus says that everyone must enter through him. Just as the prophets were stoned, so too was Jesus. The world rejects God's wisdom and love. But, in accepting Jesus we automatically accept all the prophets that came before and after him. Thus the crucifix is the symbol of an intersection. No longer is just a special group chosen; everyone is chosen. (Why this was before I do not know, but clearly many people had faith on their own before the prophets spoke as well. There is nothing difficult to understand about God's wisdom. It is kind of obvious that love is better than hate, but those entangled in fear, pride and greed do not see through the fog.)
The Holy Spirit is the Counselor that Jesus said would come after he left. Thus we presumably have a greater insight to certain things than previous generations did, and this wisdom grows. Who knows, right? It really adds another element to what is already a great mystery. (Life is a mystery, as well as God.) So as we burden ourselves with more and more "facts" and people on the planet, we still need a guide. Just as we grow wiser as we grow older individually, perhaps we as humanity are growing wiser as well generationally. (This is a scary topic because we are obviously pretty stupid right now, so we must have been considerably stupider before.) Yet, what is it that makes the prophets always unwelcome? It is because they sow peace in a land of hate, charity in a land of greed, humility in a land of pride. The Spirit will teach us who we are if we are willing to listen, but we do not want to meet ourselves. All of the prophets will lead you to the Spirit, and the Spirit will lead you to God through Jesus.
There was a time when I was always asking myself if the bread of the new covenat had died. (The Israelites ate the bread of the old covenant, which died.) When they got new bread, everyone got new bread with them. Jesus is the King of the Jews, not the Christians. In reality we should all call ourselves Jews.
But what are we really doing in our lives? Remember it is a reciprocal relationship with God. While it is common to say that "Jesus Saves" in reality we are saving Jesus. He is still on the cross. Everytime we bring hate and anger and pride and greed into the world (and we all do this, no matter how hard we try not to) that burden falls on Jesus' shoulders. The only way we can lift the burden from Him is to lift the burden from each other. And that is why the purpose of faith is to teach faith. It isn't about building buildings or schools or systems of government and law, etc. Faith is about faith. Yes, it can be reduced to loving God and loving one another.
Thus, it isn't about "my God" is better. It is simply about understanding "our" God. How we worship is a minor detail, and yet that is what people spend all their time discussing like it is the most important detail, and then try to force others to go through the same calistenics. God exists in our heart and our mind. There is nothing that can be observed outwardly to reveal someone's faith or lack thereof. Faith is not a religious performance.
But in everyone is the possibility of infinite faith, and that is the spark we need to nurture within one another. Just as God has infinite faith in us, and we in Him, so too must we have infinite faith in each other. That is what Jesus represents. He never turned away from those who hated Him. He knew they needed Him.
The story of Jesus represents a rebuttal of all the various doubts about the existence of God, the power of love, and the energy of faith, that the prophets have long proclaimed and the people have rejected. Humanity wanted proof, and so God gave them proof, but the devil is still at work, and he tricks many into deceiving themselves. Beware the mirror, for all the lies you believe you created and nurtured. Many were fed to you when you were young. Yet, if you ask you will be answered.
You also are the trinity. You exist, yet you give rebirth to yourself. You are both the Father and the son and the spirit. Your body is the temple. Your mind and heart is the Spirit. Your tongue is rudder and your breath is the wind. The course you chart is according to your faith. Thus there is no "answer" of which religion is right or wrong. We are individuals ONLY! We are like leaves blowing in the wind of time. There are no chains that hold us, it is we who hold the chains. We look for answers going from house to house, when the answer is on the open field, in the clouds and the sky, in the depths of the ocean and the expanse of the universe. The answer is within our infinite selves.
Why look for a big object in such small places? And why look for small objects in such big places? Look for the infinite in your heart and you can be everywhere simultaneously. You are the past, the present and the future.