11. The first community, the Trinity, is the best example of a spiritual community.
(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.)
When you think of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit, can you imagine them having conversations with each other? If so, what do you think they talk about? How do you imagine they relate to each other?
What relational qualities do you imagine the persons of the Trinity share with each other?
Would you consider the Trinity a “community”? If so, how might you describe that community?
What do you think can be learned about community from the Trinity?
As followers of Jesus, we believe in a Trinitarian God: Father, Son and Spirit, three persons, but one God. Though it may be difficult to fully understand the Trinity, there are some things that are indeed knowable about the Trinity.
In the 15th century the Russian painter Andrei Rublev created an icon that depicts the Trinity. Three human-appearing figures are cast as the three angelic beings who visited Abraham. But Rublev uses this story as a metaphor of the Trinity. In the icon, the human figures show immense respect, love, and submission to each other. Although there may be much about the Trinity that we cannot know or understand,
Rublev helps us see that the Trinity are three distinct persons who have great love and respect for each other. Jesus often said that He only did what the Father wished. Jesus also said that the Spirit will only speak what He, Jesus, says. When we look at Scripture, we see the Trinity portrayed as interdependent, selfless, supporting each other, caring, loving, enjoying each other, practicing submission and humility towards each other and deferring to each other.
The qualities we see in the relationships between the members of the Trinity are the very things that spiritual communities should lift up, model, and help each other grow into. We will never find a better example and illustration of a spiritual community than what we find in the Trinity.