The Trinity—A Divine Dance

We know so little of God. When it comes to describing the Trinity,  we can feel that we know even less. The Mystery of Mysteries,  the God-Who-Is—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is not just a  philosophical doctrine to be illustrated with clovers and candles. The  Trinity is a Someone, Someone who is deeply involved in our lives. 

Saints Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus  (known as the Cappadocian Fathers) saw the interrelationship of the  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a dance. They described a divine  give-and-take, a perichoresis (dancing together), a mystical solidarity  of interdependence, a never-ending “I am here for you” and “I am  constant in my care for you” within the oneness of God. That mutual  love overflows to us. 

In the scriptures, we see that God continually communicates as the Father who never stops seeking out wayward Israel, the Son who  becomes flesh and gives up his life for us, and the Holy Spirit who is  with us always. 

Our Triune God so loves the world that those divine “hands”  invite us: Come, join in the dance! What does that look like? Think  of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers—they whirl and flow across a  stage together with just a nudge or a touch. Folk dancers have a  similar perpetual motion of bowing and twirling and jumping. With  practiced responsiveness, they move as one. 

Can we join in the dance? We might choose to live as plodders  who stumble through life. Or we could discover holy agility. The  Holy Spirit leans toward us, gently touching and nudging us in  everyday life, whispering, “Be attentive. Follow my lead!” To move within the life of the Trinity is exciting, exhilarating. God’s tender  “Take my hand. I am here for you” is offered to us at all times. 

Consider/Discuss 

• We are not God and God is not us. How does that distinction set us free to  be dancing partners with the Triune God? In the Gospel (John 3:1–5), how  did Jesus offer his hand to Nicodemus to join in the dance? 
• Sometimes we do plod. We may not sense the movement of the Spirit.  Sometimes we don’t “get” the Trinity. We may wonder, how can anybody  get so excited about Trinity? Think of the little nudges that you have felt.  How can we trust that God is constantly at work in our lives and learn to  be even more attentive and responsive?

Living and Praying with the Word 

God of Trinity, you are so beautiful, so beautiful in motion!  All that we see in the created world leads us to you. Holy Spirit,  surround us, enthuse us, and sustain us. You are deeply within us,  and yet sometimes, we are not deeply within you. We beg for your  grace to grow more agile. And when you do give us those tastes of  abundant life in the divine dance that surrounds us, how can we  keep from singing . . . and dancing!