This is Good Friday, part of Easter weekend. Christians celebrate this time because without the death and resurrection of Jesus, his teachings would be similar to the Stoics (his contemporaries in Rome).
But–this leads to problems of understanding. We have a concept of Trinity, something not explained in the Bible. Jesus gave us the idea of God as Father. He talked about God’s Spirit dwelling in people. The former was new. The latter is as old as the worship of the Creator God. But then, what to make of Jesus himself.
As an Enneagram Five, I try to understand things intellectually. But with a strong Four influence, I’m moved emotionally by music.
A singer/songwriter (from the Christian group Jars of Clay who is also a Five with a strong Four wing) said understanding the three can best be done aurally as a triad. Don’t try intellectually. Just listen for it.
It’s like a music chord. In the key of C major, for example, you play the notes C-E-G simultaneously. Each of the notes exist individually. But they resonate together.
When my grandson’s middle school jazz band hit their first chord to open the program, it was like, “Wow, this is a fantastic sound.” The writer of the piece, the conductor who brought the band together, and the musicians all coming together each playing a part of that chord. It was powerful.
That is a far superior metaphor than any intellectual logic you could try to reason through.
April 19, 2019 at 8:12 am |
Definitely superior to water, ice and steam! 😉 Thanks Gary.
April 19, 2019 at 10:59 am |
Thanks, Joseph. This metaphor is growing on me. The more it settles in, the better I like it.