“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” The Blessed Trinity may be a little unclear. It is sometimes called the Holy Trinity within Nippon Sei Ko Kai. The name, Kani Holy Trinity Church located in Gifu Prefecture, is derived from this. Churches have believed in God through the development of religious principles. The Orthodox Church of Japan officially approves of Andrei Rublyov’s icon which shows the three angels visiting Abraham (Genesis) as the only authenticated icon. Additionally, this religious painting is in the Central Theological College and is still used during meditation. Augustine expresses in analogy the relationship of the Holy Trinity as the Father the Speaker, the Son the Word, and the Holy Spirit as love through the speaking of the word, “The Theology of the Holy Trinity.” While the three Persons are distinct, they work together to form unity. This is the basic line of reasoning in the western theology.
However, God as three in one and one in three is not the subject of understanding, but is a subject of mysterious belief. Why this has continued to be kept is because I believe it has been “something felt from experience” rather than “something understood in the mind.” For instance, we recite the Lord’s prayer. This represents God of the Holy Trinity. The Lord’s Prayer is the only prayer which Jesus taught His disciples and also the one He used to pray to God. The prayer which Jesus the Son, gave to God the Father. We pray with the Holy Spirit within us. This is the importance of the Lord’s Prayer.
God loves us unconditionally and this is the basis of our world. The Father sent us Jesus, the only child, to show us love. And when we answer “yes” to the unconditional love of Jesus, who was sent by God, only then do we become God’s children. The awakened Holy Spirit within us moves about actively and by becoming God’s true children, we recite the “Lord’s Prayer.”
There are hard times and we have ordeals; however, it is the utmost joy of the Holy Spirit within us to answer “yes” when asked by Jesus, “God loves you, do you believe this?” Isn’t it here where we are able to feel “the three in one” and “the one in three?” And then we will be able to feel that God is always with us and we are not alone when reciting the Lord’s Prayer.
Revd Joseph Masashi Ishida