Reflections on St
Athanasius, the Incarnation and the Trinity
By
William Lyon Tupman. For a Catechesis class at St. Michael's Croydon,
7th
November 2018.
Focus
text: St. Athanasius, On
The Incarnation. Bible
passages used: Mark 1; Matthew 3; Luke 3.
St.
Gregory of Nazianzus highlights some of the most admirable qualities
of St Athanasius, which we can all strive for; namely that he is
accessible to all, slow to anger, quick in sympathy, pleasant in
conversation and temper, effective in discourse and action, assiduous
in devotions, helpful to all kinds of Christians of all ages and
classes, a theologian with the speculative, a comforter of the
afflicted, a staff to the elderly and a guide for the young.
These are qualities which I aspire towards, both as a theologian and in my daily life. St. Athanasius is clearly an academic theologian, which all practising theologians of all religious and spiritual persuasions are. Yet, he is crucially also a very pastoral theologian. This is just as important - and, arguably, even more important - since one of our primary goals as Christian theologians is to further our faith's understanding, and to assist others in a similar way as best we can, as we journey onward together in the Christian faith and life. There are many other theologians who write both pastorally as well as academically – for example, Pope Benedict XVI, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and Archbishop Rowan Williams.
The Incarnation and the Trinity are, to me, two of the most significant Christian doctrines - and St. Athanasius writes and preaches about them both. Chiefly, by His incarnation, Jesus - who has always existed - becomes both fully human and fully divine (Philippians 2:5-11). Furthermore, St. Athanasius's belief that Christ is of one being with the Father - that is, homoousios - goes hand in hand with our modern-day understanding of the Trinity, in which the one God is revered as Father, Son and Holy Spirit - one God in three Persons, the blessed Trinity.
Graham
Greene, in his novel Monsignor Quixote, illustrates a helpful
analogy of the Trinity within the context of his story, when a priest
and a mayor enjoy three bottles of wine at a picnic. They have three
different bottles, but they all contain the same wine within them. It
is the same substance, with the same origin and property, that is
manifest in the three different bodies. In a similar way, the same
and one God is manifest in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit.
Superficially, the Trinity may not appear to be Biblical; indeed, the word "Trinity" is never seen in the canon of Scripture. However, the Trinity is heavily Biblical, and there are some powerful manifestations of the Trinity in the Bible. To exemplify, the Trinity is seen in the creation, in which the Father brings creation into being through the Son by his breath or Spirit (Genesis 1; John 1); and, later on, following the Incarnation, at the Baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove as His Father proclaims the Christ to be His Son (Mark 1; Matthew 3; Luke 3). Moreover, the whole of Christian life may itself reflect the nature of God as Trinity; by His incarnation, Jesus enables us to come to God the Father, by the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit – especially the gift of prayer.
