Torrey Gazette

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Trinitarian Bathtime

I'm trying to be a better covenant father. That means I strive daily to help around the house. 

Lately I've been suckered...I mean I've volunteered to help with bathtime.

My kids really do love this time. The one nearing a year (Judah) has decide that he shall be Godzilla both in the living room and the bathtub. In other words, he rumbles while attempting to walk and when near water it must go everywhere. As parents of children know I'm not exaggerating: The Water Goes Everywhere!

In the process of his splashing I've had more than a few drops of water splash on top of my head. And it got me thinking. Thinking about baptism (naturally). Thinking about the Trinity (huh?). 

We all know the baptismal formula at the end of Matthew. As Christians we are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The waters of baptism are inherently Trinitarian.

 

Instead I'll be discussing perichoresis. Everyone knows the word perichoresis. Right? Everyone?

Okay so maybe they don't.

Well that's okay. You can look it up on wiki and find it is a word that "describes the relationship between each person of the triune God" or the "'interpenetration' of the three persons of the Trinity." But what does this mean practically? It means that in each act of a Divine Person, the other Persons are in fact a type of participant.

My favorite analogy for this is water in a pool. Imagine a pool split into three sections without any barriers between those sections. Any movement in a section would in fact overflow and interact with the other sections. Water would be transferred. There would be sharing of participation among the sections. I imagine the Trinity is loosely like this. So while the Father is creator God, creation is accomplished with ripples of activity and inclusion from the other Persons of the Trinity.

But where is this going?

As I was thinking about my little Godzilla-Judah I couldn't help but think of the Trinity. In love with one another and pushing to participate in creation and throughout history. They bring into reality creation, election, salvation, grace, hope, love, faith and peace. And throughout Their movement waves are made. And on occasion those waves flow over. And I, in a moment of fancy, am left wondering if those overflowing waves of water are Christian Baptism.

Father. Son. Holy Spirit.

Would it change our opinions about baptism by "sprinkling" if we imagined the gracious and loving perichoresis of the Trinity as the source?  Like my son, the Trinity enjoys Itself to such an extent that the overflowing of its joy cleanses creation through baptism.

 

Of course then I needed to dry the wet floor and wash my son's hair. The analogy stopped there.