In my home town, Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where I grew up as a boy, there is the county courthouse situated on one of the hills. Arising out of the center of the building was a high tower with a clock on it. The clock had four faces to enable townspeople to see the time from any direction. As a boy, I was always captivated by the clock because I wondered whether there were four clocks each with a face or whether there was one clock with four faces. If there was one clock with four faces, it was a mystery to me how that could work.

On this Trinity Sunday we are confronted with the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Most of us react to the Trinity in terms of being frightened by God, confused by Christ, and puzzled by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it would help us to overcome our confusion if we would …