Today’s household object is the piano and our Bible passage is Matthew 28:16-20.
A piano is not necessarily found in all homes, but I was privileged to grow up in a house with a piano and later to inherit that piano so that it lives in my home now. I never actually learned to play the piano very well myself, but my son had piano lessons and so the piano was well used; my grandchildren are now enjoying the instrument and its use continues to this day. I am fascinated by how the piano is made and used to love it when the piano tuner came and took off all the exterior pieces so that I could see the hammers as well as the keys.
One reason I love the piano is that you can play more than one note at the same time, and can play chords (combinations of notes which sound harmonious when played together.) A chord is usually made up of 3 separate notes, and this reminds us of the mystery of the Trinity: one God in three persons, Father, Son and Spirit. This doctrine is a mystery, but is key to our understanding of God as a being of relationship manifested in the inseparability of the Father-creator, the Son-Christ and the Holy Spirit, ever-present among us. (‘At Home In Lent’, P 136) Relationships matter, because God Himself is a being of relationship! The author urges us to ‘play a triad chord’ on the piano, ‘listening to the blend of three-in-one, contemplate the mystery of God, our creator, our redeemer and the sustainer of faith and life.’ (ibid., P 137)