It all feels a bit 'middle class' today because the object is a piano, and the focus is a triad chord as a metaphor for the Trinity.

The first piano we had when I was a child was a battered Victorian upright, the intricate fretwork of which had seen better days, and the velvet backing was threadbare.  And the A two above middle C didn't work! It cost a couple of quid at an auction, including delivery, and how I loved bashing out tunes on it.  Somewhere along the line it disappeared and was eventually replaced by a modern upright bought from a notice in a shop window for £25 - and then sold at a profit to my parents after I'd left home! For a number of years I had a second hand electronic piano, but a couple of years ago I sold it for £25 to a young student desperate for something to play.  Now, when I do play, it is church pianos of various sorts and sizes, and the lack of practice is self evident!

The trinity as a chord, mission as harmony - it's not a bad metaphor, albeit as imperfect as any other.  I quite like the idea of a God who employs beat up pianos with missing hammers to create beautiful music, of a God who turns my stumbling, bumbling attempts into harmonious melodies.

And for those who weren't lucky enough to grow up in an era of free music lessons and cheap second-hand pianos?  Each of us adds our voice, our rhythm, our presence, to create a metaphorical symphony more beautiful than any soloist could ever play.