The Way An Emerald Is Green

I let myself get dragged into a debate about Trinitarian terminology this week. Well, OK, so I provoked the debate and didn't let it drop, but over the course of the discussion a really beautiful thought came to me. Who says nothing good comes of technical theological debates?

In the discussion the point came up that it is right to say Jesus is God, but not to say God is Jesus. So I was thinking about non-reflexive "is" statements. Naturally, I thought of "God is love" and "God is light". That led me to recall a quotation I really like from Simone Weil, "God is love the way an emerald is green." And there it was:

Jesus is God the way an emerald is green.

I'm not sure it works out cleanly as theology, but as a simile it's beautiful.