Trinity Sunday (2105-05-31)

Trinity Sunday  / 31 May 2015

[__01___]        This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, traditionally observed as the Sunday immediately following Pentecost Sunday.

Regarding the Trinity, we recall that God exists as distinct persons, with distinct roles --- as the Father, as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit.

Traditionally – and mathematically – we also assign numbers, implicitly ranking them as …

1^st – God the Father

2^nd – God the Son

3^rd – God the Holy Spirit.

However, the mystery of our faith is that the three are equal.

They are different, distinct, yet equal.

In the Bible, reading sequentially from the Old Testament from the New Testament, from the Book of Genesis …and onward to the Book of the Gospels, we read …

·       First …in Genesis … the words of God the Father, such as as “let there be light”  (Genesis 1:3)

·       Many pages later, we read Jesus saying …for example  “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”   (John 8:7)

So, we are accustomed the words of the Father precede – in sequence and on paper – the words of the Son.

[__02___]      Nevertheless, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are equal.

Saint John, the Evangelist, in his Gospel of John, writes and summarizes this way :  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God; he was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3)

In this regard, the very first word, the very first idea of God the Father was through his Son.

[__03___]     Are we not aware that two persons can be equal in status, equal in importance, yet different …

For example, a parent and child are equal in importance to the family, yet each has a different role to play.

We might also say that the “parent” and “child” come into existence at exactly the same moment… if we consider that a person’s life would changed, if he or she were to become a parent.

A husband and wife, in marriage, are equal in dignity, but each has a different gift to bring. In fact, in their love, in the Sacrament of Matrimony, in their vows, in their “I Do” before God, they are allowing God into their lives, to complete them, as a third person, as a trinity.

Do we in, our relationships, welcome God in as our partner, our guide, not to impose rules on us, but simply to share his desires with us, so that we might also respond to his desires, his hopes, his direction?

[__04___]     Yes, there is a 1^st person, a 2^nd person, and a 3^rd person in the Holy Trinity, but this is not a computerized ranking system or review.

1^st … 2^nd … 3^rd … reminds us their distinct roles.

[__05___]      Also, we are called to consider how we can form a trinity and the trinity by our own actions – in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This is a challenge we may resist or overlook.

For example, in HOLY MATRIMONY, we are often reminded of the 2 persons…the first 2 persons.  Which is, for example…

·       ME – I am the first person

·       YOU – You are the second person.

And, between ME and YOU …or between YOU and ME, there may not be perfect agreement, as there is between the “FATHER” and the “SON” and “HOLY SPIRIT”.

There are the 3 divine persons. We are, in our lives, striving to be made like God, by allowing God – the Divine Presence – to be the third person.

We form a trinity – in marriage – by acknowledging that God also has hopes, has desires, even has  TO-DO LIST (HONEY-DO LIST?) equal in importance to our own.

God is calling us to form this trinity of love.

[__06___]      In the relationship between parent and child, between 2 family members, a trinity exist, not only the first person of my desires and the second person of your desires, but also the 3^rd person of God’s desires.

What does God want as a partner, as a guide? He wants what every spouse wants, he wants what every parent wants of her child…or what every child wants of his parent …

That is, God wants us to be –

·       HUMBLE –  In the first letter of Saint Peter we read:

“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 

(1 Peter 5:5-6)

Don’t we hope that those we love are HUMBLE ?

God wants us to be

·       HOPEFUL – St. Paul wrote to the Romans that we hope for what we do not see and we wait for it with patience. (cf. Romans 8:25)   Do we not expect – do we not hope – that others will be patient with us… even if they cannot see everything we are doing?

We are called to demonstrate the same patience, to imitate God.

That is, God wants us to be –

·       HELFPUL – We are called to be servants. Even if we are in leadership roles – or in charge – we remain SERVANTS.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read –

“But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”  (Luke 14:13)

Under the sign of the cross – of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – we welcome God into our lives.

[__07___]     Our calling in life is to be closer to God, through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This is a calling not only for those in religious life, or the ministry of the priesthood …for those whom we call Sister, or Brother…or Father …

All of us are called to meditate on how we can enter into the life of the trinity on how we can join ourselves to God,  so that we can know what God wants as a partner, an equal partner in our lives… as we carry this out in distinct and different ways.      [_fin_]