Completing the Trinity

Trinity Sunday – Year C
 
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31                                                  
Psalm 8                        
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15
 
A fundamental belief of Christianity is the Trinity, which, while we know is important to us, is not always easy to explain.  The word Trinity means three are one, and comes from the Latin noun "trinitas."  Essentially, the Trinity suggests that God is one Being made up of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who have the same essence, and who share a special interrelationship. 
 
While the word Trinity itself does not appear in the Bible, it didn't take long for the early Church leaders to develop this concept based on numerous scriptural passages and personal experience.  That this spiritual tripartite exists seemed rather evident, but explaining why it exists or how it works is somewhat more difficult.
 
In the 12^th century, Richard of Saint Victor offered a good explanation on the Trinity when he noted that, “For God to be good, God can be one.  For God to be loving, God has to be two because love is always a relationship.” And then he continued with, “For God to be supreme joy and happiness, God has to be three.” It's the sharing of this love about something else that makes love complete.
 
Are we then worshiping three Gods or one?  We humans sometimes have trouble thinking in unitive terms – we have trouble accepting things as being more than one thing at a time.  We usually think in binary terms – things are either this or that, but not both. 
 
One of my favorite analogies for the Trinity is the prism.  There is a natural, whole light that is essentially invisible until it reflects from some surface into our eyes.  But if this light passes through a prism (whether the prism is glass or water droplets in the sky), it separates into a broad range of rainbow colors.  Three of these colors are known as the primary light colors – red, green, and blue.
 
So, which is it?  Is this light beam a clear, single "color", or is it all these separate colors?  We have to accept that it is both, depending on one's perspective.  Many things in life, in fact, are like this – they can be more than one thing at a time.  God is the single, clear Light.  But as He passes through the Prism of Love, He can serve as the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer – each separate and distinct, and yet each having the same source, substance, and purpose.
 
We worship One God who can serve in (at least) three known ways.  As has been pointed out by many writers, each of the three parts are not added to the other to make three Gods (1 + 1 + 1 = 3); but each part magnifies the presence of the other, thereby increasing the impact of them all, but remaining as One (1 x 1 x 1 = 1).
 
But the Trinity cannot stop there, or it would be self-serving.  To be truly complete, it must reach out with its love and touch its creation, not just to nature in general, but to mankind specifically.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."  (John 3:16)
 
God indeed loves the world and especially the people of the world.  There are numerous references, particularly in the Gospel of John, that demonstrate how God wants mankind to a part of this unity.  For example (Jesus praying to God), "I ask ... that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:20-23)
 
The Eucharist is a joining of our souls to that of the Trinity.  (John 6:56)  It is a regular remembrance that we are part of God's family, very much loved by Him – a love that cannot be broken.
 
Reflection Questions & Activities

1. How do you think of the Trinity?
 
2. Look up some of the following verses from John that also support God's desire for unity with mankind:

      1:4, 12-13
      5:24
      6:35, 40, 63
      10:11, 28
      14:3, 17, 20, 23, 26
      15:4, 5, 9, 10, 15
      17:26
 
3. How do you respond to this love?
 
4. Read through the scripture lessons for this Sunday again, and spend some time journaling your thoughts.

Show Us the Father

Day of Pentecost – Year C
 
Acts 2:1-21                              Alternate - Genesis 11:1-9                             
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b                          
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17, (25-27)
 
Jesus had just finished talking about the unity between the Father and himself, making comparisons so that the disciples and those around Jesus would have a better idea about what the love of God really meant.  As though he totally missed the connections, Philip requested that Jesus "show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."
 
Probably somewhat exasperated, Jesus responded, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?  How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" 
 
What Philip wants is what many of us would like to have – the actual physical presence of some giant superhero that is unmistakably the Creator of the universe.  Maybe we want to believe that there is absolutely no question about God's existence, that He is a specific thing in a specific place, and has everything in control. 
 
We want God to be like that because that's how we see everything else in this world – specific objects with specific boundaries that behave in understandable ways with color, shape and mass.  We need to be able to put things, people and objects in labeled boxes in our mind so that they fit into our ability to comprehend.  Because if they don't fit in there someplace, then they may not be real.
 
"Show us the Father, and we will be satisfied," asks Philip. 
 
How can you see something that is an all-powerful, loving force that permeates every atom, every galaxy, every thought, every breeze, every hope and kind word?  How can this Father who roams the cosmos and yet rests in every single heart reveal Himself to us?
 
To reach us, He must communicate to us through things we can comprehend.  How about taking the form of a human being and visiting us, to teach us and heal us?  Good idea; so He sent His Son, Jesus, to do just that.  Jesus told Philip and the disciples, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father...Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?"
 
But it's not just seeing Jesus as the Father, but also listening to his teachings and wisdom. "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does this. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me."  Or, how about the works that Jesus did?  "But if you do not believe the words, then believe me because of the works themselves."
 
But this is not all.  Jesus will have the Advocate sent to us, the Holy Spirit, to be with us forever.  The advocate is also known as the Spirit of Truth, who will abide in us to guide us, and to teach us. The Holy Spirit stimulates our conscience.  The Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus has told us, so "do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
 
The psalmist in today's reading offers us another very important way to know the Presence, power and love of God.  "O Lord, how manifold are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great."
 
A sincere walk through nature will reveal the Presence and love of God.  As scientists explore the mysteries and complexity of our material world, they are discovering that at some point the lines between mass and energy disappear.  Things in the atomic world behave differently.  More questions than answers emerge from these explorations, and they continue to point toward a creative designer.

It is hard to see the Father through the eyes of mankind's world.  To do so would require a change in the way we live, and we can get rather comfortable with our routine.  It also threatens what has already been accomplished.  Power structures would topple (like the Tower of Babel), and we would have to live together like the family of God we are supposed to be.  Mankind's way is not sustainable, and eventually, like Philip, we'll have to open our eyes to see reality.
 
What to see the Father?  Look at all the good that is happening around you.  It's Him, working through His children.

Reflection Questions
 
1. How and where do you see God?
 
2. What's the hardest thing for you to believe about God?
 
3. How can you listen better to the Holy Spirit within you?
 
4. Read through the scripture lessons for this Sunday again, and spend some time journaling your thoughts.

Birds of a Feather...

Seventh Sunday of Easter – Year C
 
Acts 16:16-34                                                  
Psalm 97                                  
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26
 
It's the evening of Jesus' arrest, and he's speaking from his heart to the disciples, knowing that this will probably be his last chance he'll have to speak with them for a while.  He concludes the evening with a prayer to God; a prayer for his disciples and all the people of his Church, now and in the future.

The essence of his prayer is that all men and women, as children in the family of God, be united as one in love.  "May they be as one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one...so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
 
This unified love is the greatest commonality we can have with each other.  It makes us all part of the same thing; not something that divides and separates, but something that unites. 
 
This unity in Christ's body, the Church, leads us to a different approach in living with other people.  Typically, when we try to relate with other people, we follow the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together."  This means that only people with some commonality with each other will like each other, trust each other, and want to be with one another.  Common characteristics are the basis for forming groups, whether around politics, sports teams, social causes, or hobbies. We want to be with other people of like mind.  Those who do not share some similar characteristics are not valued as much, and usually draw little concern from the group.
 
Christ, on the other hand, is asking us to look at all this from a slightly different (but all-important) perspective.  All people already have a singular commonality – we are all children of God, all brothers and sisters, and we all share the same Father, the same Son, and the same Holy Spirit.  It is by this virtue that we are already all one, and really need look no further for common characteristics.  Because of this, we share a common concern for everyone.
 
Once we really believe this, and start to treat people as though they really are our brothers and sisters, we will be living in a universal commonality, and there will be no need to seek out other commonalities just for the purpose of "flocking."  Perhaps what might happen at this point, is that we would have time and patience to discover the uniqueness of each person, or the variety and diversity each cultural group has to offer, and celebrate that, too.  How much we could learn from each other!

Knowing that we are all part of one family, the family of God, removes some of the fear we usually have of the unknown.  Certainly, there are still those who don't or won't recognize their spiritual attachments to each other, and may choose ill will.  Love is given freely, but trust must be earned.  Some people, because of what they have done, or will still do, to harm others, may have to be perpetually contained.  That's part of the price we all pay for having free will.  But without free will there can be no love, for love is a choice.
 
Christ's prayer is that we all recognize this commonality of family that is inherently built into us.  There is a piece of God in each of our souls, or they could not exist.  Our challenge is to first awaken to this truth and then learn to live it in service to God in our own unique way, using the special gifts, interests, and opportunities each of us has been given.

 

Have you met Lydia today?

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C
 
Acts 16:9-15                                                     
Psalm 67                        
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5                                             
John 14:23-29                or         John 5:1-9


We are given a valuable reminder in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles that the spreading of the Gospel comes down to one-on-one interaction, face-to-face with another person.  We can’t set our expectations too high, and we need to realize that even mass communications aren’t always as good as one person sharing God’s intended love with another person, one person at a time.
 
We read in Acts that Paul gets a vision about a man from Macedonia who pleaded with Paul to come there to help.  Paul was convinced that God had called him to proclaim the good news to these people, so he set out on a journey with some others to get there.
 
They traveled a number of days from Troas to Samothrace to Neapolis to Philippi.  After several days, on a Sabbath day, he went down to the river to pray.  There, he met a woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in special fabric.  The text records that she opened her heart to listen to Paul, and was then baptized into God’s family.
 
Paul traveled many miles that brought him into a conversation with one person, who listened to what he had to say, and it changed her life. 
 
How often we have been sent to some unknown place, or given some task or goal to achieve, only to find out that the important part of the journey turned out to be the people we met along the way, and not the achievement of the original objective. 
 
Mankind often measures success by what has been achieved, and how well it was achieved, and how fast it was achieved.  But God gives us projects, and goals, and missions because they bring us into contact with other people, often in one-on-one encounters, hoping that we all grow in love from the experience.  The task or goal is actually the means, not the ends, and what we usually think of as the means is really the ends.  God once again turns our thinking upside down.
 
What is your mission?  Is it big and idealistic, designed to save the world?  Or is your mission to stop off at the food store and bring home some bread and milk?  It really doesn’t matter, does it?  Whatever your task or mission, you will encounter a Lydia somewhere along the way who needs some good news from you.  It may be a smile, a silent blessing, a cup of coffee, a few minutes for someone to listen to them, a helping hand, a flower…

That’s how the Gospel, the good news, is spread – by each person actually living it, moment by moment, in the presence of other people.  That’s what makes it more believable – when someone can see that it works in others.  And, when you live it and use it, it grows in you, too!
 
How about making one or more of these commitments:
 
Today I will be more alert for someone that I can share something good with.

Today I will be more loving toward myself.
 
Today I will be more thankful when someone shares something with me.