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Holy Trinity Sunday
Our current perception of the word mystery evokes a feeling of problem solving. In fact, the synonyms presented by Merriam Webster are… closed book, conundrum, enigma, head-scratcher, puzzle, riddle, secret
In mystery novels or movies or games such as clue, we try to figure out “who done it”. It was the butler… in the drawing room… with a dagger.
A really good example of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity comes from one of the fathers of the Church, St Augustine.
One day, after spending many fruitless nights trying to fully comprehend the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, St. Augustine was walking along the beach as an attempt to clear and sooth his mind. As he was wandering, he came across a young boy playing on the beach. The boy had dug a hole in the sand, and was racing back and forth between the ocean and his hole filling his bucket from the sea and emptying it into his hole.
St. Augustine watched the boy for a few minutes, then approached, asking:"My son, what is it you are trying to accomplish?".
The boy looked up and said, "I'm going to empty the ocean into this hole".
St. Augustine laughed, saying, "My dear child, you cannot possibly empty the ocean into that small hole!".
The boy stopped, looked the saint straight in the eye, and said in a voice that struck St. Augustine straight to his soul, "I have a far better chance of emptying the oceans of the world into this tiny hole, than you have of completely understanding the mystery of the Trinity, Augustine."
With that, the boy vanished, leaving St. Augustine alone on the beach. The saint realized that he had been visited by an angel, and realized that he had reached the limits of his comprehension of the Mystery.
God the Father
In Genesis, we clearly see that God the Father is the creator of everything. God created the Heavens and the Earth, everything seen and unseen. He is all powerful, all knowing – omnipotent, a serious force to be reckoned with. Mighty… Almighty. And just as big and powerful is God… so is his Love for us.
My wife and I recently read a book together called “Heaven is For Real”. It is about a young boy, 4 years old, who underwent an emergency appendectomy. While he was under anesthesia, he visited heaven. I don’t want to tell you about the whole book, but there was a piece of it that I wanted to share. He was telling his earthly father what God looked like. He said “God is really big and he really loves us, a lot.” I was caught by the first two descriptions of God. First, he is really big. Second, he loves us a lot. God is Love. In the second reading from 2nd Corinthians… The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you… The love of God… God has an intimate knowledge of each of you… of the whole world. Matthew chapter 10 says “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” God is our Heavenly Father. In our first reading God is described as ", a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity." That is the kind of Father I like to have and that is the kind of father I aspire to be. But how to we achieve such lofty goals??? Ah… wait and see.
Jesus
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. Jesus was sent to us to show us the way to the Father. John 14 says "I am the way and the truth 5 and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. 6 From now on you do know him and have seen him." Jesus is the way to the Father. He is the perfect sacrifice. Think back to Abraham when he was sent to sacrifice his only son Isaac. They headed up the mountain and Isaac asked where the sheep was for the sacrifice. Abraham answered him “God himself will provide the sheep for the sacrifice.” We know that at the last moment before Abraham was to slay is own son, that his hand was stayed and a sheep was actually offered up. Fast forward several hundred years and we see that God has provided the sheep for the eternally perfect sacrifice. The new covenant.
Holy Spirit
But before Jesus left use, he promised to send a helper, a comforter, paraclete, advocate. The word paraclete means, “one who consoles or comforts, one who encourages or uplifts; hence refreshes, and/or one who intercedes on our behalf as an advocate in court” The Holy Spirit is or should be our guide. During John the Baptist’s preaching ministry, he baptizes people with water but tells them that the one coming after him will baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:1-12). At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, he is anointed with the Holy Spirit (Mt 3:16).
In Lk 4:14, we are told that Jesus returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. Shortly after that, he pays a visit to the synagogue in his hometown. He unrolls the scroll and quotes a passage from Is 61:1-2:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, Jesus says: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:14-21).
The Spirit has empowered Jesus in many ways throughout his public ministry, e.g., to preach and teach with authority, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, spend nights in prayer, speak God’s truth to both religious and secular authorities, embrace the will of God no matter what the cost. As Jesus’ ministry progresses, he starts to speak about sharing his spirit with his followers: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:26). “The advocate…will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:25). In Acts 1:5, Jesus says: “John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.” Jesus even exhorts: “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you…” (Jn 16:7).
Remember when I asked you how we could achieve the goals of becoming more like God? Here is the answer… The Spirit’s presence in our lives is even better than if we had Jesus physically present with us. Why is this? “Christ himself can be more intimately present to us through his Holy Spirit than he was bodily to his Apostles. They knew him better— more intimately and more accurately after he left them and sent his Spirit. Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit as teacher, guide and consoler.
The Mystery of the Holy trinity is not puzzle to be solved, but a faith to be lived and experienced.
