Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31, Ps. 8:4-9, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15
“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:9)
In our celebration today, we shall try to answer the question: “Who is God?” Jesus Christ understood the complexity of this question. That is why He said in today’s Gospel passage: “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now … When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” That is to say, if we want to understand the Trinity, we only need to listen to the Holy Spirit. This brings us to our lessons for today:
1. God is Too Great to be Understood by Humans
Hear what Saint Columbanus has to say concerning the Trinity: “Who is God? He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God… Just as the depth of the sea is invisible to human sight, even so, the godhead of the Trinity is found to be unknowable by human senses.” In other words, God is greater than what our human brain can carry. Before trying to understand God, believe first. God is one, yet He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our Psalmist today sings: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth.”
2. Lessons From God as Trinity
There are three persons perfectly united in one God. God as Trinity teaches us to live in harmony with one another, seeing each other as part of us and ourselves as part of one another. What makes this unity possible?
a. Consultation. At Creation, God spoke: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). Our first reading from the book of Proverbs centres on this creation account of Genesis. It speaks of how God, as Father, was not alone while forming the heavens and the earth. Never think you can succeed or survive alone. No one is an island. Even God is a community of three persons. Always consult with others before making any decisions. As a Christian community, we can only remain united when we regularly communicate with one another and discuss our plans. Staying away from zonal meetings or societal gatherings out of malice is detrimental to our progress as a people.
b. Collaboration. When Mary asked Angel Gabriel how she was going to become the mother of Jesus Christ, he said: “The Holy Spirit (God the Spirit), will come upon you, and the power of the Most High (God the Father) will overshadow you; therefore, the child (God the Son) to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). The Trinity works together, each person playing their part in bringing about the mission at hand. We see this perfect collaboration (team spirit) at the baptism of Jesus. God the Son rising from the water, God the Holy Spirit present in the form of a dove, and God the Father spoke: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).
In today’s first reading, the Book of Proverbs paints a picture of this beautiful unity that exists in the Trinity. “Ages ago, I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth… I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.” (Proverbs 8:23-31). No wonder Genesis 1:26 reads: “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and the cattle, and all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
This is the beauty of team spirit. Life itself is one big collaboration. The plants around us, including trees and rivers, are all playing their part in ensuring our survival. We need them, and they need us. There is no limit to what we can achieve when we all decide to play our part and work for the common good.
c. Contentment. In describing the Holy Spirit, Jesus, in today’s Gospel passage, says: “He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak… He will glorify Me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-14). You see, there is perfect contentment in the Trinity. None of the three persons is trying to take the place of another. There is no competition, no politics, no back-biting. No one is thinking about who gets the glory.
3. God allows suffering in our lives for a Purpose
In today’s second reading, St. Paul teaches us not to be discouraged by whatever suffering we are faced with in life. St. Paul says we should even rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. Suffering ultimately helps bring out the best in us. Tough times don’t last, tough people do.
In Hebrews 12:5-7, the word of God says: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when he punishes you. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
4. Praise God In The Highest Heavens
Our final lesson today comes from our Responsorial Psalm. It says: “When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, the son of man that you care for him?” If we truly took time to comprehend the greatness of God, we would realise how small and insignificant we are before him.
Even though we cannot fully comprehend the Trinity, it doesn’t mean we should not praise God. The very mystery of the Holy Trinity is itself a reason to glorify God. If we could completely understand God, it would mean we could predict God, and that would also mean we could control Him. However, God is the only reality that humans cannot control. This is the reason I invite you today to bow your head in worship.
Let us pray: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be without end. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (The Most Holy Trinity – Solemnity. Liturgical Colour: White. Bible Study: Proverbs 8:22-31, Ps. 8:4-9, Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15).
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu