SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
(Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9; II Corinthians 13:11-13; John 3:16-18)
Today’s readings focus on one of the deepest mysteries of
our Christian faith. From almost the very beginning, the Church has proclaimed
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as God. In time, the triune God came
to be called “the Most Holy Trinity.” For eight centuries there were
controversies about how the three persons relate to one another. Even today
there is misunderstanding of the doctrine. So we may ask: why does the Church
bring the Trinity into the liturgy at all? The answer is not difficult: because
the doctrine of the Trinity shapes the way we live our daily lives.
The Judeo‑Christian understanding of God differs from others.
The defining characteristic of the God of the Bible is not power but love.
Almost all ancient peoples believed that the world was created through battles
among the gods. The culture of Babylon, where the Jewish leaders were exiled for
half a century, offers a typical example. The Babylonians believed that the
great goddess Tiamat represented all the forces of terror: storms, floods,
famine, and invasion by foreign tribes. To defend themselves from disaster, the
lesser gods asked the great god Marduk to protect them from Tiamat. Marduk
agreed to save them on the condition that they become his servants. Then Marduk
cut Tiamat’s body in two to form the sea and the land. Once the world was
established, the gods created human beings to bear the yoke of divine service.
They were in no way equal to the gods—neither their partners, nor their image-bearers,
nor stewards of their lands.
The Babylonian creation story is completely different from
the biblical account. In the Bible, the one God created the world with the
intention of allowing human beings, made in his image, to care for it. In time,
God shared with them his name so they could call upon him in their need. In the
reading from Exodus, God reveals himself as “compassionate and gracious, slow
to anger, rich in mercy and faithfulness.” In other words, God is loving.
The understanding of God as loving expanded with the coming
of Christ. Today’s Gospel speaks of God’s “only Son.” There is great love
between the Father and the Son. Yet the Father handed over his Son to save us
from sin. If it is true that one who loves greatly acts greatly, then this gift
of the Son reveals the Father’s love for us as well. As Saint Paul: “I am
convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor the
present nor the future, nor any powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other
creature will ever be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord” (Rom 8:38‑39).
The love between the Father and the Son is identified as the
Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not merely a common trait of the Father and the Son
like strength. Rather, the Spirit is the dynamic love that unites them forever.
Their mutual love overflows and reaches us so that we may become holy like they
are.
The Most Holy Trinity is utterly unique. It cannot be
described easily. What distinguishes the three persons? It is not what they
think for all three think alike. Nor is what they want for all three want the
same. Nor is it where they are for wherever one is, the other two are present.
Nor is it what they do; what one does, the others do as well. The only way they
differ is in their relationships with one another. One is Father, another is
Son, and another is the Spirit of love.
The doctrine of the Trinity serves to remind us of the
priority of love in our behavior. Just as the Father loves the Son and the Son
loves the Father, so we are called to love one another.
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