Three In One, One In Three
May 19, 2008
Today’s Reading: John 3:16-18
An elderly bishop visited a small parish to administer the sacrament of confirmation. He asked the candidates if anyone could give a definition of the Holy Trinity. One girl raised her hand and said, softly, “The Holy Trinity is one God in three persons.” The bishop, who was hard of hearing said, “I don’t understand what you said.” The girl replied, “You’re not supposed to – it’s a mystery!”
It is a mystery, and our human minds may have difficulty grasping idea of one God in three persons – but that’s all right. The girl was correct - we do not have to understand everything – especially the enormity of God. Thinking that they could is what got Adam and Eve into trouble.
Today’s gospel does not tell us what the Trinity is – just what the Trinity does. “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.”
God loves the world so much that he sends part of Himself - his Son - who gives his life for us, rises from the dead, and ascends to the Father. Then, He shares his Spirit with us.
The Trinity is not an abstract concept – disconnected from our ordinary experience. It is the saving action of God – the consequences of God’s love for all humanity.
Time after time, we turn away from God’s love. We follow, not God’s will, but our own. God’s response to our disobedience is not punishment, but pardon – not condemnation, but salvation.
God’s love and forgiveness is available to everyone – but not everyone takes advantage of it. There is the necessity for faith – for belief in God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
What about those who do not believe in Jesus - are they condemned? God does not condemn anyone – but those who reject Jesus condemn themselves. Rejection of Jesus implies full knowledge of him. It can only come through deliberate rejection - from actions that betray a determination to knowingly turn away from God’s love.
Those who have never known Jesus have not rejected Him. They are subject to God’s mercy. However, those who knowingly turn away from Him must seek pardon and forgiveness.
The Good News — is that whatever a person might have done, however determined to reject God’s love a person might be – the door is always open. God loves the world and wants everyone to be saved. God anxiously waits on the most disobedient sinner to accept the salvation Christ won for us.
Ours is a dynamic and loving God – intimately involved in the world and in the lives of all humanity. The key to understanding God is love. God loves us all – and despite the many rejections he has to put up with God keeps on loving us.
In our first reading, Moses acknowledged that, “This is indeed a stiff-necked people.” Like the ancient Israelites, we do not often know what is good for us. We break God’s commandments and reject God’s love over and over again. We attribute to God all kinds of motives and actions that have nothing to do with Him. We blame God for all our ills. Yet, God still loves us.
Knowing all we do about God – knowing how utterly dependent we are – how, but for God’s love, we would be sunk in our own sin and selfishness - knowing all these things – no one should complain when asked to give God just one hour a week in worship.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, does not give us a long and dense theological discourse about the Holy Trinity. He gives us a simple prayer that describes the essence of the mystery of the Trinity. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us today – and always.
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