Prov. 8:22-31; Rom. 5:1-5; Jn. 16:12-5
Today the church invites us to reflect on the deep meaning enclosed in the following verse of the Credo.
I believe in God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and became
man.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.
Human terms fail to express the wonderful life that goes on between the three Divine Persons, but it is a fact that God has called us to share in that life.
From the very beginning of time, God is not seen as a singular individual, but a relational being, a trinity. The three persons of the trinity are equal – the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit – they are not in a hierarchy, they are co-equal, constantly giving and receiving from one another. If God is Trinity then equality is at the heart of what it means to be human as we are made in the image of God.
One of the best books about the Trinity was written late in the 12th century by Richard, a priest who lived and taught at the abbey of St. Victor, just outside of Paris. Richard believed that the Trinity was indeed a mystery, but most importantly the Mystery of Love. Perfect love begets from eternity another to love, and the perfect love they share produces, also from eternity, a third who receives not just the love of the one, but the love of the two. This third is constituted perfectly and eternally by the love of the two. In other words, perfect love is not singular, it’s plural and unifying. It is a unity that is unbreakable and eternal. And it’s not just something shared between two persons, inwardly preoccupied and facing their relationship, but outward looking. Perfect love is excessive, generous, and overflowing. It wants to be shared with many, wants to draw others into that harmony. This is the Trinity. That mysterious source of all love, all harmony. We also have to let the relationship of the three persons begin to re-create us, to change our goals, to reshape what we live for.
Grasping the concept of Trinity is very hard. Or rather, it is impossible. Still many tried to explain it as understandable to our limited intelligence.
A painting called “Shield of the Trinity” featured in manuscripts and in many stained-glass windows has the word, “Deus,” inscribed in the center with lines leading out to three points, which are labeled:
“The Father is God”
“The Son is God”
“The Holy Spirit is God”
This is a simple explanation of Trinity.
Once a Believer tried to explain the concept of Trinity to a friend. He said, “Well, you see, there are three persons in one nature”.
—“Tell me more.”
Believer: There is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
—“Ah, I see, three gods.”
Believer: Oh, no! Only one God.
—“But you said, “You called the Father God, which is one; and you called the Son God, which makes two, and you called the Holy Spirit God, which makes three.”
The Trinity, as St. Paul tells us, is the means by which God pours love into our hearts, and then slowly begins to teach us, day by day, how to live in that love, how to share it with others, how to be Christ’s followers in a broken world.
Once a preacher interpreted Jesus’ feeding the 5,000 in a different way. He said that in all likelihood all of the people who were there actually had food with them but it was only after they saw the young boy give his loves and fishes to Jesus that they dared to take their food out from wherever they had it hidden on their persons. To him the miracle was that Jesus gave them the ability to share with others and not in the miraculous multiplication of the five loaves and two fishes!
The feast of Holy Trinity reiterates that we are made in the image of God. Therefore we should cherish the concept of Unity and develop the ability to share and show concern for others.
One of the great stories of unity in the Bible is in Second Chronicles 20, the account of Jehoshaphat’s leading the people of God to a great victory. Three armies had joined forces against Jehoshaphat, and still, Jehoshaphat and his army became victorious.
There is story of a young man who lived alone in a big city. He returned home at a fixed time every day and bought fruits and vegetables. The shop he visited, was run by an old lady. The young man told her, “Grandma, I think the fruits and vegetables that you sold me the other day were rotten. Will you check them?”
The old woman took a bite from one of the fruits and found them to be perfectly all right. She told the man, “Son, I think these are fine to eat. You can safely take them home.” The man reluctantly agreed. This incident repeated itself for several days. The man bought fruits and vegetables from the old lady’s shop and demanded that she checked them for rot or bitterness.
Finally, fed up of the ordeal, the woman asked him, “Why do you do this every day?” The young man did not answer, but the narrator explained.
The man kept insisting the old woman to take a bite or two of fruits because she looked frail. He noticed her working without breaks and decided that the best way to help her get nutrition was for him to pretend that her fruits were rotten just so that she could check them.
Once, a greens seller who sat in the store next to the old woman asked her, “Why do you keep entertaining this fellow?”
The old woman replied, “Because I know he cares about me and only comes here to ensure I eat. He thinks I am not aware of his act of kindness, but I am. Whenever he is not looking, I slip a portion of extra fruits or vegetables into his bag.”
This story reminds us that we are created in the image of God and we have to be examples of Unity and kindness.
Satish