We are celebrating the feast of the Holy
Trinity. But I have to begin with a
confession. I never look forward to preaching
about the Trinity. If you read about the
Trinity, the theologians who write such books always end up saying something
like: “Well, we really can’t understand the Trinity. It’s a mystery of faith. So, just say yes to it.” But I can’t do that. I can’t – nor should I – nor should we – say
yes to what we don’t understand. I don’t
mean completely understand. When it
comes to God, we will never completely understand. But we are conscience-bound to try to
understand as much as we can.
There’s something else that causes me
difficulty when it comes to preaching about the Trinity. It has a lot to do with our
imaginations. I find that when we talk
about Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we almost always imagine an old man, a
younger man and a white bird/dove somehow existing up in the clouds. They’re happy. We say they’re eternally happy to be where
they are. And we hope they’ll welcome us
to join with them when our lives are finished here on earth. But frankly I find that scene
unsatisfying. It’s not something that
can get me out of bed in the morning – much less motivate my whole life.
The Church asks us today to take some time and
reflect on the Trinity and its meaning – its real meaning for our lives. And it’s only right that we do that. The Church tells us the Trinity is the core
truth of what our Catholic tradition has to say about the way God is. Trinity describes the way God lives and
acts. If you think about that – and
think about God being the creator and sustainer of all that is – and if you
further think that we are made in the image of God – then Trinity is about what
it’s all about. Trinity describes the
life of God and so the life he breathed into all creation and into us.
I hope what I am saying is making some sense
to you. I think so much depends on how
we understand God’s life. That
understanding will shape our understanding of ourselves, our world and how we
are to live. So, what does our tradition
tell us about God’s life? What does it
mean to say God is Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit?
I want to answer keeping it simple – because
that’s where the big truths are found – where it’s simple – like the beauty of
an infant’s smile. And I want to answer
without benefit of the trio of old man, younger man and white dove. Let’s keep it utterly simple and plain.
Trinity says that God’s life is lived by giving that life away. God lives by giving himself away. God does not hold on to himself – but just
lets himself go.
If we see that – again keeping it very simple
– then we can begin to sense what the early Christians meant when they said –
in all simplicity – “God is Love”. If we
see that – keeping it simple – then we can begin to make sense of Jesus’ life
and words and especially his death where he did not cling to himself. And if we can see that –this utterly simple
truth – then we will begin to sense the presence of the breath of God’s life in
us – what we call “the Spirit of God” – moving us not to cling to ourselves –
just like Jesus.
When we speak of faith, we mean that movement
in our lives where we give ourselves over to God – where we entrust ourselves
over to God’s care. Trinity – what we
celebrate and reflect on today – tells us our faith is a wonderful response to
and reflection of God’s faith. God has
entrusted himself – entrusted his very life and way of living – over to
us. We live God’s life now. Heaven has come down to earth. The Trinity is what it’s all about – what
we’re all about.
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