What does this doctrine of the Trinity tell us about the kind of God we worship and the kind of people we should be?
The Gospel just proclaimed comes near the end of Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper and is an example of the implicit teaching on the Trinity. Jesus tells his disciples that the Spirit will declare what the Spirit hears from Jesus. Elsewhere Jesus says, “The Father and I are one.” If Jesus and the Father are one and the Spirit speaks what Jesus says, it follows that the three must be one. Further evidence found in Scripture regarding the doctrine of the Trinity is found in the other readings for the feast but if one expects today’s readings to give a clear presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity – they will be disappointed.
The important question for us is: What does this doctrine of the Trinity tell us about the kind of God we worship and what does this say about the kind of people we should be? With our three-fold vows, we are reminded of our commitment to a balance of prayer, labor and leisure. We pray many times a day, in various ways, the familiar words of one of the first prayers many of us learned: the “Glory Be” in honor of, and thanksgiving for, the revelation of the Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit.
This inner relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is such that each of them is fully and equally God, yet there are not three Gods but one God. This is incomprehensible to the human mind. It is a mystery. Together the three Persons in the Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit represent the fullness of love. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. The Spirit is their love for each other. But love is only a word until someone gives it meaning. We are made in the image of a triune God – God the Father, who created us, his Son who saved us, and the Holy Spirit who continues to guide us. To be true to our calling we must be the ones who give meaning to Love in our world. As Paul says in the second reading to the Romans: We did not receive the spirit of slavery, but of adoption … we are heirs of God with Christ and destined to be glorified with him.”
On this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, we are privileged, not merely in commemorating a doctrine, but in celebrating and entering into a communion of Persons who have loved us into being, redeemed us from ourselves, and continue to call us each day to a fuller experience, a deeper lived knowledge, of God. As long as we have our feet planted “this side of the grass” it makes sense that we might not be able to completely understand how something can be “one” and “three” at the same time. One last comparison: Consider the egg you might have had for breakfast: yolk, white and shell – three parts, one egg. Your personal interpretation will ultimately be your best guide, and the only answer you need.
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
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