We know from other Gospel readings that Nicodemus went to speak with Jesus first under cover of darkness. It was his role to “break the ice” because he was the leading Pharisee in the group. He wouldn’t risk open association with Jesus, this strange but compelling teacher, until he had verified and tested his credentials. (You know: He verified Jesus had safe environment training and a clean driving record.) We can be forever grateful to Nicodemus that he approached Jesus. For his courage, we thank, God, for taking this risk. His encounter with Jesus has left us with words that have been quoted lovingly among Christians ever since. The passage from John 3:16 is a thumbnail sketch of God’s initiative on our behalf. “God so loved the world that He gave his only son.” Our entire life in return is a grateful response to God.
The response to “I love you” is ordinarily not “What do you want me to do about that?” It is “I love you, too,” followed spontaneously by evidence that we mean what we say. Believing this way takes a lifetime for some, an instant for others. Time is irrelevant. From the moment we begin to want to believe in this way, we become truly Christian. It really is that simple.
Today we celebrate the reality of the Holy Trinity. Our triune God is, of course, a mystery – an incomprehensible concept. How is it that three Persons exist together in one trinity of being? Thankfully, mysteries can be talked about. They can be described. They have clues that our minds can grasp. But a mystery remains a mystery unless and until we grasp it in its totality. When it comes to God, we simply cannot grasp the total reality of God.
Mysteries, after all, are made up of clues that can be talked about. In a mystery story the author gives hints, clues to piece together in order to see the whole picture. In God’s mystery story, the Holy Trinity, we have lots of clues. When we pursue them and piece them together, we get a good glimpse into what kind of a being our God is. Our God is all about love. When we live in love we live in God, and God lives in us. Living in love, however, does not mean we all must be the same. That’s not written anywhere. The Father is a distinct Person, the Son is a distinct Person, and the Holy Spirit is a distinct Person. Distinct though they are, they exist in one being of infinite love; they exist in one unbreakable bond, in one infinite union of being together.
While that all remains a mystery to us, it is not so mysterious that we cannot live with each other in a reality of life that reflects and shares in the reality of God’s life. To live a God-like life we must build-up and affirm one another and see the best in each other. We must be self-sacrificing and not self-centered. We must be giving rather than grasping, offering hope rather than mutual misery. We must seek to heal rather than rub salt on the wound. It is in shared living that we not only belong but also where we discover, nurture, and affirm our own unique and individual personalities. It is in living the reality of being truly a family in Christ that we have a glimpse into the life of the Trinity: Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There is story about one of the great theologians of the 20th Century, Karl Barth. When he was in New York for a conference, at the end of his talk he asked if anyone had any questions. He got a few questions about what he had been talking about, some theological questions that, quite frankly, were rather boring. Then someone asked Barth what in all his years of Biblical study was, for him, the greatest theological discovery he had made. He was quiet for a moment, pondering and he then responded that there was one truth that really had become real to him as he spent more and more time studying scripture and trying to know God better. And that truth was, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
This one simple truth can be argued for children and yet has so much meaning and power. It is also the truth that one of the great theologians of this last century claimed as central to his whole understanding of theology. This simple truth comes to us as a children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know”.
We all have different views about who God is and what God is like. Early on I fell in love with God the Spirit … always with me … touching me lightly on my head, holding my hand as I drift asleep.
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
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