Have you ever looked out of an airplane window at thirty-thousand feet and wondered what it would be like to be God? Seeing the earth from five miles up is an impressive sight, seeing the wrinkles of the Rocky Mountains or the U-turns of the Mississippi give me a feeling of awe. What must God see when he looks down on this planet?
Ancient people wondered about this too, even without the experience of airplanes. In their imagination, they saw their gods looking down from on high, perhaps from Mount Olympus, or from Valhalla. Their gods flew above the earth, they were really not part of it. Even the God of the Israelites was known as El Shaddahi, the God of the mountain. Generations later, Yahweh appeared to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai. The most holy place of all was Mount Zion. But then, something occurred which changed all of that. “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.”
Today is Trinity Sunday, the feast day when we celebrate our One God in three divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On such a day, a homilist might say this is an unexplainable mystery. I could say that, too, and then sit down, having given one of the shortest homilies you’ve ever heard me give! Although some of you might prefer it that way, Father Ed says I have to do more than that, otherwise I might set a bad example, and you might expect he should give two-minute homilies on Sundays!
Yes, the Trinity is a mystery which cannot really be explained but must be accepted. However, I do believe it’s worthwhile for us to reflect on what the Trinity means to each one of us. So, the focus of my reflection for today is on what the Trinity means to me. I also need to mention what the Trinity is not. It’s not three separate things. Whatever I might say about God-the-Father is equally true for God-the-Son and God-the-Holy Spirit. That’s what makes it a mystery.
Today is also Flag Day. And it would be tempting to think of the Trinity in terms of the red, white and blue of the flag. After all, the flag has a meaning only when all three colors are present. Take one away and you don’t have a U.S. flag. In that way, the flag is a little like the Trinity. But in our flag, the three colors are always completely separate. Somehow in the Trinity, the three persons, although distinct, are never separate.
All of this can become very much of a head-trip. From time to time the Trinity has been called the toy of the theologians, meaning the idea is so abstract only theologians can play around with it. But the Trinity, our God, is not for just theologians. The Trinity, our Three-in-One God, is for you and for me. So, what do I mean when I think about the Trinity?
First, of all, I think about the Father. For me, God, the Almighty, was originally a white-bearded grandfather figure. And that’s what he was for the Hebrews too. In our first reading from Exodus, Yahweh-God described himself to Moses. Yahweh-God said that he, himself, was “ … merciful, gracious … slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” Isn’t that a description for most grandfathers you know? After all, most grandparents are usually more understanding of little kids than their parents are. Sometimes we hear descriptions of God as Father, or Abba, and have trouble relating to this image because of problems we’ve had with our own father. In fact, in some non-European cultures, where the biological father was not around, and the true support came from the grandfather, early missionaries spoke of God-our-Grandfather, rather than God-our-Father
When we speak of the Trinity and say God-our-Father, what we are really saying is that God is someone who offers us warmth, protection, mercy, kindness, forgiveness (just like a papa or mama does, or a favorite grandpa or grandma or uncle or aunt does.) God offers me a lap to cuddle up in, and warm arms to hug me. When I say God-our-Father, I mean God is like the perfect parent I long for.
But God is more than that. God is also my perfect brother. And since I’m an only child, this person is like the perfect brother or sister I never saw but dreamed about. God-the-Son is that perfect sibling. God-the-Son is like a friend or companion. He is also a guide or teacher. But he’s not an authority figure.
Think for a moment, of your very best friend, your buddy, your pal, your favorite brother or favorite sister. Now then, God-my-Best-Friend is just like that. God is someone I can laugh with, or cry with. God is someone I can argue with and still speak with when the argument ends. God is someone I can tell my secrets to who won’t laugh and will not think I’m either crazy or bad. God-my-Best-Friend is someone who listens to me no matter what I say or when I say it. My best friend also challenges me to be better than I think I can be. My best friend shares my experiences and helps me see what they mean in my life. While God-the-Father gives me comfort, God-the-Son gives me companionship.
And what about God-the-Holy-Spirit? Here we need to reflect for a moment on how we say that God is Love. The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father, the love of the parent for the child and of the child for the parent. The Holy Spirit is, also, the love between two best-friends, between perfect brothers or sisters. The Holy Spirit is love and also the lover. The Holy Spirit is not only the lover but also the beloved. Every lover and every beloved experience the strength and the courage which come from the love they share. When we truly are in love, we say we’d climb the highest mountain or swim the deepest ocean.
But love is even more than that. When you are truly in love, you can close your eyes and feel the presence of the lover, of the beloved. You can be half a world away from one another and still be present to one another. And this is what Jesus, the Son of God, promised to each of us. He promised he and his Father would send us a lover and a beloved who would defend us, strengthen us, give us the gifts of the Father. One who would always be with us. When we speak of the Trinity and say God-the-Holy-Spirit, what we are really saying is that God is like the lover, the beloved, who is constantly within me, who is as real to me as anything I can touch, because this lover/beloved is part of me. While God-the-Father gives me comfort, and God-the-Son gives me companionship, God-the-Holy-Spirit gives me completeness.
A few minutes ago, when I began this reflection, I used the image of an almighty God flying above the earth, or looking down on mere mortals from some high mountain. But such a God is not our Trinitarian God. Our God does not soar above us. He is not some external power who judges us and condemns us. In the words of today’s Gospel: “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” Our Trinitarian God, instead of being above us, is with us, as a parent, as a companion and as our completeness. Yes, most important, our God is within us, within you and within me. He calls each one of us to recognize and honor this fact, to live in harmony and peace with ourselves and with others. In this way, the God of love and peace will be with you.
What more can I add than the greeting of St Paul to the brothers and sisters at Corinth? “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Trinity Sunday; June 14, 1987
Ex 34:4-6, 8-9; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18