The Most Holy Trinity

A young man searched the mountains of Nepal in order to find a renowned holy man. Upon encountering the youth, the wise man inquired, “What can I do for you, young man?” The young seeker answered, “Sir, please explain God to me.” The holy man smiled broadly and said, “Young man, a God so easily explained is a God who should not be worshipped.”

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Entrance: “Blest be God the Father, and the Only Begotten Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit, for He has shown us His merciful love.”

First Reading:  Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9 – “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God.”

Psalm: Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55 – “Glory and praise forever!”

Second Reading: 2 Cor 13:11-13 – “The grace of Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.”

Alleluia: Rev 1:8 – “Alleluia, alleluia. Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia, alleluia.”

Gospel: Jn 3:16-18 – “God sent His Son that the world might be saved through Him.”

Communion: Gal 4:6 – “Since you are children of God, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit who cries out: Abba, Father.”

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If a God easily explained should not be worshipped, then we’ve got the right God! I think they are fitting words for Trinity Sunday.

It has also been said that more heresy is preached during the weekend we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity than in any other homily preached during the year. That may or may not be true, but it does highlight the confusion generated by the concept of three persons in one God. Talking about the Trinity only gets us so far. The fullest affirmation of God is not about mysterious and complex theological language. The fullest affirmation of God is simply that God is love. Love, relationship, and community are at the root of the mystery of the Trinity.

I’ve always thought that this Sunday, when we as the Church celebrate the Most Holy Trinity, should be referred to as “Mystery Sunday.” What we are celebrating today is the very nature of God, which at the end of the day is always a mystery. This isn’t to say that we don’t have an understanding of what or who the Trinity is ... we have centuries of thought and argument to bring us to such an understanding. However, we should always be reminded that our human understanding of God is limited. The ways in which God works, in us, and through us, is not something we can even begin to wrap our heads around.

In the First Reading this weekend from Exodus, we are reminded of that mystery, as the Lord descends from a cloud to stand with Moses on the mountainside. In that exchange, we find a most poetic descriptor for the Creator: “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”

Saint Paul, in his Second Letter to the people of Corinth, describes the Trinity in terms of grace, love, and fellowship. The God of love and peace would be with the Corinthians if they encourage one another and live in peace. The emphasis here is important – Paul is describing the ways in which God shows up in the midst of community. God works through people who are in a loving relationship with one another, just as the three Persons of the Trinity are in an eternal loving relationship with each other.

Saint Paul was writing to the people of Corinth, a people divided much like we as a people are divided today. In that division, people were losing sight of their call to community, a call that is heard throughout all of Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The logic behind the biblical focus of community is simple. When you’re looking at only yourself, it’s you against the world. When you’re looking out for others in the community, and they in turn are hopefully looking out for you, it’s the community together that faces the challenges, setbacks, and opportunities the world offers. Think of the adage, “united we stand, divided we fall.” When a community stands united in relationship, that’s where God, a community of three Persons ... Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, shows up.

Dr. Paul Brand, a physician known for his pioneering work in eliminating leprosy, tells the story of a lecture he heard by the anthropologist Margaret Mead. In her lecture, Dr. Mead discussed what she believed, after years and years of research, was the earliest sign of civilization. Her archeological digs produced all kinds of artifacts – from household goods to farming implements. However, Mead asserted that the earliest sign of human civilization was actually a healed leg bone.

Dr. Brand writes in his book, “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1980): “Dr. Mead explained that such healings were never found in the remains of more competitive societies. There, clues of violence abounded: temples pierced by arrows and skulls often crushed by clubs. But the healed femur showed that someone must have cared for that injured person – hunted on his behalf, brought him food, and took served him at personal sacrifice. Other societies could not afford such pity.”

There are a lot of people in the world with broken arms and broken legs right now. The pain and fear being carried by our brothers and sisters, and by ourselves, is staggering. We as a Church – one that believes in a Triune God ... a God who lives in relationship – are called to respond.

How do we do that? We show up, we listen, and we accompany one another. Community … Relationship … Love. Sound familiar? Such ministry, rooted in our Baptism, requires no training or degree. It only requires an open heart and patient ears.

The holy man of Nepal whom we met at the beginning of this homily told the young seeker that a God easily explained must not be worshipped. And so that leaves our God as highly worship-able, indeed! Every time we gather to encounter this God in assembly, through the Word and through the Eucharist, we become part of the mystery. We need to approach the Holy Trinity as our mystery and our identity. God created man in His own image – it’s not the other way around.

We are reminded in this weekend’s Gospel text of the Incarnation, that moment when God, in the Person of Jesus, became human and dwelt among us. Perhaps Jesus is the one Person of the Trinity who is less mysterious than the others because we can relate to His humanity. Today, the Incarnation continues – in each and every one of us who believe. That ongoing revelation of God’s love is not found by individuals set apart, but in the midst of the beloved community we create and foster. Relationship … Community … Love.