Most every year as we celebrate the feast of The Most Holy Trinity my mind returns to an 8th grade classroom and a tall red-haired nun, in a modified black habit with a short veil -- Sister Mary Janelle. I recall her patiently helping my classmates and myself as we wrestled with the concept of the Holy Trinity: three Persons who were at the same time separate, yet one.
As she went through theological gymnastics trying to help us understand, ultimately, she conceded that it was a mystery…a mystery with a capital “M”. At the time my classmates and I felt it was a bit of a “cop-out” on her part…but now 50 years later I have come to see her wisdom, and have come to be comfortable with, and truly enjoy the concept of resting in the “Mystery” which is The Triune God.
We live in a society that demands to know all things, to have concrete explanations for everything, and to have it right now! All we have to do is “Google it”! But the reality is that ultimately God is beyond the fullness of our understanding. Today I realize that I am part of a religious tradition that has passed on a faith…a faith filled with mystery and awe in our God. There is a consensus of our ancestors that holds sacred “revealed truths” that are essentials of our faith that will always lie just beyond our capacity to fully understand them.
At the core of the reality of the Holy Trinity is the concept of relationship, of interconnectedness. It teaches us about the relationship of the three Persons of the Trinity; not just in their interconnectedness, but also in The Trinity’s relationship to us and our relationship to one another, in and through this Triune God.
Remember in the Gospel of John the indwelling nature between the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are key elements of John’s theology. In the Gospel Jesus says, I am in the Father and the Father is in me…and we will send an Advocate, and this Advocate, the Holy Spirit is from them and in them. It is this same Holy Spirit whom we receive at Baptism and Confirmation. And so, we need to remember that This Divine indwelling goes beyond just the Holy Spirit, for as Jesus proclaims that “I am in my Father, and you in me and I in you.” (John 14: 20).
The Holy Spirit has been sent into our hearts to lead us headlong into The Mystery…to live out in concrete terms what we say we believe even though we do not fully understand.
Our lack of understanding has no impact on The Mystery itself. The Mystery -- God desires us and loves us just as we are…conflicted and wrestling with our faith.
One of the most important realities is that we remain engaged…wrestling with our faith… engaged with God and engaged with each other, “all others”!
Remaining engaged in the struggle for understanding and keeping open hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit -- the bringer of wisdom -- ultimately brings us closer to God and closer to one another.
And what wisdom and understanding is the Holy Spirit trying to bring us today in the midst of the light that is being shined on the darkness, of the sin of the systemic racism and bigotry that is woven into the very fabric of our nation? What wisdom and insight is the Holy Spirit trying to impart to us as to how to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas? What wisdom is the Holy Spirit seeking to impart to us on how we might grow closer to the Triune God through putting Jesus’ commandment to love one another into action in our daily lives with ALL our sisters and brothers, even with those with whom we disagree?
May the blessings of our Triune God be upon you all,
Fr. Tim
As she went through theological gymnastics trying to help us understand, ultimately, she conceded that it was a mystery…a mystery with a capital “M”. At the time my classmates and I felt it was a bit of a “cop-out” on her part…but now 50 years later I have come to see her wisdom, and have come to be comfortable with, and truly enjoy the concept of resting in the “Mystery” which is The Triune God.
We live in a society that demands to know all things, to have concrete explanations for everything, and to have it right now! All we have to do is “Google it”! But the reality is that ultimately God is beyond the fullness of our understanding. Today I realize that I am part of a religious tradition that has passed on a faith…a faith filled with mystery and awe in our God. There is a consensus of our ancestors that holds sacred “revealed truths” that are essentials of our faith that will always lie just beyond our capacity to fully understand them.
At the core of the reality of the Holy Trinity is the concept of relationship, of interconnectedness. It teaches us about the relationship of the three Persons of the Trinity; not just in their interconnectedness, but also in The Trinity’s relationship to us and our relationship to one another, in and through this Triune God.
Remember in the Gospel of John the indwelling nature between the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are key elements of John’s theology. In the Gospel Jesus says, I am in the Father and the Father is in me…and we will send an Advocate, and this Advocate, the Holy Spirit is from them and in them. It is this same Holy Spirit whom we receive at Baptism and Confirmation. And so, we need to remember that This Divine indwelling goes beyond just the Holy Spirit, for as Jesus proclaims that “I am in my Father, and you in me and I in you.” (John 14: 20).
The Holy Spirit has been sent into our hearts to lead us headlong into The Mystery…to live out in concrete terms what we say we believe even though we do not fully understand.
Our lack of understanding has no impact on The Mystery itself. The Mystery -- God desires us and loves us just as we are…conflicted and wrestling with our faith.
One of the most important realities is that we remain engaged…wrestling with our faith… engaged with God and engaged with each other, “all others”!
Remaining engaged in the struggle for understanding and keeping open hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit -- the bringer of wisdom -- ultimately brings us closer to God and closer to one another.
And what wisdom and understanding is the Holy Spirit trying to bring us today in the midst of the light that is being shined on the darkness, of the sin of the systemic racism and bigotry that is woven into the very fabric of our nation? What wisdom and insight is the Holy Spirit trying to impart to us as to how to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, in the midst of the war between Israel and Hamas? What wisdom is the Holy Spirit seeking to impart to us on how we might grow closer to the Triune God through putting Jesus’ commandment to love one another into action in our daily lives with ALL our sisters and brothers, even with those with whom we disagree?
May the blessings of our Triune God be upon you all,
Fr. Tim
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