Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 4, 2023 - Sunday after Pentecost: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - A
[Exod 34:4b-6, 8-9; 2 Cor 13:11-13; John 3:16-18]The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. [2 Corinthians]
These words from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians should seem familiar to us. They are one of the ways in which the celebration of the Eucharist begins. Because St. Paul's letters antedate the four gospels, his words show at least the beginnings of the Christian understanding of the very nature of God as three "persons" in one God. The full-blown understanding (at least as far as human understanding can go) of the Holy Trinity that we have today would take some time to develop. For Christians, the fundamental statement of the nature of God is contained in the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) and even this was disputed between the eastern and western church (the "Filioque" dispute about the "processions" of the Trinity). But, as St. Augustine has said, "It's not a lie but a mystery!"
Many folks prefer to leave the inner workings of the Holy Trinity (the "immanent Trinity") to theological scholars and concentrate on what is called the "economic Trinity," i.e. the effects of the Holy Trinity in daily life. We begin life as a Christian when we are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." We physically express this in "the Sign of the Cross." We touch holy water at the entrance of the church and make that Sign of the Cross. We begin much of our prayer with that prayer! The words from St. Paul in today's second scripture are an example!
The first Sunday after Pentecost is set aside to recognize the importance of our belief in God as One God - Three Persons. Perhaps we might pay more attention to the words the next time we make the Sign of the Cross! AMEN