Holy Trinity

May 18, 2008


The Ultimate Wine Tasting


In the beginning there was absolutely nothing - the earth had no form, all was dark, but over that darkness brooded the Spirit of God.

And then the God who is light, the God who can never let darkness have the upper hand, began to speak: Let there be light- and there was.

God spoke again and again, “let there be” and when he had finished six later, when he had finished speaking, creation had come into being.

That is all it took: God said - it happened - and God saw that it was good, it was very, very good.

How pristine and beautiful it must have been, with the light of God shining on a new world that was literally teeming with life - a world in which there was the incredible beauty of newly created trees and forests, mountains and oceans, birds flying through the air, fish teeming in the waters, the newly created creatures and cattle swarming freely over the earth.

How pristine and beautiful it must have been with no pollution, no noise, no destruction of the trees and forests, no global warming, no endangered species, no violence, no injustice, no hatred, no terrorism, no prejudice and no death.

No wonder that God looked down and saw that it was very, very, good.

Yet, there was something missing.

God is love, and love has to have an object, love is freely given, and love must freely be returned so God said: “Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over all living creatures on earth.”

So, God indeed created humanity and literally placed the pristine creation into their hands.

But, what does God mean by “let us” and “our image”?

It would seem that there was some kind of divine conversation going on.

And, indeed there was, for back in the beginning, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit held a divine conversation and made a divine decision to make us in their image.

As St. John tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God, all things were made though him.”

As we look at the world today, we might wonder if that divine conversation led to a good decision, for there seems to be a global lack of love these days all across God’s creation.

Yet, God made the choice to create us, and we are indeed created in his image of love, and, in fact, in creating us, God invited us into the inner circle of the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Dear hearts, we were created to be in the midst of the life of God.

I call your attention to the bulletin insert of Andrew Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity.  (reproduced below)

This wonderful icon was written in 1425, and, there, as you see, there are, appropriately, three figures.

However, you will notice that the circle is not closed, it is open, and the three are sitting at a table which seems to be set for a meal.

This icon was inspired by the story of Abraham, who was perched under a tree one day when he saw three men approaching him.

That isn’t particularly unusual, but listen to what Abraham says: “My Lord.”  Iinteresting way to address three people, isn’t it?

Then he says: “if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.

Let water be brought and wash you feet and let me bring food that you may refresh yourselves.”

And then Abraham, as the host, sits down and eats with God.

The God who created the heavens and the earth, sitting down to eat with those he created?

Centuries later, God invited Moses and the elders of Israel up to the top of the mountain, and there “they saw the God of Israel.

They beheld God, and they ate and they drank.”

We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when, several thousand years later, the same God who dined with Abraham, who hosted Moses and elders of Israel, kneels down, washes human feet, and then is the host at the banquet table where he says; “Take and eat, this is my body given for you, do this in remembrance of me.

Drink you all of this, for this is the blood of the New Covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins, do so in remembrance of me.”

It would seem, then, that God desperately wants us to join the inner circle of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Henri Nouwen explains our life in the Holy Trinity by telling us: “All human relationships are reflections of the relationship with God.

God is the Lover, the Beloved, and the love that binds us in unity.

God invites us to be part of that inner movement of love so that we can truly become sons and daughters of the Father, sisters and brothers of the Son, and spouse of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, all our human relationships can be lived in God, and as witnesses to God’s divine presence in our living.” (Ford, Michael: Eternal Seasons, page 143)

Today as we celebrate our lives in the inner circle of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we must honestly take a look at ourselves and see if we are truly living in the circle of God’s love, or do we choose to dwell elsewhere in circles of our own making.

And, if we are indeed created in the image of God, if indeed we are in the circle of God’s love, then, as God is creator, we are to be co-creators with him in order to permeate creation with his love.

After the resurrection, Jesus makes it clear that we have a creative and responsible task to work hand in hand with God in the world.

Jesus said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

God is creator, and you and I right here, right now, are challenged to be co-creators in order to make this creation as beautiful as possible.

We are to care for the entire world as he cared for it, never polluting it, never using it in ways that will make it less livable for the next generation.

If God is love, then we are to be co-lovers of absolutely all humanity, without exception.

Jesus made this abundantly clear when he said: “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.”

And that love, dear hearts, is a creative love that can change this frightening world.

Look again at Rublev’s icon: who are the three figures who are, at first glance, identical?

The one on the right is the Holy Spirit, and if you look at the right hand, it is in the shape of a dove.

God the Son is in the center, holding out two fingers telling us that he is Son of God and Son of Man.

They both look toward the Father who is seated on the left.

But, the icon doesn’t seem complete.

Look at the center - it appears to be empty - or is it?

That is where you and I are invited to paint a portrait of our selves, and that happens when we love as God loves, when we create beauty as God creates, and when we, like God, invite others to join us at our table.

Then, and only then, is the circle of God’s love complete.

Amen.

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