Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson
A genuine gift and quiet joy comes into our lives with all true friendship and any other form of love between ourselves and another person. Both are bound up by the self-revelation of one to the other. Priceless. The true “Spice of Life.”
The Gospels reveal that one of Our Lord’s “jobs” was to teach us as much about God as our tiny minds could handle. To get His message we must put aside the popular picture given to us by artists over the centuries can be a drawback to grasping the truth of the matter. You know the one I mean. God the Father is portrayed as an old man with a white beard, somewhat resembling the writer, Mark Twain; Jesus is a handsome young man in His prime; and the Holy Spirit is a bird with a neutral expression, and all Three surrounded by rays of light. A harmless depiction at its root but not always helpful. Who, for example, wants to pray to a bird?
The reality we celebrate on this feast of the Most Holy Trinity is not just the fact of their reality, but also of its implications for our lives. Three distinct Persons existing in love as one God is beyond our understanding. Despite St. Patrick’s shamrock example, there really is nothing in creation for accurate comparison. We will never understand it. Still, God wants us to know the truth of Himself.
The implications of that truth are several. First, that God wants us to know Him as He is to the best of our ability so that we will love Him. Second, that we are created to share ourselves fully with Him in reciprocal love. Third, that the bond between us and God ushers into our hearts the assurance that we are never alone as we walk the road of this earthly passage of ours.
It doesn’t take long in living life to know dark times. They are a test of our love for sure, on a purely human level as well as the divine. But knowing the Holy Trinity cares for us energizes our faith and trust. The pain of those inevitable bouts of loneliness can never strangle our hearts because the grace of God is all powerful, a warm “hug” of consolation like no other. It surpasses even that of our earthly father, whom we honor this calendar day.
No wonder then that we should always be ready to give “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever! Amen.”
God love you.
Rev. Peterson’s Reading & Gospel Summary
Reading I: Proverbs 8: 22-31
Wisdom, personified as a woman. tells us she was present with God before the creation of the world, yet she is distinct from Him. Divine wisdom is uncreated but exemplified in creation.
Reading II: Romans 5: 1-5
Those persons who are justified are endowed with faith, whereby they have access to God’s grace. They also have hope of future glory and true charity, by which they show the love of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
The Gospel: John 16:12-15
The Holy Spirit will lead believers to the fullness of the truth of the Gospel. He also gives us a share in the divine life and the authority of Christ.