Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Hearts Burning Within

The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feasts / Solemnities

The Easter season is over and we are now technically in Ordinary Time but first there are two important Feasts. The readings for Feasts always encompass an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading. All three readings will relate to each other through the theme of the Feast day.

Today’s Readings and the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

The Season of Easter is over and although technically we are in the season of Ordinary Time, we first we have two Solemnities that celebrate particular doctrines: The Trinity and the Body and Blood.

Bishop Arius died in 336. He denied the divinity of Christ by saying “there was a time when Christ was not.” He said Christ was merely an exalted creature. St. Augustine spent much of his life arguing against Arius’ teaching. The Council of Nicea in 325 condemned Arianism by saying that Christ was homoousius – one in being, consubstantial – with the Father, thus affirming Christ’s divinity and solving the dispute in that area. The main product of this council was the Nicean Creed and we’ve been affirming it every Sunday since then!

The Rule of St. Benedict (written around 480AD) prescribes a profound bow at any mention of the Trinity (chp 9). In fact, in the 800-900s, Benedictine monasteries began the practice of celebrating Trinity Sunday the week after Pentecost.

GK Chesterton once said one of the reasons he believed in Christianity was because of its belief in the Trinity. He said if Christianity had been made up by a human person, it would not have at its very center a concept that is impossible to grasp or explain: the idea that God exists as one but in three persons.

The doctrine of the Trinity is nowhere laid out as such in Scripture. What scripture attests to is the experience behind it. And that experience comes down to relationship. We might could call this “Relationship Sunday.”

A bit about Trinitarian theology… My theological studies taught me one very important lesson in the area of the Trinity: the more I say about the Trinity, the more likely I am to say something wrong! With that in mind, I will try to keep these comments brief.

God is not two men and a bird. The Trinity is a metaphor: trying to put words on an ineffable reality. The early church councils chose Father, Son, Spirit language to express that reality because it was given to us by Christ. But we could use other language:
Lover, Beloved, Love Itself (St. Augustine)
Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier
Mother, child, womb
Initiator, Mediator, Unifier
Creator, Lover, Sustainer (Julian of Norwich)
What language for the Trinity most appeals to you?

Sometimes it helps to look at the heresies – what the Trinity is not (besides 2 men and a bird!)

The heresy of Subordinationism says the Son and Holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father who alone is really God. We sometimes use the image of a triangle for the Trinity but this heresy turns that triangle into a hierarchy. Instead the church teaches that all members of the Trinity are equal.

The heresy of Modalism says the Trinity is like 3 modes of one person; one person with different names, something along the lines of “I’m a son to my father, a father to my son, and a husband to my wife.” This reflects one person, one nature, expressing himself in different ways / modes. Instead the church teaches that all members of the Trinity are distinct (not separate but distinct) from one another. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Spirit.

The heresy of Tritheism says there are 3 distinct deities joined together in some kind of moral unity. Instead the church teaches that, although the members of the Trinity are distinct (3 persons) they are all God.

We experience God in 3 ways:
Beyond us – transcendent. The Father.
With us – incarnate. The Son.
Within us – Present always. The Holy Spirit.

At the core, the Trinity is relationship – personal and intimate. The Trinity tells us that we don’t exist without relationship. The Trinity also shows us how to be in relationship with others: each one keeps his or her identity, without confusion, but exists and blossoms only in unity and communion with others. The Trinity is actually the foundation of social and ecclesial life.

Some questions to ponder:
How much of Jesus is God? All of Him
Then what’s the difference between the Father and the Son? Jesus’ humanity
How can Jesus be fully God and fully human? Good question! It’s a mystery.

For each of the readings today, we could ask: what does this passage say about our understanding of one God, three persons? And what does the reading say about our experience of that relationship?

We could sum up these passages like this: Exodus tells us that the divine nature is compassionate, merciful, loving and faithful and that God is always seeking to reveal God’s self to us. Paul tells us that the Trinity embodies grace, love and fellowship and that this is experienced by us in the context of community and unity. And then John tells us that the persons of the Trinity are distinct and have different roles but that they are all geared towards our participation in eternal life.

Exodus 34:4B-6, 8-9

After a long Easter season in Acts, today we are finally back in the Old Testament!

In Exodus 19, Moses goes up Mt. Sinai and receives the Law which includes the 10 commandments. Chapters 20-31 are all these laws, commandments and instructions. In chapter 32, the people despair of Moses ever coming down and they build a golden calf to worship. In Exodus 32:15 Moses finally comes down the mountain with the stone tablets but he has a temper tantrum when he sees the calf, he throws the tablets down and breaks them. In chapter 33 Moses talks to God about this episode and God promises to remain faithful despite the people’s sins.

At the beginning of this chapter, God once again writes out the law and tells Moses to come up the mountain again. In verse 5, God comes down in a cloud and proclaims God’s name to Moses. This might bring to mind the beginning of Moses’ relationship with God at the burning bush. There, Moses had to ask for God’s name. Here, God gives it freely.

In verse 6 God passes before Moses and proclaims who God is. We might say God is telling Moses what God’s nature is: gracious, merciful (compassionate), slow to anger, loving, and faithful.

Verse 7 is left out of the lectionary reading, perhaps because it can be misunderstood by the modern mind. What we tend to focus on in reading this verse is that God visits the “sins of the fathers” on the children and we think – how does that square with a God who is gracious and compassionate? To the ancient mind, this was a comparison that demonstrated God’s compassion by putting two things against each other: on one side is God’s love showered on an unimaginable number of generations, more than we could count; on the other side is a miniscule punishment on a mere several generations. The emphasis is not on the punishment but on the overwhelming love. Our turning against that love has consequences, to be sure. But God’s love will always spill out far more than we can turn against it.

God reveals God’s nature to Moses who, in verse 9, reveals a bit of himself to us. There’s actually humor of sorts in Moses’ response. “Boy do we need a God like you! We stiff-necked people are going to need your grace, compassion, love and fidelity many times over!” Moses asks God to “come along in our company”; after this they will build the ark and “carry” God along. But later God will come along and join humanity as human in the Incarnation.

What does this passage say about the Trinity? The list of attributes that God gives to Moses is God’s nature and is true of all persons of the Trinity. Father, Son and Spirit are / God is gracious, compassionate, loving and faithful.
What does this passage say about the experience of the Trinity? God freely reveals these attributes to Moses. God is always looking to reveal God’s self to us! God wants us to share in the Trinitarian relationship by coming to know who God is.

What aspect of God’s nature (grace, compassion, love, faithfulness) are you most in need of today?

How has God revealed God’s self to you?

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Paul’s 2nd letter to Corinth was written around 55AD. These verses today close out the letter. Paul has been somewhat harsh in this letter, speaking to them about their lack of unity.

In verse 11 he reminds them of his central message: unity and an end to divisions.

Verse 11 also says “Mend your ways” which is actually a passive verb. It would literally be translated something like “let yourself be adjusted, properly fitted, be made into good working order.” This is less about figuring out how to make ourselves acceptable to God and more about being open and receptive to the work God wants to do within us. As always, there is a balance in what we do and what God does but it is always more God’s work than ours.

Verse 12 might seem a little odd: greet one another with a holy kiss. We don’t generally go around kissing as a greeting but in the Middle East it’s very common. And it requires a close bond in addition to close proximity. It’s impossible to be divided from someone while kissing them. It’s a a little like when we tell kids to “kiss and make up”: we know it doesn’t change their fundamental disagreement but the act of physical embrace can sometimes bring about what it signifies, much of like a sacrament. St. Bernard of Clairveaux said that this kiss is the Holy Spirit – what happens when the father and the son come together.

Verse 13 is cited as the earliest trinitarian passage in the New Testament. You might recognize it as the words that open the liturgy. Although this formula may have been used early on, the doctrine of the Trinity took much longer to develop.

Biblical trivia: the Latin Vulgate numbers 13 verses in this chapter whereas Protestant Bibles have it at 14. The difference revolves around whether this verse “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you.” is split

What does this passage say about the Trinity? It says that the Trinity embodies grace, love and fellowship.
What does this passage say about the experience of the Trinity? It says that the Trinity is experienced in the context of community and unity.

Where are you currently experiencing division and a lack of unity with someone? What steps might you take to mend ways and live in peace?

Paul says that we should “agree with one another.” Unity need not mean uniformity: we don’t all have to think the same way in order to agree. Think about someone whose point of view you do not share. Is there some small point on which you both could agree?

John 3:16-18

These verses are taken from the context of Jesus’ dialog with Nicodemus. John 3:16 is perhaps the most frequently quoted verse in the Bible.

“For God so loved the world” might be better translated ““In this way, God loved the world.” God is not some angry parent waiting for wayward humanity to make inevitable mistakes so that he can zap us with punishment. Rather God is one who loves and who lavishes that love on us. God is in relationship with his people and has been from the beginning.

What does this passage say about the Trinity? It says that the Father and the Son have unique roles: The Father gives the Son and the Son gives his life.
What does this passage say about the experience of the Trinity? The Son’s work gives us access to the inner workings of the Trinity. This becomes clearer if we read this passage in context of Jesus’ teaching Nicodemus about eternal life.

What is your image of God and how does it fit with a God who loves you so much that nothing can stand in the way of your saving?

Questions to ponder

What language for the Trinity most appeals to you?

For each of the readings today, what does the passage say to you about our understanding of one God, three persons? And what does the reading say about our experience of that relationship?