Sermon For Trinity Sunday

 


TRINITY SUNDAY [C]


We are prepared to observe Trinity Sunday. But are we prepared to go that extra step? Are we prepared to actually celebrate the Trinity? It’s expected of us. But it’s not easy, getting excited about the Trinity. It’s not just a doctrine; it’s something dense; it’s a profound mystery. How do you penetrate the mystery of one God being revealed in a Trinity of three Persons? Perhaps we should begin by picking up a Bible. 


Now that your Bible is open, you find yourself being introduced to our God; you’re being introduced to him in the Book of Genesis. You will notice right away that he is a rather busy God. Busy in what way? He’s being an artist. He’s doing what artists typically do: he’s creating. He stands back, he admires his creation, and he pronounces it as “good” (Gen. 1:31). This episode doesn’t resolve all of your questions, but at least it’s a start. 


Later on in the Bible, we will arrive at a particular juncture. St. Paul refers to it as “the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4). God is no longer content just to stand at a distance, examining his creation. Now, in the fullness of the moment, God wants to have a place within his creation. He’s going in. He’s entering into his world of creation. It’s an unusual step for an artist to take. But it’s not unheard of. It’s not out of the question. 


For example, think about artists who work with the brush. Pablo Picasso was known for painting matadors. In the “fullness of time,” three years prior to his death, he decides to depict his own features on one of his matadors. You could say that he places himself within his work of creation. He paints himself into the picture (a release from 1970 called “Le Matador”). God does something similar through the miracle of The Nativity. He paints himself into the picture. He becomes Emmanuel—God with us (Matt. 1:23). 


So for the sake of review, we initially have God acting in the person of the Father. What is he doing? He’s creating. He creates the universe. He creates our world. He creates us. He enters into his creation through the person of the Son. And that bond will subsequently be maintained through the activity of the Holy Spirit. Put it together: you get the Trinity. That answers the question of “What?” Now let’s look at the question of “Why?”  


Proceed further into the New Testament and you will come across the expression: God is love (see 1st John 4:16). Out of love, God carries out his great work of creation. Out of love, he takes his place within the parameters of his creation. And out of love, he chooses to remain bonded with his world of creation. In other words, when we call our God a Trinitarian God, it’s another way of proclaiming: God is love. He loves us so much that he can’t even contain himself. That’s not just an observation; it’s a genuine cause for CELEBRATION!!

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