DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Proverbs 8, 22-31; Romans 5,1-5; John 16, 12-15: Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity; Year C 2016)
Glory be to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Today the church celebrates the solemnity of the Blessed Trinity: the mystery of Three Persons in One God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all having the same Nature but three distinctive Persons. The existence of such Godhead is the summit of the revelation which our Lord Jesus made and the focal point of our salvation. This feast glorifies the central mystery of our faith, a mystery based on the way the three divine persons relate to one another, ad intra. The readings of the solemnity can shed much light on the way each of the divine persons relates to us, ad extra.
The first reading from the book of Proverbs presents to us the mysterious figure of the Woman Wisdom. She is not human, and one is not sure that she is divine. She was at the beginning of creation, was named the first of God’s ways, the one before all of the other deeds of God. She was present and active during God’s wondrous acts of creation. Was she there as a craftsperson/architect or simply as a nursling? (depending on how one understands the Hebrew word amon). Even if she was active in the primordial events of creation, it was God who really did the creation. During God’s creating activities there were not the usual traces of cosmic battle as used to be associated with some ancient creation myths. The only contender was God who effortlessly established order, harmony and tranquility in the entire universe. The would be contenders such as the heavens, stars, and the seas have been tamed to cooperate and given boundaries they were not to trespass. If the Wisdom Woman acted as craftsperson or an architect for this magnificent project, then the principles of wisdom are woven into the very fabric of creation. This would explain the order that can be discerned within its working. The realisation of this harmonious universe evokes joy and delight. God delights in the Wisdom Woman and the Wisdom Woman rejoices before God in praise. But the attention of the Wisdom Woman is not focused on God only. She takes delight in the inhabited part of the earth and in the human race, thereby showing interest in us. This reading (as well as the responsorial psalm) celebrates the marvels of creation and by inference, the marvellous creator who brought them into being. Contemplating the order, beauty and harmony in creation should always lead us to sing songs of praise to God. Such contemplation of God’s work should lead to religious experiences that bring us nearer to our Creator, God the Father, day by day. The Wisdom Woman delights in God’s works of creation. We are not only to delight in it but also to be co-responsible with God the Father for its sustenance, renewal, just as our Holy Father, Pope Francis, exhorts us in the Laudatosi.
God had delight in the world he created for it was marvellous and good! In the creation narrative of the book of Genesis (Chapter One), the result of God’s creative activity each day was described as good. Unfortunately, this goodness did not last, sin entered not only to mar God’s creation, but also to cause the separation of God from man, to establish conflict among men and to give rise to suffering, pain and eventual death. God did not abandon man in his helplessness after sinning but in the fullness of time came into the scene with his work of redemption and reconciliation. God who created and ruled the world started this mission of reconciliation by pitching his tent among men, through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The initiative of the incarnation was culminated in the redemptive mission of the paschal mystery: death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By dying for us on the cross, Jesus removed the obstacle between us and God and reinstated us in good standing with God. Paul writing to the Romans and to us the Christians of today (2nd reading) holds: Justified by faith we are at peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even though the initiative of the reconciliation comes from God the Father, it is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity that is the protagonist. The full implication of reconciliation with God is that our guilt has been already forgiven. We are now in the right relationship with God, and though God is really the author of our justification, it has been accomplished through our faith in Jesus Christ. Again and again Paul emphasizes the role Christ plays in this transformation. Jesus is the one who, through his death and resurrection has reconciled all people with God; he is the mediator of the new covenant of peace. It is important to note the Trinitarian nature of Paul’s faith and teaching. It is faith in Christ that justifies us with God; it is faith in Christ that gives us peace with God; it is faith in Christ that grants us access to the grace of God. Because of the reconciliation won for us by Christ, the love of God is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. In other words, Christ brings us to God, and the Spirit comes to us from the same God. God, Christ, and the Spirit are all involved in our ultimate union with God. But in this our very singular union with the Godhead, the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity is the protagonist.
God the Father created the marvelous universe and human beings. When man separated himself from him, on account of sin, God the Father initiated the reconciliation between God and man through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. It is also God the Father who through the Holy Spirit who prolongs and bring to fulfillment the redemptive work of his Son in his disciples and in the church of every time and place: Jesus himself so enunciates: But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to complete truth. This means that the Holy Spirit will throw more light on the person, life, teaching death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will also make known in the future new information and teaching that will be relevant to the mission of the Church in the light of the gospel. Thus, the mission of the Spirit whom Jesus promises to the disciples seems to be the guidance of the disciples into the deep meaning and radical implications of the teaching of Jesus. The truth the Spirit reveals is grounded in the teachings of Jesus, but it goes far beyond. In this way, there is continuity but not repetition. The Spirit glorifies Jesus by bringing to light the deeper truth of his teaching that also belongs to God. We see the role of the third Person of the Trinity, in the deepening within the fold of the disciples and the Church, the work of redemption and reconciliation initiated by God but brought about by the death and resurrection of Christ.
In our effort to understand the liturgy of today that celebrates the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity, we rather concentrate on the readings of the day and tried to meditate on all the ways our triune God, in their distinctive roles as Persons has made us, delight in the marvelous world He created, became beneficiaries of His work of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, and the benefits of His enlightening teaching through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, May this Eucharistic celebration dispose us to cry out with the Psalmist: O Lord, our God, how wonderful is your name in all the earth! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit!
Happy Sunday! Happy Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity!
+John I. Okoye
(Proverbs 8, 22-31; Romans 5,1-5; John 16, 12-15: Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity; Year C 2016)
Glory be to the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Today the church celebrates the solemnity of the Blessed Trinity: the mystery of Three Persons in One God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, all having the same Nature but three distinctive Persons. The existence of such Godhead is the summit of the revelation which our Lord Jesus made and the focal point of our salvation. This feast glorifies the central mystery of our faith, a mystery based on the way the three divine persons relate to one another, ad intra. The readings of the solemnity can shed much light on the way each of the divine persons relates to us, ad extra.
The first reading from the book of Proverbs presents to us the mysterious figure of the Woman Wisdom. She is not human, and one is not sure that she is divine. She was at the beginning of creation, was named the first of God’s ways, the one before all of the other deeds of God. She was present and active during God’s wondrous acts of creation. Was she there as a craftsperson/architect or simply as a nursling? (depending on how one understands the Hebrew word amon). Even if she was active in the primordial events of creation, it was God who really did the creation. During God’s creating activities there were not the usual traces of cosmic battle as used to be associated with some ancient creation myths. The only contender was God who effortlessly established order, harmony and tranquility in the entire universe. The would be contenders such as the heavens, stars, and the seas have been tamed to cooperate and given boundaries they were not to trespass. If the Wisdom Woman acted as craftsperson or an architect for this magnificent project, then the principles of wisdom are woven into the very fabric of creation. This would explain the order that can be discerned within its working. The realisation of this harmonious universe evokes joy and delight. God delights in the Wisdom Woman and the Wisdom Woman rejoices before God in praise. But the attention of the Wisdom Woman is not focused on God only. She takes delight in the inhabited part of the earth and in the human race, thereby showing interest in us. This reading (as well as the responsorial psalm) celebrates the marvels of creation and by inference, the marvellous creator who brought them into being. Contemplating the order, beauty and harmony in creation should always lead us to sing songs of praise to God. Such contemplation of God’s work should lead to religious experiences that bring us nearer to our Creator, God the Father, day by day. The Wisdom Woman delights in God’s works of creation. We are not only to delight in it but also to be co-responsible with God the Father for its sustenance, renewal, just as our Holy Father, Pope Francis, exhorts us in the Laudatosi.
God had delight in the world he created for it was marvellous and good! In the creation narrative of the book of Genesis (Chapter One), the result of God’s creative activity each day was described as good. Unfortunately, this goodness did not last, sin entered not only to mar God’s creation, but also to cause the separation of God from man, to establish conflict among men and to give rise to suffering, pain and eventual death. God did not abandon man in his helplessness after sinning but in the fullness of time came into the scene with his work of redemption and reconciliation. God who created and ruled the world started this mission of reconciliation by pitching his tent among men, through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The initiative of the incarnation was culminated in the redemptive mission of the paschal mystery: death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By dying for us on the cross, Jesus removed the obstacle between us and God and reinstated us in good standing with God. Paul writing to the Romans and to us the Christians of today (2nd reading) holds: Justified by faith we are at peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even though the initiative of the reconciliation comes from God the Father, it is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity that is the protagonist. The full implication of reconciliation with God is that our guilt has been already forgiven. We are now in the right relationship with God, and though God is really the author of our justification, it has been accomplished through our faith in Jesus Christ. Again and again Paul emphasizes the role Christ plays in this transformation. Jesus is the one who, through his death and resurrection has reconciled all people with God; he is the mediator of the new covenant of peace. It is important to note the Trinitarian nature of Paul’s faith and teaching. It is faith in Christ that justifies us with God; it is faith in Christ that gives us peace with God; it is faith in Christ that grants us access to the grace of God. Because of the reconciliation won for us by Christ, the love of God is poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. In other words, Christ brings us to God, and the Spirit comes to us from the same God. God, Christ, and the Spirit are all involved in our ultimate union with God. But in this our very singular union with the Godhead, the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity is the protagonist.
God the Father created the marvelous universe and human beings. When man separated himself from him, on account of sin, God the Father initiated the reconciliation between God and man through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ. It is also God the Father who through the Holy Spirit who prolongs and bring to fulfillment the redemptive work of his Son in his disciples and in the church of every time and place: Jesus himself so enunciates: But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to complete truth. This means that the Holy Spirit will throw more light on the person, life, teaching death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will also make known in the future new information and teaching that will be relevant to the mission of the Church in the light of the gospel. Thus, the mission of the Spirit whom Jesus promises to the disciples seems to be the guidance of the disciples into the deep meaning and radical implications of the teaching of Jesus. The truth the Spirit reveals is grounded in the teachings of Jesus, but it goes far beyond. In this way, there is continuity but not repetition. The Spirit glorifies Jesus by bringing to light the deeper truth of his teaching that also belongs to God. We see the role of the third Person of the Trinity, in the deepening within the fold of the disciples and the Church, the work of redemption and reconciliation initiated by God but brought about by the death and resurrection of Christ.
In our effort to understand the liturgy of today that celebrates the Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity, we rather concentrate on the readings of the day and tried to meditate on all the ways our triune God, in their distinctive roles as Persons has made us, delight in the marvelous world He created, became beneficiaries of His work of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, and the benefits of His enlightening teaching through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, May this Eucharistic celebration dispose us to cry out with the Psalmist: O Lord, our God, how wonderful is your name in all the earth! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit!
Happy Sunday! Happy Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity!
+John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubke)
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