We celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday immediately after the feast of Pentecost. It’s an invitation to bring together the persons of the Trinity and the love that flows from God to us. That is the source of our life and anything good about us. The love in the Trinity is visible in all of creation as an outpouring of God’s love. When we celebrate the Trinity, we celebrate the fertility of God’s love and how that abundance of love has been passed on to us, not to be possessed, but to be shared with others. Instead of simply celebrating a theological concept, might it be a time for us to hear the theology and have it bear fruit in how we live?
In our attempt to understand who God is and how He acts, we hear words connected with the Trinity — such as creating, saving, healing, might, power, humility and guidance. Knowing that we have been born out of that love and are present in the world to bear that love to others, how will this solemnity of the Holy Trinity affect how we live in a Pentecostal spirit?
Does the fact that God created the world and all of its wonder invite us to mimic God’s behavior? Are we able to be creative out of love? Is there any way we can take our world, family or neighborhood and make positive changes out of compassion and generosity? What changes must we make to act more like God, who created us to be a loving and fruitful presence on Earth?
God embodied Himself in the person of Jesus, came to Earth, washed His disciples’ feet, and healed those most rejected by the world. How does this affect the way we live? As we come to Jesus and celebrate Him in the Eucharist, does that bear fruit in how we embody healing for others to quench their thirst and satisfy their appetite for good, justice and peace? Do we embody God’s presence to others like Jesus did for us? What would that look like, and what steps are we willing to take to become that embodiment of God in the world?
Does the fact that God is present to us as an advocate, a guiding presence and a unifying spirit affect how we live? How can we be present to others as an advocate? Who around us needs an advocate in their lives? That doesn’t mean a fixer, but it usually means a companion who is faithful and loving. Are we willing to breathe that presence of God’s saving love for others in our lives? Do we find ourselves being an embodiment of the unifying spirit of God? Are we inviting people to unity or division in our conversations and the stories we tell?
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity becomes more than words on paper or a story from the Bible when we do what Jesus asks us to do. When He left this Earth, He told us that the mission was not complete and it was in our hands to finish. We are called to be a living presence of God in all of our actions, choices and decisions. May this Holy Trinity Sunday be a time for each of us to recommit ourselves to being the living presence of God wherever we are and whatever we are doing.
Father Donald Wester is pastor of All Saints Parish in St. Peters.