The Trinity - Bound in love

The nature of God. Is this something we can fathom and grasp, or is it something which is be- yond our capacity to talk about meaningfully? I think the very fact that we ask such questions actually helps us to begin a dialogue or a conversation on the subject, the question is, where does it end up? If we are talking about an incomprehensible mystery, then you might say what’s the point? But such a response pays little respect to our intelligence and to our reason. The human condition will not allow us to be satisfied with that. From the very moment we gained self awareness the question of origin and purpose has been one which has occupied us, beginning within us a quest, a journey of exploration and discovery, opening up our thoughts and our in- stincts to the wonders of our being. It has brought forth the whole corpus of work that has sought to define us and our place within the created universe. In this quest, both our science, our philosophy and theology have been our guides and references, forging and shaping the stepping stones along which we have tentatively trod, preparing us with reason and insight, to speak meaningfully about God. We must not then be timid or restricted in professing our belief in the reality of God as the one who sustains the creation, becoming incarnate in time and place, so as to reveal the mystery in its fulness to us through the faculties which we have been endowed with.

The summit of these faculties is love, made flesh in the person of Jesus, and in the exercise of this love, which we share with Jesus, we are enlightened to a knowledge of another dimension of this love. Through our sharing in the love Jesus has for each of us, we are bound within and become partakers of the creative love which flows eternally and sustainingly within the Trinity. This love sustains us in our lives and in it we find our joy. It teaches us knowledge and wisdom, it endows us with truth and beauty and it unfolds before us the mystery of the very nature of God as Father, Son and Spirit: one undivided unity of love.

Pentecost - Alive in his love

This is the moment of re-birth. The moment when we are made new and become the new creation, alive and alight in his love. Are our hearts still burning within us, just like the two disciples on the road back from Emmaus? There are many images in the Scriptures of journeys being made as moments of new beginning. We can think of the journey of Abraham who was called to set out from his home to a land to which God would lead him and Abraham putt his trust in God, and obediently went. We think of the journey of the prodigal son who goes off on his own without God, and finishes up in a place of God-forsakenness. The two offer a deep contrast of motive and ambition which stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Perhaps they tell us that if our motives are misguided then our path will lead us down a cul-de-sac - a road to nowhere. I love the image of Moses, whose call to make his journey begins with a blazing fire. Notice though how this fire does not consume or destroy the bush but appears instead to be constantly at one with it. Not exhausting its fuel but renewing and regenerating it. Not competing or overwhelming it but remaining steady and revitalising it. 

This is the fire of the Holy Spirit, which came down upon the disciples at Pentecost, ablaze within them and sending them out on their missionary journey. This is the fire which burns within each of us. The Spirit uses us as the fuel which keeps it alight and that fuel is God’s love acting and moving us forward in our journey of faith. It will never be spent or exhausted since it is the very essence of who we are and of what we are to become. 

As his new creation we are tasked with bringing this love into the lives of those around us. It is a journey of discovery, so let us grasp it with all our enthusiasm and energy. Come Holy Spirit and fill us with your fire. 

Happy Pentecost