We
begin liturgy “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit” and are sent forth with the blessings of God our creator,
redeemer and sanctifier.
The
bible gives us many splendid images of God. The Book of Genesis speaks of God as a walking companion. Isaiah describes God as a tender mother: “Can a mother forget her child? …
“I will never forget you.” Proverbs sees God as wisdom. The New Testament parables of the Good Shepherd and the Prodigal
Son are balanced with the parable of the Last Judgment. What's our image of God?
Are
folks so caught up in the “hustle and bustle” of everyday life that they easily
forget what they're here for? No human relationship can completely satisfy us. As St. Augustine wrote, “Thou hast
made us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they
find rest in You.” Yes, we were born to live in a relationship with
the triune God.
In the
Word of God this Sunday, the author personifies wisdom as a woman, as
creative energy. The early Christians saw Jesus in this Wisdom
image, the Word made flesh among us.
Paul in his letter to the
Christian community at Rome proclaims the saving work of Jesus Christ. Through
Him we have a right relationship with God. We pray that God will
strengthen that relationship with right faith, firm hope and perfect
love.
In the Gospel according
to John, Jesus in his farewell alludes to the mystery of the triune
God: The Spirit which comes through Jesus and the Father will guide
the global community of disciples into all truth. We pray the Spirit
of truth will guide us.
The
mystery and relationship of the triune God (a God who is one yet distinctive in modalities or "persons:" Father, Son and Spirit; Neither is the Other) gives much to contemplate.
What kind of a relationship do we have with God and one another? We are forever trying to make better sense out of our lives. What is the purpose of my life? Where is
my life going? These are religious questions,
questions we cannot help but try to answer.
Life
seems to be marred by too many mindless tragedies.
Yet
many times, we have experiences that lift us up—the joy of
friendship,the golden rays of a sunset, the accomplishment of a challenging goal. Such
experiences can take us out of ourselves and into the presence of an Awesome Power beyond us. We begin to experience
the transcendent dimension of our lives. Yes, we
say, there must be a purposeful and gracious God responsible for this
magnificent universe.
This God
became flesh in Jesus and is alive among us by the power of the
Spirit. That is the mystery of the triune God; a God Who is one in three--Father, Son and Spirit.
This
is the same God the ancient Hebrews experienced: who freed them from their oppressors in Ancient Egypt, who renewed His covenant with them at Sinai
This
God showed his face to us in Jesus of Nazareth by the power of the Spirit.
This triune God, the model of self-giving love, empowers us to reach out in love to others: with
compassion, forgiveness, a kind word, a helping hand.
And in
reaching out to others in love, we become like the triune God in their self-giving love.