Help from the doctors of the Church

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today use the work of the Evangelist, John, to invite us to meditate on the nature of Jesus and, through the passage from the First letter of John, the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. Heresy arises to challenge orthodoxy throughout the history of the Church. In the time of John, Gnostic philosophy argued that Jesus was not Divine. The text today exhorts the faithful to return to their original understanding developed in their experience of Jesus that “The Father and I are one” (John 10.30) The role of the Holy Spirit in the experience of the love of God is announced by Jesus “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.” (John 14.16) The Gospel today presents the questioning of John the Baptist by the religious authorities about his relationship to the salvation history of Israel. The Baptist indicates that his role is as Prophet, similar to Isaiah, who is announcing the Presence of One in their midst Who is the Christ, the Anointed One. The Council of Nicaea in 325 formulated the Nicene Creed in response to the heresy of Arius. Today our struggle with the Mystery of the Trinity continues. The comments of Father RobertBarron on the extremely popular work of fiction, The Shack , by William P. Young, show that as we continue to explore the mystery and perfection of the Trinity, we can be encouraged and inspired by the insight of fellow searchers. We need also to be aware of the areas where the insight of fellow searches pushes against the orthodox understanding of the Tradition. The historical record shows that this Mystery has occupied people in relationship with God for thousands of years. Their work and struggle has value for us.