Divine relationship of Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today connect theology about the nature of God to the relationship with the Trinity within which we live the gifts of wisdom, faith, hope and love for our neighbours.

 icon created by Russian painter Andrei Rublev

The reading from Proverbs establishes Wisdom is of divine origin.

 * [8:22–31] Wisdom is of divine origin. She is represented as existing before all things (vv. 22–26), when God planned and created the universe, adorning it with beauty and variety, and establishing its wonderful order (vv. 27–30). The purpose of the two cosmogonies (vv. 22–26 and 27–31) is to ground Wisdom’s claims. The first cosmogony emphasizes that she was born before all else (and so deserving of honor) and the second underscores that she was with the Lord during the creation of the universe. The pre-existence of Woman Wisdom with God is developed in Sir 24 and in New Testament hymns to Christ, especially in Jn 1 and Col 1:15–20.1

In Psalm 8 the psalmist praises the royal dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them.

* [Psalm 8] While marvelling at the limitless grandeur of God (Ps 8:2–3), the psalmist is struck first by the smallness of human beings in creation (Ps 8:4–5), and then by the royal dignity and power that God has graciously bestowed upon them (Ps 8:6–9).2 

In the passage from the Letter to the Romans, Paul connects Faith and Hope.

* [5:1–11] Popular piety frequently construed reverses and troubles as punishment for sin; cf. Jn 9:2. Paul therefore assures believers that God’s justifying action in Jesus Christ is a declaration of peace. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ displays God’s initiative in certifying humanity for unimpeded access into the divine presence. Reconciliation is God’s gift of pardon to the entire human race. Through faith one benefits personally from this pardon or, in Paul’s term, is justified. The ultimate aim of God is to liberate believers from the pre-Christian self as described in Rom 1–3. Since this liberation will first find completion in the believer’s resurrection, salvation is described as future in Rom 5:10. Because this fullness of salvation belongs to the future it is called the Christian hope. Paul’s Greek term for hope does not, however, suggest a note of uncertainty, to the effect: “I wonder whether God really means it.” Rather, God’s promise in the gospel fills believers with expectation and anticipation for the climactic gift of unalloyed commitment in the holy Spirit to the performance of the will of God. The persecutions that attend Christian commitment are to teach believers patience and to strengthen this hope, which will not disappoint them because the holy Spirit dwells in their hearts and imbues them with God’s love (Rom 5:5).3 

As Jesus prepares for His departure in the Gospel of John, He explains the coming of the Advocate.

* [16:13] Declare to you the things that are coming: not a reference to new predictions about the future, but interpretation of what has already occurred or been said.4 

Eileen Burke-Sullivan comments that the Feast of the Holy Trinity… is a feast based on a theological description of God for Christians.

Through Jesus and the Spirit, we are drawn into the Body of Christ laboring with the guidance of the Second Person until all salvation is accomplished.  During this time of laboring on earth (symbolized by Ordinary Time) we are filled with the Spirit, who gives us endurance in our afflictions, making possible our divinized character – the very HOPE – that does not disappoint according to the Second Reading from Romans.
The Gospel challenges us to be open to the Spirit of Truth in every aspect of our lives so that the process of being more and more drawn into the divine life, this divinization, may be brought to perfection in us even before our human death.5 

Don Schwager quotes “The Mystery of the Holy Spirit,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).

 "John tells us that all things came into being through the Son who is God the Word abiding with you, Father, from the beginning. Paul in his turn enumerates the things created in the Son, both visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. And while he is specific about all that was created in and through Christ, of the Holy Spirit he considers it enough simply to say that he is your Spirit.Therefore I concur with those chosen men in thinking that just as it is not expedient for me to venture beyond my mental limitation and predicate anything of your only-begotten Son except that, as those witnesses have assured us, he was born of you, so it is not fitting for me to go beyond the power of human thought and the teaching of those same witnesses by declaring anything regarding the Holy Spirit other than that he is your Spirit. Rather than waste time in a fruitless war of words, I would prefer to spend it in the firm profession of an unhesitating faith."I beg you therefore, Father, to preserve in me that pure and reverent faith and to grant that to my last breath I may testify to my conviction. May I always hold fast to what I publicly professed in the creed when I was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May I worship you, the Father of us all, and your Son together with you, and may I be counted worthy to receive your Holy Spirit who through your only Son proceeds from you. For me there is sufficient evidence for this faith in the words 'Father, all that I have is yours, and all that is yours is mine,' spoken by Jesus Christ my Lord who remains, in and from and with you, the God who is blessed for endless ages. Amen." (excerpt from ON THE TRINITY 12.55-57)6

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 16:12-15 shares what is so amazing about God: you don’t have to understand everything about him in order to have a personal relationship with each of the three Persons of the Trinity. God longs to share his life with us, and he comes to us in his three Persons to play many roles in our lives.

 As the Father and Creator, God loves you as the apple of his eye. He wants to relate to you as your Abba, a “Daddy” who teaches you and cares for you. As God the Son, Jesus died for you and rose from the dead so that you could have new life in him. Even when you sin, he wants nothing more than to place you on his shoulders like a lost lamb and carry you home. And as the Holy Spirit, he wants to inspire you, guide you, and empower you with gifts to help you serve his people.7

Friar Jude Winkler places the text from Wisdom to the time of Alexander the Great and Greek influence on Jewish culture. Paul underlines the connection of suffering to development of our love as disciples. Friar Jude reminds that the ambiguous term “Advocate” allows Jesus to take all meanings to manifest all the gifts of the Spirit.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that authentic love is of one piece. How you love anything is how you love everything.

We cannot sincerely love another or forgive offenses inside of dualistic consciousness. Try it, and you’ll see it can’t be done. Many pastors and priests have done the people of God a great disservice by preaching the Gospel to them but not giving them the tools whereby they can obey that Gospel. As Jesus put it, “cut off from the vine, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The “vine and the branches” offer one of the greatest Christian mystical images of the non-duality between God and the soul. In and with God, I can love everything and everyone—even my enemies. Alone and by myself, my willpower and intellect will seldom be able to love in difficult situations over time. Many folks try to love by willpower, with themselves as the only source. They try to obey the second commandment without the first. It usually does not work long-term, and there is no one more cynical about love than a disillusioned idealist.8

Fr Richard concludes that authentic love (which is always more than a heart feeling) initially opens the door of awareness and aliveness, and then suffering for that love keeps that door open for mind, body, and will to enter. He suspects that for most of us that is the work of a lifetime.

References

1	(n.d.). Proverbs, chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/proverbs/8
2	(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 8 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/8
3	(n.d.). Romans, chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/romans/5
4	(n.d.). John, chapter 16 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/16
5	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 16, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
6	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
7	(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/16/
8	(2019, June 16). How We Love — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 16, 2019, from https://cac.org/how-we-love-2019-06-16/