Sunday Gospel Reflection, June 12, 2022: I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now...

I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now…

Is it worth it to try to comprehend the Trinity? 

   Time and space define our reality. But human notions of time and space only come into existence as God creates our world, and when God does so, Wisdom is beside him as his craftsman, participating in the creative process. The Book of Proverbs tries to capture this moment of creation, when God made firm the skies above and set for the sea its limit. It’s hard for even the most vivid imagination to picture! God’s act of creation separates the elements and creates order from chaos, and throughout it all, God takes delight in Wisdom, who plays before him all the while, just as Wisdom finds delight in the human race. The very act of creation is also an invitation: God invites humankind to enter into intimate relationship with Wisdom so that we can enter into the depth of God’s love. But we must have faith to believe in what we cannot see or delimit or prove; God can’t be locked into a neat little box. The beauty of contemplation is that it allows us to suspend our definitions and enter more fully into the truth of God that we have yet to comprehend. And in so doing, we come to know God better every day. But to do so, we must participate in a dynamic effort of comprehension, for the Trinity itself is dynamic, ever mutating before the eyes of our mind. 

    Yes, God is beyond comprehension, and that’s ok – we come to know God better every day, although not all at once. Jesus says as much in John’s Gospel: I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, Jesus adds, he will guide you to all truth. As long as we are open, God will continue to increase our capacity to understand. We are justified by faith, as Paul tells the Romans; we believe in what God has revealed whether we fully comprehend it or not, because we have gained access by faith to grace. We stand in the presence of God, with God present within us, by faith, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This is the gift Jesus came to reveal. 

    God is beyond description; the confusion we feel when we contemplate the Trinity is utterly normal. We may not be able to bear full comprehension of the Trinity now, but we have simply to participate actively in the growth of faith to make progress. For if our heart is open to the love of God, confusion is insignificant. We must just allow the Spirit to increase our understanding and to expand our awe, one wow after another: O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8) 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class. 

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