Trinity Sunday

In the fall of 2018 I was invited as a guest to take a course on the Trinity at the University of Notre Dame.   We read scholars and theologians that are well versed, but what I learned is that the Spirit cannot be taught.  It must be lived. We are made for relationship.  Through the  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we are brought into this divine life.. The Trinity teaches that we are made to extend ourselves to others, to be outside ourselves.

In these trying days though I have retreated.  I can no longer listen to the babble.  The noise is like sandpaper on my soul. The words are there to abide in and they don’t need to be written in the public square, only on our hearts.  “ … You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Our culture has kicked these to the curb and trampled over them.

There are powerful gifts that help us turn away from the sin and darkness of these  days: the custody of our eyes in what we watch, and of our ears in what we choose to hear and of our tongues in what we speak. Choose wisely what you let in and what comes forth. The darkness doesn’t need much room to fester within your heart and mind.

 “Never let evil pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them.  Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind.  In place of these, be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.”  Ephesians 4:29-32

Scholars and theologians wrestled with the understanding themselves of the Triune God. But words that stay stagnant on a page have really little to offer us.  They must be lived out in Spirit and Truth. The Spirit brings us into the Love of the Father by uniting us in the Son. We become what Christ is.