Holy Trinity

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

John 16:12-15

[Jesus said,] ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

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The Trinity and Us

In the beginning, there was God, his word, and Sophia, also known as God’s Wisdom, who was God’s Spirit and breath. Then the Spirit moved over the waters, and creation was set forth. The sun and the moon, the plants, and the creatures of the sea, earth, and sky were all made in perfect harmony. 

The Divine Trinity was not satisfied. Something was missing, and humanity was made. Human beings became God’s joy and Sophia’s delight. The whole creation became a gift for them. Every tribe and language grew into a multitude of diverse nations. Together, Adonai, His Wisdom, and His Word vowed to teach everything they need to know to replicate and stay in the joy they had for us.

However, human beings developed their own wisdom. Some tribes thought they could find more favor with God by showing how awesome they were. Others rose against their neighbors to become powerful nations. They began to kill, dominate, and enslave one another. 

Then God thought of a couple to believe and promised them a heritage as big as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand in the ground. After their heirs had been held in captivity and oppression by a mighty nation, God released them and spoke through prophets who wrote God’s words in stone and the hearts and minds of God’s people. Together, the laws, the ordinances, and the prophets taught the people how to be in a joyful community with their God one more time, as in the beginning. They were instructed to keep all they learned and were given as a covenant to all the peoples and a light to all the nations to restore the joy of Wisdom-Sophia. 

Once more, and many other times, humanity went astray. God wept, got frustrated, heard our cries, and forgave. God’s mind was changed, and God redirected multiple times. 

Then the Trinity set a plan for the ages. Their love for us would surpass all transgressions. They would no longer remember our sins, and God would forever remain with us. As part of this definitive redemptive act, the Word that was also in the beginning before everything was made and loved us even before we were born would dwell and walk among us

Then the Word became flesh, in the form of God’s only son, and he became a light for the nations, the proclaimer of God’s love for the world. He revealed the goodness of God for all who were sent to believe and follow him. He cares for the sick, the oppressed, the excluded, the poor, and the powerless. He died for all, for those of the past, the present, and the future, and took with him all the punishment, even the ones we think we and others deserve, when he was raised from the dead. 

He became our Lord and left one unconditional commandment for us to follow: Love one another. Deep inside, as co-creator of all things, perhaps he always knew how hard it would be for us to keep this love that he himself had for us. We would need help, guidance, and strength to pick up our pieces and get up again. We would need consolation and encouragement to keep hearing what God had to say. 

But the Son of God needed to go, but did not leave us alone. Sophia would come and remain with us. The Spirit would teach in all languages, for all peoples would need to hear what God had to say and how much they were loved. And the Spirit-Sophia has one hope and one desire, to reconcile all humanity, every nation, tribe, and people, and the wholeness of creation, with the Lord our God, so that the joy of the beginning may be restored. Blessed be the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.