Love Times Three

Most Holy Trinity Sunday

 

~~~ Proverbs 8:22-31~~~ Psalm 8 ~~~ Romans 5:1-5 ~~~ John 16:12-15 ~~~

 

The wisdom of God has always been present as we find in the words of Proverbs today.

Wisdom was present before all of the things of earth were created by God.

Wisdom is not physical or tangible; wisdom is of the spirit.

 

We may believe that the Spirit only came into being after the Resurrection,

but if we believe in the Trinity we must see otherwise.

The three persons in one would indicate that all persons of God

are and were in existence for all times.

 

When something is revealed to us it does not mean it was newly created.

The Trinity is so totally united as one that they merge seamlessly together.

Distinct yet one...can anything we know compare?

 

I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race.

 

Wisdom played with God during creation.

What a joyful scene to picture.

Wisdom found us to be pleasing...delightful.

The entire Trinity loves us and desires us to be happy.

Wisdom was even the delight of God.

Playfulness and humor are part of God.

He passed this same ability on to us; in fact laughter is good for our health.

 

 

It seems that our existence is validated by the Spirit.

God found us to worthy of saving.

Jesus, doing the will of the Father,

 found us worthy of salvation through his death.

The Spirit finds us worthy to remain with us here and now.

 

Paul writes, because we have been justified by faith,

and have peace from God, we have grace.

This grace gives us the strength we need to give glory to God

in good times and bad times.

 

Paul writes to the Romans...

...affliction produces endurance,
and endurance, proven character,
and proven character, hope,
and hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 

We are the bearers of hope to all of the world because we have been loved.

We have been loved by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

We are loved uniquely by the Trinity.

Three is stronger than one.

 

Whenever you see something that represents three...a tripod...a tricycle...etc.

remember that you are loved times three...

You are loved by the Mystery of Trinity.

The Best "Bundle"...The Trinity

~~~1 Dt. 4:32-34, 39-40 ~~~Psalm 33 ~~~ 2 Rom. 8: 14-17 ~~~Mt. 28: 16-20 ~~~

The Most Holy Trinity

Lately there has been a local commercial encouraging consumers to buy the 'bundle'.

The bundle consists of your phone, cable TV, and Internet service for one price. This bundle gives you all that you need to stay connected and entertained.

As I was reflecting on the wonders of the mystery of the Trinity it occurred to me that this is THE true bundle for our salvation.

God the Father...creates us...blesses us and calls us his own...prepares a place for us...

God the Son...embraces our humanity...the word made flesh...living among us...teaching us the Way...showing us the greatest love...there is no greater love...

God the Spirit...coming to live within us...to guide us...to inspire us...joining with us to be more than we ever imagined...breathing the breathe of life into our souls...

The Trinity is the ultimate bundle...if we accept the invitation to life in the Trinity we will have eternal life. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together exist as one. The great mystery of three persons in one...united together of one mind of one intention of one never ending love.

With us until the end of the ages.

There is strength in three. We are never left alone.

God the Father sends down the Son and the Son sends forth the Holy Spirit.  

Each person of the Trinity is distinct yet simultaneously the same.

We sing Holy, Holy, Holy in honor of each person of the Trinity.

To believe in something does not imply that you understand it. Do not be troubled if you cannot grasp the concept of the Trinity 'bundle'. Just believe that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit together as one offer you eternal life.

Each time you notice something with three parts let that be a reminder of your faith in the Trinity...the father, son, and holy spirit.

Bless yourself with the sign of the cross

marking yourself as a Christian.

The Beloved

Today's reading is the Baptism of the Lord. "After the Lord was baptized, the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Mt. 3: 16-17

The other time Jesus is referred to as the beloved was at the Transfiguration.
It is such an endearing statement...my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Every child longs to hear that they are loved by their parents. Many times, as parents we say words that do not project the emotional content. In some cases the words do not even match the emotion; they are simply empty words. The letters of the words are only outlined with nothing inside. Children have this uncanny ability to see through hollow words and often reject the person.

In this passage God saturates our senses with vivid details. Visually we can picture the clouds billowing apart swirling about until a clearing is revealed. We are given another more beautiful image in the Spirit descending like a dove. We can easily picture a beautiful white dove, wings outstretched, fluttering down upon Jesus. God gives us this image so that we have something tangible to identify the Spirit. God wants us to be able to accept what is taking place. He gave us eyes so that we can see and believe. sometimes the Spirit comes like a wind, but this time it is a dove.

...the voice of the Fathered thundered...thundered is such a powerful word. If you are intently watching a movie and all of a sudden there is a loud sound it is natural to be startled or even frightened. So when the invisible voice came unexpected and like thunder it must have made a huge impact.

I want to invite you to place yourself into this scene and confidently hear the Father speak these same words to you. This is my Beloved daughter/son (add your own name here too), in whom I am well pleased.

Isaiah records in chapter 42:1 the Lord saying, "Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whomI have put my spirit...". He continues in verses 6-7 with a beautiful image "I have grasped you by the hand". If we place our hand in the hand of the Father we will only want to do what pleases him as we walk together.

The original image was of a white dove amidst the clouds. I chose this kaleidoscope image because to me it captures the beauty of being a 'beloved' child of God's.

Walk hand in hand with the Lord.