Father David McGough

The Word
this week
The Most Holy Trinity
Exodus 34: 4-6 & 8-9; 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13; John 3: 16-18 e grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Paul's final blessing to the troubled community in Corinth summarises the Mystery we celebrate today, the Feast of the Holy Trinity. We can approach the Trinity in one of two ways.
It is either a riddle to be solved, or a life to be lived. Our minds tell us that we can never fully comprehend the mystery
of the three persons in one divine nature. There are limits to our understanding. As with Job in the Old Testament, there comes the point when the mind must confess its limitations and sun-ender itself to the truth about God. " I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand, on marvels beyond me and my knowledge." Job 42:3
The Scriptures approach God both through the heart and the head. While our minds may be limited, God has created our hearts with an infinite longing for life. Our insatiable longing for life finds its only resting place in the Trinity. This Paul described as our fellowship in the Holy Spirit, a life lived with the Father and the Son. Throughout the Scriptures God is portrayed as a life inviting us to fellowship, rather than as a mystery to be understood.
The Book of Exodus described the historical journey of God's people from slavery to freedom. As their journey unfolded, we recognise the universal pilgrimage of every heart, our own included. As they journeyed from slavery to freedom, so the human heart journeys from loneliness to communion.
Ours is not simply a longing for life. In the frailty of our humanity, we long to be received with tenderness and compassion, kindness and understanding. As Moses approached the God of Israel, he did so bearing with him the sins of an arrogant people. Here at last their imperfect hearts found their resting place. "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed Lord, Lord, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness."
The very ground of our being longs for love, the love that is revealed in the life of God and in the Trinity. The life that had been partially revealed to Moses on the mountain woutd be fully revealed in Jesus Christ.
Nicodemus came to Jesus under cover of darkness. He shared our longing for life and our fear of nothingness. These fundamental drives brought him to Jesus and the life for which he longed.
"The Father loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life."
Jesus unfolded the mystery of Father and Son in the clearly understandable language of the heart. As the Gospel continued, Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit as the one who creates our hearts afresh. We become the meeting place of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We become that healing peace which is the life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
" The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
On this Trinity Sunday we celebrate the Mystery of the Trinity, a life to be lived.