May 28, 2010
Sunday Scripture
The Most Holy Trinity
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
A profession of faith is in order, because there is no other approach to the Holy Trinity. “I believe in the God the Father Almighty . . . and in Jesus Christ his only Son . . . and in the Holy Spirit . . .who proceeds from the Father and the Son. I believe in three Divine Persons, yet one God.” This sums up many of the creeds that sprang up in the Church throughout its history. Today’s reading was chosen because of its reference to three distinct Persons, yet one God. The setting is the Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John. The Son of God is speaking of his Father and of the Holy Spirit.
The Son begins, “I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” We may be dismayed to know that in the previous chapter Jesus had already said, “I have called you (my) friends, because all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” There are many repetitions and what seems like contradictions in John’s Last Supper discourse, but this only shows the working out of oral tradition over six decades and the various sources and editors of that tradition. The point seems to be that there is oral tradition in the Christian community, a tradition that was not written down. John will touch on this point again at the end of his gospel, “There are many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
John has a solution to the problem arising from the concept that the deposit of faith delivered to the disciples by Jesus was not completely understood at the time of Jesus nor in earliest Christianity. The Son continues to speak, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” “The things that are to come” is a reference to new situations that would arise in the Church and would have to be dealt with under the guidance of the Spirit of Truth applying Jesus’ teachings, both written and oral. Therefore, “He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
Like the Son, so the Holy Spirit does not act independently. Father, Son and Holy Spirit act as a unity — the Father as source, the Son as revealer and revealed, the Holy Spirit as ultimate interpreter. The role of the Holy Spirit is rooted in the unity that exists between Father and Son, “All that the Father has is mine. Therefore I said that the Holy Spirit will take what is mine and declare it to you.” Thus ends all reference to the Holy Spirit in the Last Supper discourse attributed to Jesus by the Gospel of John.
John’s catechetical lesson on the Holy Spirit has taught his readers that the Holy Spirit extends the role and presence of Jesus on earth; that the Holy Spirit extends Jesus’ role as ultimate teacher; that the Holy Spirit will act as defender (Paraclete) of Jesus’ followers; that the Holy Spirit will bring to mind what Jesus said and did and keep the Church in the truth when applying Jesus’ teachings, oral and written, to new situations arising in the Christian community. The climactic statement about the Holy Spirit will be made after the resurrection of Jesus. He appears to his disciples on the evening of his resurrection, and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit . . .” On this occasion too, the Holy Trinity, a unity in three Persons, is at work. Thus Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so do I send you.” Then he imparts with his own authority, and by the authority of his Father, the Divine Breath, the Holy Spirit and the Church springs to life in a new creation.
The teachings of Proverbs are attributed to Solomon, though written many centuries after him. Solomon died about 922 B.C. In today’s reading the author(s) describes divine wisdom. Important for us is the fact that this particular section of Proverbs is foundational to the Prologue or opening verses of the Gospel of John. The author of Proverbs speaks of divine wisdom as having been “poured forth at the first, before the earth, before the creation of the depths, before fountains and mountains and hills.” Divine wisdom was present at all of creation, and says, “I found delight in the human race.” The Gospel of John will summarize. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God . . ., and the Word was made flesh and pitched his tent among us.”
This reading was chosen because it mentions God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Paul boasts of the sufferings he endures for his faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Because suffering produces endurance, improves character, which in turn leads us to hope for better things, a hope which we know will not be disappointed — but that hope too must be taken on faith. Paul and every Christian feels secure in faith and hope, “because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”