Relationships within the Trinity
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June 2, 2023This weekend, we return to the season called Ordinary Time. The smooth transition from the two great feasts of Easter, proclaiming him as Lord of the living, and Pentecost, the sending forth of the Holy Spirit, to the Season of Ordinary Time is meaningfully provided by the feast this weekend, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the teaching that God is one, in three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (CCC 234)
While the word Trinity is not explicitly stated in the Scriptures, the doctrine is undoubtedly in it. In the Great Commissioning before his Ascension, Jesus instructs his disciples to “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Mt. 28, 19).
A more careful reading of the life of Jesus and a sustained reflection of who he is provide us a deeper understanding of the Triune God. In his earthly ministry, Jesus claims for himself things that belonged to God, such as the power to forgive sins. In fact, as a result, he finds himself in trouble with the religious leaders of his time, being accused of blasphemy. He insists, though, that “whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn. 14, 9) Yet, while claiming oneness with the Father, Jesus prays to the Father as a distinct Person. He also speaks about the Father as someone other than himself.
Then after his death and resurrection, Jesus speaks of the coming of another Advocate, “to be with you always, the Spirit of truth” “who will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (Jn. 14, 16-17. 26) While Jesus is clear that while the Holy Spirit is one with him and the Father, he also speaks of the Holy Spirit as someone other than himself or the Father.
Elizabeth Klein, Professor of Theology, says that the revelation of God as One in three Persons only means that primarily and ultimately, God is relational. “What the Church came to see through wrestling with the scriptures and with the events of Jesus’ life is that somehow, although God is one, God is not solitary. God is a communion of Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - only one God, having only one divine nature, but existing in three Persons who can be named, not because they are three separate somethings, but because they are three distinct Someones.”
God as relational should also reflect in our Christian lives. He does not only want us to have a relationship with Him, He also wants us to live in relationship with one another. God in relationship, therefore, is the means by which we enter into relationship with one another, the end goal of how we ought to live in relationship with one another, and the model of how we should be in relationship with one another.
