Trinity Sunday
Bishop of Lake Charles
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
May 30, 2010
Trinity Sunday
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” John 16:12
Jesus says these amazing words in the context of the Last Supper discourses recorded in the Gospel of St. John. “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now” (John 16:12) is astounding, because it implies that Jesus has not said everything that needs to be said. Is there something left to be said? Indeed there is. Jesus adds, “When he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth” (John 16:13).
When I read the Sacred Scriptures, I am struck at how the early Church was very much aware that the Spirit was living with the Church and speaking, working, and teaching through it. The Holy Spirit is powerful, but that power is a shared power. It is Trinitarian power, because it involves the interaction of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “He will not speak on his own” (John 16:13), Jesus teaches. That is not all He says. This Spirit “will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-14). And what belongs to Jesus? “Everything that the Father” has given Him (John 16:15). That same Spirit inspires and empowers all that the Trinity continues to reveal and all that the Trinity showers upon the Church in wisdom and understanding.
As I said the fact that this Spirit continues to dwell within the Church to give it wisdom and understanding is apparent throughout the New Testament. There are so many passages that I could cite. However, there is one in St. Paul that speaks eloquently to the point I am making. It is found in Second Thessalonians 2.
In this passage, St. Paul is writing to the Thessalonians, reminding them to remain faithful to the message and teaching they have received from him. In remaining faithful to that message of Christ, St. Paul breaks out into a Trinitarian hymn. “We ought to give thanks to God for you always, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth” (II Thessalonians 2:13). There is that word “truth” again. Jesus mentioned it earlier. “Truth” is rooted in love. It is a marvel of God’s Trinitarian work that the love manifested by the Thessalonians reflects the love of Jesus, because they were chosen by God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. For this, we should give thanks. Love, in other words, serves the “truth.” Why? Because love builds up the unity that should reflect “truth.”
Then, St. Paul writes something even more amazing. Some might ask, “Can this truth ever be compromised?” Or, “What preserves truth in the Body of believers, the Church?” St. Paul answers: “To this end [i.e. ‘salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth] he has called you through our gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours” (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15). What can the Thessalonians do to insure that truth is being communicated and not some “apostasy” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) or falsehood? They can “stand firm and hold fast to the traditions” they were taught, “either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” St. Paul seems to be making a distinction. The truth is communicated either in writing or by a spoken proclamation. The Thessalonians either read it or heard it. We either read it or hear it.
I think we should realize that the early Church was very much aware of the delicate nature of the “truth” and its proclamation. One thing that assured that the “truth” was being proclaimed was whether or not it was faithful to the tradition. To express it another way, did the message come from a reliable source? The tradition was the message to which we were to “stand firm and hold fast,” and it came to us “either in writing or by a spoken proclamation.” Simply expressed, it was authoritative because someone with authority proclaimed it.
This idea of a link between the proclamation of an apostle and his disciples and consequently to us in an unbroken line of “tradition” is found throughout the writings of the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of St. Paul. Let us look at one example. St. Peter preaches immediately after Pentecost, and what happens? Three hundred are baptized that day. And what do they do? “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers” (Acts 2:42). That means they were faithful to what the apostles taught them in their preaching and rejoiced in their faith by celebrating the Eucharist and praying.
With Pentecost there is an explosion—can I use that word? I think so—an explosion of Trinitarian life. The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and Mary that day, and the Church experiences a birth of sorts. All that the Father wanted revealed by the Son was sustained by the Spirit in a living memory that preached an oral message and wrote a written one as well. To remain faithful to this tradition was unquestionable.
When you have something precious, you want to share it, but you cannot share it, if you do not preserve it. To preserve it, you insure that the reason for its precious nature is passed on. In human traditions, this is an “iffy” process. Memories fade. Languages change. Humans by nature like to tamper with their traditions. But in this sacred tradition that passes on an inestimable message of great worth, a truth whose full meaning is inexhaustible, a truth upon which our very salvation depends, God must intervene. His Word made flesh must communicate all that the Father wills and the Spirit can powerfully work in the Body of believers to preserve its “truth.” Like a priceless object on exhibition, that uninformed viewers might pass by without noticing because they are ignorant of its value until a guide informs them of its history and meaning, so too must the Spirit work to inform and to preserve. For this the Church exists. What St. Paul writes to Timothy, he writes to us. “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you” (I Timothy 6:20). It is too valuable. It is the work of the Trinity. The Spirit is at work in you, in the Church, in the tradition.