Possibilities of God
"Yes, God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son."
Today
we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity, and we also honor our earthly fathers today
as well. This is the gift of relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit, that relationship which we also share in the human family.
We are all in "unity" with our God!
Jesus is the ultimate gift of life and love that comes from God our
Father: "He gave His only Son."
How do we respond to God's great gift?
We celebrate of course, but there is more to it than that.
In
today's Gospel, John beautifully restates the Incarnation message in these
words: "Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." Who
can understand, who can prove, how the innermost essence of God's being (His
"Christliness") can be embodied, so as to dwell among us? John's
Gospel is extremely helpful in this regard because it emphasizes for us the
reality that our Christian response to God's gift is not, primarily, figuring
out the Incarnation miracle, but accepting it, receiving it, being thankful for
it, and being a part of the Unity of the Holy Three, the Trinity. Jesus showed
us Who the Father is, and the Holy Spirit continues to guide us to the Father
today.
Ordinarily
in the Church we talk about the spirit of giving, and it is important to do
this. But rarely do we hear any talk about the spirit of receiving. Very few
people know how to receive graciously and freely. Very often our pride and
arrogance get in the way. We don't want to be "obligated" to the
person who is giving. We say, "Oh, you shouldn't have done this," or,
on occasion when gifts are mutually exchanged, the thought flashes through our
minds, "Oh, my goodness, that's more expensive than the gift I gave you.
How will I ever make up for it?" Consequently, while we are receiving the
gift outwardly, inwardly we are rejecting it. We turn off the flow of love that
might have been present, by refusing to allow the other person to experience
the joy of giving.
What
we learn from one another about receiving, we translate into our relationship
with God Who gives us so much because He loves us so much. He comes to us in
and through Jesus. In and through Jesus, He gives us His presence. In and
through Jesus, He gives us His promise of our fulfillment. It is for you and me
to say in response, "Yes! Yes, God,
I accept Your gift. I receive Your gift. Gratefully, I accept Your love."
Our
calling is to be the peacemakers, the healers, and the reconcilers in a world
of broken promises, broken families, and broken relationships. But in order to
carry out this Christian mission of giving to others, we must first accept the
gift of life and love from God.
In
the second reading today from St. Paul to the Corinthians, we hear: "The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with all of you." Our faith is accepting. Faith is receiving.
Faith is accepting and receiving "love following upon love," as St.
John so beautifully puts it.