Trust in God
The efforts made by theologians throughout the centuries to explain using human concepts the mystery of the Trinity hardly help Christians today to rekindle their trust in God the Father, to reaffirm their adherence to Jesus, God’s Son made flesh, and to welcome with living faith the presence of God’s Spirit in us. Hence, it can be good for us to strive to draw near the mystery of God with simple words and a humble heart, following up close the message, the actions and the whole life of Jesus, the mystery of the Son of God made flesh.
The mystery of the Father is deepest love and continuing forgiveness. No one is barred from his love, he does not deny his forgiveness to anybody. The Father loves us and looks for each of his sons and daughters along roads he alone knows. He looks at every human being with infinite tenderness and profound mercy. That is why Jesus always calls upon him with one word, “Father.”
Before such a Father, our first attitude has to be trust. The ultimate mystery of being, which believers call “God,” should never evoke in us fear or anguish: only God can love us. He understands our little and hesitant faith. We should not feel sad because of our life, so mediocre most of the time, nor should we be discouraged when we discover that we have lived all these years far away from this Father. We can abandon ourselves to him with simplicity. Our little faith suffices.
Jesus, too, invites us to trust. These are his words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” Jesus is the Father’s living portrait. Listening to his words, we hear what the Father tells us. His gestures and the way he acts, wholly committed to making life more worthy of human beings, reveal to us how much God loves us.
Hence, in Jesus we can meet in any situation a concrete God, friendly and close by. He puts peace in our life. He enables us to pass from fear to trust, from apprehension to simple faith in the ultimate mystery of life which is only Love.
To welcome the Spirit that is the life-breath of the Father and his Son Jesus is to welcome within us the invisible, quiet, yet real presence of the mystery of God. When we are aware of this ongoing presence, a new trust in God begins to awaken in us.
Our life is fragile, full of contractions and uncertainty; we, believers and non-believers, live surrounded by mystery. But the presence, likewise mysterious, of the Spirit in us, although weak, is enough to sustain our trust in the ultimate Mystery of love which is solely Love.
José Antonio Pagola
June 15, 2014
Most Holy Trinity (A)
John 3, 16-18