Trinity Sunday - A

 

Trinity Sunday A
Readings: Exodus 34:4‑6,8‑9  2 Corinthians 13:11‑13  John 3:16‑18

            "Live in harmony and peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you."  This exhortation from the conclusion of Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians captures the spirit of the Trinity Sunday readings.  God reveals himself to us as a God of love and peace who calls us to live in harmony and peace.  For this wondrous gift we can joyfully sing the verses of the Canticle from Daniel as our responsorial psalm: "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestors,/ praiseworthy and exalted above  all forever . . ." (Dan 3:52).
            In order to appreciate the revelation of the Lord's gracious name in first reading from Exodus, we need to know the events that immediately preceded it in Exodus 32‑33.  While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the instructions for the building of the ark and tabernacle, the Israelites violate the covenant by making a golden calf and worshiping it.  Their very existence as God's people has been endangered.  When Moses discovers the calf and the people's wild dancing, he angrily smashes the tablets of the covenant.  To insure the survival of the people, Moses repeatedly intercedes for them and begs the Lord to accompany this "stiff‑necked" people as they march on from Sinai toward the promise land.   Finally, the Lord promises Moses that he will reveal his sacred name, and he instructs him to cut two more stone tablets and return to  Mount Sinai.

            The revelation that occurs on the mountain is a high point in the Biblical tradition.  We learn that the Lord is a merciful and gracious God.  When he descends in a cloud, he proclaims his sacred name, "Lord" (written YHWH in Hebrew consonants).  Then the Lord reveals the character of that name by crying out: "The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."  Despite the repeated sins of Israel and the whole human family, the Lord is ever ready to begin again in mercy and grace.  Having heard this revelation, Moses bows down in worship and says, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company.  This is indeed a stiff‑necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.”  In response the Lord promises to lead the people into the promise land and re‑establishes the covenant with the people.   
            The Second Corinthians reading is from the concluding sentences of Paul's letter, and it was chosen for Trinity Sunday because of its blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!"  Paul's conclusion is closely related to the problems facing the Corinthian community.  They were badly divided into factions over the question of leadership.  Some "super-apostles" were claiming spectacular signs and wonders as credentials for their apostolic status.  In contrast, Paul has insisted that the real marks of the true apostle are sufferings in behalf of the gospel of the cross (see 2 Corinthians 11‑13).  In the conclusion Paul wants to bind the community together in harmony and peace.  He asks them to "Greet one another with a holy kiss" and concludes with the blessing, reminding them of the "grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (the gift of forgiveness), "the love of God" and "fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit" that is the heart of the Christian gospel.
            The Gospel reading is a theological reflection at the end of Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus in John.  In many ways it summarizes the whole message of John's Gospel.  God's action in sending his only Son into the world is done out of love with the purpose of bringing believers to an eternal life which shares in the very life of God.  “Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.” In John, the Son's moment of glory comes when he fully reveals God's love by laying down his life for his followers (see John 10:14‑18; 12:23‑26). God's intention in sending the Son into the world is not condemnation, but salvation.  “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” However, those who turn from the revelation of God's love have already condemned themselves by refusing to share in that love.