LIVE IN PEACE, AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY - John 3:16-18

Since the beginning of time, the Scriptures present God as someone who wants to be in a relationship. We may guess this relationship, since the creation is presented as an outpouring of God’s goodness and we can see how he was well pleased with what came out of his decision: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Gn 1:31). Then, as we come to the creation of human beings, done in God’s image, it becomes obvious that God created somebody who could live in a relationship with Him. It was as if God needed friends with whom to share his goodness and love. This bond of love was broken by disobedience and revolt when the human beings turned their back on God and decided to go their way. However, God could not forget and forsake the one he created in his image. He could not stand by and see that his image being destroyed, without coming to the rescue of the fallen humans. So he put in action his plan of salvation, which should be enacted through human history. To bring his plan to fulfilment, God sent his Son into the world:

“God loved the world so much

that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him 

may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him 

the world might be saved.”

And the salvation consists in having “eternal life”, a life that we receive in Jesus Christ, because to all “who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12), and if we are children, then we are given the rights of children (Ro 8:17).

God’s plan of salvation implies a bond of love between God and his beloved children and this is so because God in Himself is love. And love means relationship and communion. That’s what we celebrate today. God has revealed himself as communion (being one with) - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and he calls us to participate in that communion. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Co 13:11-13). In Christ Jesus, being one with him, we are accepted as children of God and we will share in the inheritance of Jesus Christ.

May Almighty God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit bless you all. Amen.