Gospel: Trinity Sunday

Today marks the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and the Gospel reflection will be based according to tthe solemn account of St John (tap here for today's Mass readings from USCCB).

This week we return to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. This Sunday and next, however, are designated as Solemnities that will replace the seasonal Sundays--special days that call our attention to central mysteries of our faith. Today on Trinity Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity, one God in three persons.

Today's Gospel is from the beginning of St John's account. The passage we read follows Jesus conversation with a Pharisee, Nicodemus, about what it means to be born of water and the spirit. Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night and acknowledges Jesus as a teacher from God. Jesus tells him that only those who are born from above will see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus misunderstands and questions how a person can be born more than once. Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. Jesus is essentially explaining Baptism, which we celebrate as a Sacrament today. Yet, Nicodemus, we are told, still does not understand what Jesus is explaining. Jesus continues by testifying to the need to be born from above so that one might have eternal life.

After the dialogue with Nicodemus, the author of the Gospel offers his own explanation of Jesus' words. This is what we read in today's Gospel, John 3:16-18.

In the context of today's focus on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the reading calls our attention to the action of God, who reveals himself in three persons: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God the Father, out of love for the world, sent his Son into the world in order to save it. Through the death and resurrection of the Son, we have been given the Holy Spirit. As three persons, God acts always as a God of love; he does not ondemn the world but acts to save it.

This Gospel also calls attention to the response that is required of us. God's love calls us to respond in faith by professing our belief in God's son, Jesus, and the salvation that he has won for us. This profession of faith is a sign of the work of the Hlly Spirit in our lives.

x---------x

Picture from Pexels.