Brief synopsis of the readings: Our first reading comes from the Old Testament book of Proverbs. It begins with “Thus says the wisdom of God” and speaks in the voice of Wisdom. It states that Wisdom was present with God when God created the world. As the world came to be, Wisdom was present for it all. The reading ends with Wisdom saying “I found delight in the human race.” John’s Gospel continues Jesus’ discourse to his disciples. He told them that while there was much else to say, “you cannot bear it now.” Jesus also told them he will send the “Spirit of truth” to guide them. This Spirit will glorify Jesus and “take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

One of the most interesting things about following Jesus is that we are called to pursue things we can never achieve. To quote Robert Browning: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?” Unfortunately sometimes we take these aspirations and turn them into commandments. Since they are beyond our abilities we use the commandments as devices of guilt and failure.

I think about this in the context of our belief in the Holy Trinity. Most of us grew up not knowing exactly what to do with Holy Trinity Sunday, or for that matter, what to do with the Holy Trinity. Non Jews at the time of Jesus worshiped many gods: Jupiter was the supreme Roman god while the Greeks worshiped Zeus. They worshiped gods of the seas, of war, of death, and countless others. These gods had hierarchies but they also had job descriptions and were defined primarily by their jobs. When our God made himself known he was clear that he was the only God and his followers were to be monotheists. But here we seem to find ourselves trying to understand a God who is Father, Son and Spirit. Throughout our history we’ve tried to find a metaphor to explain this. Famously, St. Patrick tried to use the image of a shamrock or three leafed clover, but many of us find it wanting. Others, in a well meaning attempted to change Father, Son and Spirit to something more inclusive and came up with “Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.” But, much like our pagan brothers and sister, again this reduces the persons to job descriptions.

This was never taught to me as a child but I think many of us have thought about the Father, Son and Spirit in terms of their relationship to each other. They are not distinct Gods, nor are they parts (or roles) of a larger God. These days I see much more focus on the perfect relationship between them and therefore the call for all of us to have that same perfect relationship with each other.

And again, this means we are called to a perfection that we can never achieve. I can’t say this clearly enough: this is the goal that we seek, not the perfection that God demands. We need to keep our eyes on the striving and not grade either progress or results.

As an aside that’s why I’ve never felt we should see Scripture as the basis for legislation. We are expected to obey the law and that shouldn’t require God’s grace. I don’t remember ever hearing someone say that robbing banks or stealing cars tempts him so much that they depend on God’s grace, nor has anyone told me they expect God’s adulation for simply staying on the right side of the law.

As I’ve said many times, we are not called simply to do what we’re told. God wants much, much more from us. In our relationships with each other it’s not enough just to avoid injuring each other. In 1956 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev spoke of “peaceful coexistence,” that is the reality that you must sometimes live alongside someone you don’t like. Peaceful coexistence does not require love, or even respect, only acceptance of a reality.

We are called to more. In our call to love each other we are called to look to the Trinity and see not only our call to love but our need for God’s help. We are surrounded by t-shirts, coffee mugs and bumper stickers that proclaim kindness but they don’t seem to be doing much good. Just today I was noticing that as the car next to me decided I needed to be cut off instead of being allowed to merge.

This may sound a little puzzling but I find much of what I seed in the young men and women in uniform where I volunteer at the USO (it’s an organization that supports active duty members of the military). During basic training they are not permitted to use the words “I,” “me,” or “my.” Instead they refer to themselves as “this recruit.” This is a crucial in battle as they depend on each other and I don’t recommend that we go that far in our ordinary lives. But it does say something when our first concern isn’t “what are my rights” but “what is best for all of us.” We know the wonder of loving another so much that our needs fade but what about the people we don’t know? Can ordinary relationships point us in the direction of the Holy Trinity?

I think so but it calls us to shift our intention. Neither Father, Son, nor Spirit need worry about how they are treated because, well, their relationships are perfect. But the closer we move toward that awareness of each other, the less we need be concerned with ourselves. In Genesis when Cain was asked about Abel (the brother he murdered) he sarcastically asked God: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” What if we all answered “yes?” And can we move in that direction with the simple act of allowing another driver ahead of us? Again, yes.

In the end I don’t think the mystery of the Holy Trinity calls us to fully understand a theological dilemma as much as it calls us to adjust our vision in how we see each other. I doubt that the person who cut me off today will read this, but if you meet him, feel free to pass this along.