A group of scientists decided that the human race had come a long way on its own and no longer needed God. So they elected one scientist to go and tell God that they were through with him.
The scientist walked up to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we don’t need you anymore. We’ve reached the point where we can cure just about every disease. We have the technology to both destroy creation and rebuild it—even making it better. We can travel across the heavens. We can even clone people. So, God, we really don’t need you anymore, and frankly, we wish you would just go away.”
God listened very patiently to the scientist. When he had finished, God said, “I see. Well, before I go, what do you say we have a contest? A man-making contest—whichever one of us makes the best human being, wins. If I win, I stay put; if you win, I’ll go and leave you all alone, no hard feelings.”
The scientist said, “All right, God, you’re on.”
God then added, “Now we’re going to do this just like I did it back in the old days with Adam. We both start with simple dirt.”
The scientist said, “Sure, no problem,” and then bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt.
But God stopped him, “No, no, no. You have to get your own dirt.”
Today on this feast of the Holy Trinity, we contemplate the mystery of God: the God who set all life into motion with a handful of dirt; the God who created us and our world out of a love so perfect and complete that we cannot begin to understand it; the God who continues to re-create us and our world in the gift of his Son, the very love of God made human and real for us.
Out of that same mysterious love, God calls us back again and again, not as the all-powerful Creator demanding homage from the lowly objects he created, but as a compassionate Parent welcoming back and loving unconditionally his or her own children. God invites us to a relationship with him, not based on fear and judgment, but centered in love, mercy and trust. Today’s celebration of the Trinity confronts us with our response to that invitation and our worthiness to be called God’s children.
It really is a
mystery. But our age, so used to solving
every problem, doesn’t handle mystery very well. We have to figure everything out. But with God that is not possible. So what do we do?
Pick up any musical instrument and play the note ‘A.’ (___, give me an ‘A’ please.) That particular sound has been ‘A’ since the beginning of time. It will be ‘A’ today and tomorrow and next
week. It will be ‘A’
a thousand years from now. Whether it is
heard in an aria of a
Or take a handful of seeds and plant them in the ground; water and care for them, and soon a plant will sprout. Every seed has the potential to produce a bountiful harvest or magnificent blossoms. Whether we use those seeds to feed the starving or to amass great wealth for ourselves, a seed planted and nourished with care, holds within its shell the potential to produce a wonderful garden.
Or think about the person you love most and who loves you most. In their eyes you will always find welcome, in their embrace you will always feel safe, in their presence you will always know joy. Relationships are struggles—we risk rejection, vulnerability, being taken advantage of. But when we work at it, love grows, heals and blossoms.
The Feast of the Trinity calls us not to explain life, but to bask in the lasting and eternal gifts of God: the timeless beauty of inspiration, the wonders of nature, the meaning of love. How we use these things is the beginning of finding God and discovering the purpose of this life God gives us.