Sunday – Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Gospel – John 3:16-18

God Above, Beside, Within Us

Tennessee Sunrise!

So let me tell you a story!

There were once six blind men who stood by the roadside every day and begged from the people who passed. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one; for, being blind, how could they?

It so happened one morning that an elephant was driven down the road where they stood. When they were told that the great beast was before them, they asked the driver to let him stop so that they might touch him.  

The first one happened to put his hand on the elephant's side. "Well, well!" he said, "now I know all about this beast. He is exactly like a wall."

The second felt only of the elephant's tusk. "My brother," he said, "you are mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is round and smooth and sharp. He is more like a spear than anything else."

The third happened to take hold of the elephant's trunk. "Both of you are wrong," he said. "Anybody who knows anything can see that this elephant is like a snake."

The fourth reached out his arms and grasped one of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you are!" he said. "It is very plain to me that he is round and tall like a tree."

The fifth was a very tall man, and he chanced to take hold of the elephant's ear. "The blindest man ought to know that this beast is not like any of the things that you name," he said. "He is exactly like a huge fan."

The sixth seized the animal's tail. "O foolish fellows!" he cried. "You surely have lost your senses. This elephant is not like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is he like a fan. But any man with a par-ti-cle of sense can see that he is exactly like a rope."

Each of the blind men touched a different part of the elephant and believed that he knew just how the animal looked.  They were all right, but in a very limited way.  They didn’t get the complete picture; they didn’t/couldn’t grasp the totality of what an elephant is!

In a sense we are all in the same boat!  Throughout our lives, we encounter the Divine!  But we are only human; we will never fully understand and KNOW God.  It’s a mystery!  But throughout our lives we do, like the blind men, touch Him and conversely God touches us. We experience His presence and His love in countless and varied ways.

As we grow and mature, our relationship with God, hopefully, also grows and blossoms. 

As a child, we see God as a Father, looking out for us, guarding us from danger, helping us to grow close to Him.  Creating us, guiding us and teaching us right and wrong, reminding us of when we falter, the just judge, loving us even when we mess up.

God the Son – beside us, among us – Jesus who shared in this earthly life, who walked and sat together with his disciples and shared a meal.

God the Holy Spirit – within us – coming upon the disciples at Pentecost, filling them with love, wisdom and good counsel and the fire to spread the faith.

We see it not only in our individual lives but throughout human history.  In the Old Testament, God the Father, Creator of the Universe, giving the Israelites the Ten Commandments (guides for living a faithful life) and leading them out of slavery into the Promised Land.

In the New Testament, God the Son, Jesus, taking on human form, walking beside us as our brother and savior, giving us the law of love.

And God the Holy Spirit, on the Feast of Pentecost, filling the disciples and us with wisdom and fire to share the Word and the Gospel message.

That is the Trinity we celebrate today – God who guides us every step of this human journey, God the Son who walks with us in good times and bad, and God the Spirit who inspire us to live a life or faith and love.