Scripture Study for
The Most Holy Trinity
Exodus 34:4b–6, 8–9 / Dn 3:52b / 2 Corinthians 13:11–13 / John 3:16–18
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Understanding the Word
By Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.
The readings for Trinity Sunday do not really explain the mystery of the Trinity. Rather, they underscore several divine characteristics that are relational and that throw light on ways that the Triune God interacts with us. Some of them traditionally have been associated with one of the three persons more than with the others.
In the first reading, though the cloud upon which God descends onto the mountain conceals God, God’s declaration to Moses is self–revelatory: “The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” (Exodus 42:6). Moses’ response to this spectacular revelation is worship. He prostrates himself on the ground in profound adoration. In this appearance, God reveals those divine traits that are associated with the covenant, namely, mercy, steadfast love, and fidelity.
Paul promises that if the Corinthian Christians follow his admonitions and live in the way he instructs them, they will experience the presence of God. The blessing with which he ends this letter embodies an early Trinitarian emphasis. It notes the gift of grace that is received through Jesus Christ, the love that God has for all of creation, a love that is the source of all good things, and the community of the Holy Spirit within which believers are rooted. There is no more meaningful benediction that Paul might have chosen.
In the Gospel reading, the extent of God’s love is drawn in bold lines in two significant ways. The first is the scope of divine love, and the second is the price that God is willing to pay because of that love. The passage is remarkable in its explicit declaration of God’s love for the entire world. This love for the world is so deep and so magnanimous that, for the world to be saved, nothing is spared, not even God’s only Son. Those who believe in that Son are saved; those who do not believe in him call down judgment upon themselves.