An Ecstasy of Self-Revelation
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June 7, 2020The three readings chosen for the solemnity of the Holy Trinity are strikingly brief, and yet they offer us a way into the mystery that is warm and inviting. We are reminded once again that the doctrine of the Trinity is not just a set of facts, abstract, cold and irrelevant to daily life, a complicated business that leaves us scratching our heads, but rather the beating heart of our life, the source of all faith, all hope, and all love.
“Thus the LORD passed before Moses and cried out,
‘The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.’” (Ex 34:6)
When we read this text, we notice that this is a unique and unforgettable experience for Moses and a crucial discovery for the people about who their God is. The five characteristics of God here revealed – merciful, gracious, slow to anger, kind, faithful – break open those preconceptions that keep creeping up on us. Again and again, we fall back to the idol of a god distant, vengeful, and arbitrary, and yet somehow subject to bribery and manipulation to our own ends. The God who reveals himself is fierce in his desire, tender in his embrace and long-suffering in his fidelity to his people. He claims us as his own, so that we may claim him as our own.
Today, what strikes me is that this is also a special moment for God, who cries out his own name in an ecstasy of self-revelation. We could be forgiven for thinking that God is blowing his own trumpet here, glorying his own name and praising his own virtues…a bit of a faux pas! But what is socially unacceptable for mere mortals, not to say deluded, can be fitting for the God whose goodness really does transcend all, especially when making this known is the salvation of those who hear it. The Lord goes beyond himself in the joy of revealing his own beauty before his creature. He does this to share his joy with the creature made in his own image. God reveals himself so that we may know ourselves.
Are there other examples of this ecstatic self-revelation in Scripture? These texts come to mind.
From the Gospel of Matthew:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:28-30)
This saying of Jesus has the same character of a spontaneous cry moved by love, which removes a veil from a particular facet of his being. He reveals himself as a refuge for the weary, laying upon our shoulders the light yoke of his own gentleness and humility. These words draw us in and embrace us. We are welcome. We are safe. We are free to be vulnerable as he is vulnerable.
From the Gospel of Luke:
“On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (Jn 7:37-39)
Here again, Jesus seems to reach a point where he can hold back no longer and publicly cries out his identity before all. He is the satisfaction of all thirst, and endless source of satisfaction that overflows from the heart of the one who receives it. We are filled with the Spirit overflowing from the heart of Christ. Our joy spills over for others.
From the Gospel of John:
“At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’” (Lk 10:21-22)
Here, Jesus’ joy bubbles forth in an explicitly trinitarian revelation. His joy in the Spirit is directed in gratitude to the Father. The source of this joy is that the Father has revealed the mystery treasured between the three Persons to all those ready to receive it. We are invited to know him as Father, Son, Spirit, to share in their communion of love and joy.
From today’s gospel passage:
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16)
God’s self-revelation is an ecstatic and joyful affair, which overflows to all who can receive it. The bliss of the Trinity consists in being perfectly complete and completely given. Jesus’ own person as the incarnate Son is this revelation, a drawing back of the veil which conceals the Holy of Holies. Now we can see him face to face. Now we can know him as one like ourselves in all things but sin. Now we can be known and redeemed to the depth of our human reality.
From today’s epistle of Paul:
“Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Cor 13:11)
We know we are made in the image and likeness of this source of all joy, and we believe we are called toward it, to be embraced and enveloped by it. Surely, we have all had moments of joy like the ones we are looking at today, moments in which we feel (however fleetingly) completely ourselves in the eyes of God and before others. The natural concomitant of such an experience is to give, to pour forth, to squander what we have received in full confidence that we will be filled up again and again. Though we often do not feel this way (we are truly a stiff-necked people), yet we are still called to live what we have known and received. We are called to live communion even in the context of painful failures to live up to it. How can I live this revelation among sisters? A few thoughts:
I can give my gift faithfully, perseveringly and humbly.
I can recognize, value and celebrate another’s gifts.
I can generously supply for another’s weaknesses.
I can allow my lack to be supplied by another’s strength.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” (2 Cor 13:13)
