Homily for the Trinity Sunday (Cycle B)
Based on Jn 16:12-15 (Gospel),
Prv 8:22-31 (First Reading) and Rm 1:1-5 (Second Reading)
From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”
WHAT
IS TRUTH?
“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth”(Jn 16:13)
Gospel: Jn 16:12-15. I still have many things to say to you, but they would be to
much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the
complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say what
he hears, and will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the
things to come.e Footnote
esays “The new order of
that things that is to result from Christ’s death and resurrection”.
Parallel text for
verse 13 is Jn 14:26 that says: But the
Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you
everything and remind you of all I have said to you.r Footnote r
– In place of the departed Christ, the faithful will have the Spirit, 14:16,
17; 16:7, cf. 1:33+. He is the ‘parakletos’ who intercedes with the Father, cf. 1 Jn.
2:1, and whose voice is heard in human courts, 15:26,27, cf. LK. 12:11p., Mt.
10:19-20p. Ac. 5:32. He is the Spirit of truth, leading men to the very
fullness of truth, 16:33, teaching them to understand the mystery of Christ –
fulfillment of the scriptures, 5:39+, the meaning of his words, 2:19+, of his
actions, and his ‘signs’, 14:26, 16:13, 1 Jn. 2:20f,27, all hitherto obscure to
the disciples, 2:22, 12:16, 13:7, 20:9. In this way the Spirit is to bear
witness to Christ, 15:26, 1 Jn. 5:6,7, and shame the unbelieving world,
16:8-11.
Verses 14 and 15 say: He
will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything
the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tell you will be taken from
what is mine.f Footnote f says “By revealing the hidden depth of the mystery of Jesus, the Spirit makes
his glory known. Jesus, in his turn, manifests the glory of the Father, 17:4,
from whom comes everything he possesses, 3:35; 5:22,26; 13:3; 17:2. The Father
is the source of the revelation communicated by the Son and brought to
completion by the Spirit who in his way glorifies both Son and Father. There
are not three revelations but one.”
The First Reading is
taken from Prv 8:22-31. This is about Wisdom as Creatorg. Footnote g
says “The concept of a personified
wisdom, a mere literary device in Pr 14:1, was further developed in the
post-exilic period, when polytheism was no longer a threat to true religion. In
Jb 28 and Ba 3:9-4:4 wisdom is represented as a thing distinct from God and
man, desirable in itself: in Pr 1:20-23; 3:16-19 and 8-9 it is represented as a
person. Here Wisdom herself reveals her origin (created before all other
creatures, vv. 22-26), the active part she plays in the creation, vv. 27-30,
and the function she discharges among men in leading them to God, vv. 32,35-36.
This doctrine will be further developed in Si: Si 1:1-10 recalls Job 28, but Si
4:11-19; 14:20-15:10 and especially 24:1-29 (cf Si 24:1+) are in line with Pr
8. Wisdom is personified in all these texts but, as in the case of the Word and
the Spirit, it is hard to discern how much is poetic device, how much the
expression of older forms of religious thought, how much the appreciation of
newly revealed truths. Finally, Ws 7:22-8:1 gives the impression that wisdom an
‘outpouring of God’s glory’, has a share in the divine nature, although the
abstract terms used may equally well apply to a divine attribute as to a
distinct personality. The doctrine of wisdom, thus outlined in the OT will be
resumed in the NT which will give it new and decisive completion by applying it
to the person of Christ. Jesus is referred to as Wisdom itself, the Wisdom of
God, Mt 11:19p; Lk 11:49, cf. Mt 23:34-36; 1 Co 1:24-30; like Wisdom, he
participates in the creation and preservation of the world, Col 1:16-17, and
the protection of Israel, 1 Co 10:4, cf Ws 10:17f. Finally, St. John in his
prologue attributes the characteristics of creative Wisdom to the Word, and his
gospel throughout represents Christ as the Wisdom of God, cf. Jn 6:35+. Hence,
Christian tradition from St Justin onwards sees in the Wisdom of the OT the
person of Christ himself. By ‘accommodation’ the liturgy applies Pr 8:22f to
the Virgin, collaborating with the
Redeemer as Wisdom collaborates with the Creator.”
Verses 22 says: The Lord
created meh, when his purpose
first unfolded, before the oldest of his works. Footnote h says “Thus the Greek, Syr., Targ., cf. Si 1:4,9;
24:8,9, translate the Hebrew verb (qanani). The translation ‘acquired me’ or
‘possessed me’ (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion) was adopted by St. Jerome
(Vulg.), doubtless with an eye to the heretic Arius who maintained that the
Word (=Wisdom) was a created thing”.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Pr 3:19 - By wisdom, Yahweh set the earth on its
foundation, he fixed the heavens firm by discernment.
2.
Pr 14:1 - Wisdoma builds herself a
house, with her own hands. Folly pulls it down.
Footnote
3.
Pr 14:1 - In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth
4.
Si 1:4,9 - Before
all other things wisdom was created; and shrewd understanding, is everlastingd
(v. 4), the Lord. He himself has created herg, looked on her
and assessed her, and poured her out on all his works (v. 9). Footnote d
says “Add, v. 5 ‘Wisdom’s source is the
word of God in the heavens; her ways are the eternal laws’”.
5.
Si 24:8-9 - Then the Creator of all things
instructed me, and he who created me,
fixed a place for my tent. He said, ‘Pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your
inheritance (v. 8).’From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for
eternity I shall remain(v. 9).
6.
Is 40:13 - Who could have advised the spirit of
Yahweh, what counselor could have
instructed him?
Verse 23 says: From
everlasting I was firmly set, from the beginning, at the first, before the
earth came into being.
Parallel text is from Jn 1:1 that says: In the beginning was the Word,a the
Word was with God and the Word was God. Footnote a
says “The O.T. speaks of the Word of God,
and of his wisdom, present with God before the world was made, cf. Pr. 8:22+;
Ws. 7:22+, by it all things were created, it is sent to earth to reveal the
hidden designs of God; it returns to him with its work done, Is. 58:10-11, Pr.
8:22-36, Si. 24:3-22, Ws. 9:9-12. On its
creature role, cf. also Gn. 1:3,6 etc.: Is 40:8,26, 44:24-28; 48:13, Ps. 33:6,
Jdt. 16:14, Si.42:15; on its mission, cf. Ws. 18:14-16, Ps.107:20;
147:15-18. For John, too, 13:3, 16:28,
the Word existed before the world in God, 1:1-2, 8:24+, 10:30+. It has come on
earth, 1:9-14, 3:19, 12:46, cf. Mk 1:38+, being sent by the Father;
3:17,34,5:36, 43, 6:29, 7:29, 8:42, 9:7, 10:36, 11:42, 17:3,25,cf. Lk 4:43, to
perform a task, 4:34+, namely, to deliver 3:11+, 8:21, 12:35, 13:3, 16:5,
17:11, 13, 20:17. The incarnation
enabled the N.T. and especially John, to see this separately and eternally
existent Word-Wisdom as a person.
Verse 24, 25 and 26
say: The deep was not, when I was born
forth, there were no springs to gush with water. Before the mountains were
settled, before the hills, I came to birth; before he made the earth, the
countryside, or before the first grains of the world’s dust.
Parallel text for verse 25 is Jb 15:7 that says: Are you
the first born of the human race? brought into the world before the hills?b
Footnote b – The first question contrasts with the first
member of the human race, a being who might have been able to claim great
wisdom. The second goes so far as to contrast him with Wisdom herself, brought
forth before the hills were made, Pr 8:25, and ever afterwards a member of
God’s council, Pr 8:22-31; cf. Jb 28:23-27; Ws 8:3-4.
Verse 27 says: When he
fixed the heavens firm, there I was, when he drew a ring on the surface of the
deep.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jb 28:23-27 - God alone had traced its path; and
found out where it lives (v.23). For he sees to the ends of the earth, and
observes all that lies under the heavens (v.24). When he willed to give weight
to the wind, and measured out the waters with a gauge (v. 25); When he made a
laws and rules for the rain and mapped a route for thunder claps to follow (v.
26). Then he had it in sight, and cast it worth, assessed it, fathomed itj
(v. 27). Footnote j –says “‘reckoned its worth’ corr. ‘assessed’ five
Hebr.”
2. Ps
136:5 - His wisdom made the heavens, for his love is everlasting.
3. Ws
8:4 - Yes, she is an initiate in the mysteries of God’s knowledge, and making
choice of the works he is to do.
4. Ws
9:4 - Grant me Wisdom, consort of your throne, and do not reject me from the
number of your children.
5. Si
24:5 - Alone, I encircled the vault of
the sky, and walked on the bottom of the deeps.d Footnote
d says “Wisdom was present at
every act of the creation.”
6. Jr
10:4 - Then embellished with silver and gold, they fixed them with nail and
hammer to prevent them from falling.
Verse 28 says: When
he thickened the clouds above when he fixed fast the springs of the deep.
Parallel text is Ws
9:9 that says: With you is Wisdom, she
who knows your works, she who was present when you made the world; she
understands what is pleasing in your eyesand what agrees with your
commandments.
Verse 29 and 30 say: When he assigned the sea its boundaries -
and the waters will not invade the shore
– when he laid down the foundations of the earth. I was by his side, a master
craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence.
Parallel texts for verse 29 are:
1.
Jb 38:8-11 - Who pent up the sea behind closed doors, when it leapt tumultuous out
of the womb (v. 8).When I wrapped it in a robe of mist and made black clouds
its swaddling bands? (v. 9) When I marked the bounds it was not to cross and made it fast with a
bolted gate (v. 10)?Come thus far I said, and no farther, here your proud waves
shall break?d (v. 11) Footnote dsays “‘shall break’ Greek. Vulg.” Footnote d
says “‘shall break’ Greek. Vulg”.
2.
Ps 104:7-9 - At your reproof the waters took
flight; they fled at the sound of your thunder (v. 7), cascading over the
mountains, into the valleys, down to the reservoir you made for them (v. 8) You
imposed the limits they must never cross again, or they would once more flood
the land (v. 9).
Verse 30 and 31 say: I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day,
ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in the world, delighting to be
with the sons of men.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Ws 1:8 - The man who gives voice to injustice
will never go unnoticed, nor shall avenging justice pass him by.
2.
Ba 3:38…so causing her to appear on earth, and
more among men.
The Second Reading is from Rm 1:1-5 .
Verses 1, 2 and
3 says: From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an
apostle,b and especially chosen to preach the Good News that God
promised long ago though his prophets in the scriptures, the news is about the
Son of God who, according to the human nature he took, was a descendant of
David. Footnote b says “A
Jewish title that means ‘envoy’, cf. Jn. 13:16; 2 Co. 8:23; Ph. 2:25, sometimes
used in the NT for the Twelve chosen by Christ, Mt. 10:2; Ac. 1:26; 2:37, etc.:
1 Co. 15:7; Rv. 21:14; to be his witnesses, Ac. 1:8+, sometimes in the wider
sense for those sent to preach the gospel, Rm. 16:7; 1 Co. 12:28; Ep. 2:20;
3:5; 4:11. Though Paul was not a member of the Twelve, the fact that he had
been appointed as missionary to the
gentiles by God, Ac. 26:17; Rm. 11:13; 1 Co. 9:2; Ga. 2:8; 1 Tim. 2:7,
constitutes him as apostle of Christ, Rm. 1:1; 1 Co. 1:1, etc., equal to the
Twelve, Ac. 10:41, because like them he had seen the risen Christ, 1 Co. 9:1,
and been sent by him, Rm. 1:5; Ga. 1:16, to be his witness, Ac. 26:16. In spite
of being ‘the least of the apostles’, 1 Co. 15:9, he is their equal, 1 Co. 9:5;
Ga 2:6-9, because he did not learn the Good News he preaches from them, Ga.
1:1,17,19”.
Parallel texts for verse 2 are:
1.
Ac 26:16-18 - But get up now, and stand
on your feet for I have appeared to you for this reason: to appoint you as my
servant and as witness of this vision in which you have seen me and of others in which I shall
appear to you (v. 16). I shall deliver you from the people and from the pagans
to whom I am sending you (v. 17), to open their eyes, so that they may turn
from darkness to light,f from the dominion of Satan to God, and
receive, through faith in me, forgiveness of their sinsg and a share
in the inheritance of the sanctified (v. 18). Footnote f says “Paul’s missionary vocation is described here
in OT terms used about two great prophetic figures, Jeremiah and the Servant of
Yahweh”; and Footnote g
says “In 9:17-18, Paul, his sight
restored, passes from darkness to light; in 22:16 (cf 9:18) Paul is ordered to
wash away his sins by baptism. Thus his own experience is a symbol of his
mission to others”.
2.
Ga 1:10,15 - So now whom am I trying to please-men or God? Would you say it is men’s
approval that I am looking fore? If I still wanted thatf,
I should not be what I am - a servant of Christ (v. 10).Then God, who had
especially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through
his grace and chose (v. 15). Footnote e says “It
appears that the Judaisers accused Paul of trying to make the pagans’
conversion easier by not insisting on circumcision. But on this occasion at
least, he retorts, he cannot be suspected of a conciliatory attitude”;
Footnote f says “As once he
did, i.e. before his conversion when he preached circumcision”.
3.
Ph 1:1 - From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in
Christ Jesus, together with the presiding elders and deaconsa. Footnote a says “The word ‘episcopos’ (‘overseer’, ‘supervisor’ or ‘shepherd’) has not
yet acquired the same meaning as ‘bishop’, cf. Tt 1:5f. The ‘deacons’ as their
assistants, Ac 6:1-6”
4.
Col 1:1 - From Paul, appointed by God to
be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
Verse 4 says: It
is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the order of the spirit, the spirit of
holiness that is in him, was proclaimedc Son of God in all his power
through his resurrection from the dead.d Footnote c
says “Vulg. ‘predestined’”; Footnote d says “For Paul Christ rose only because God raised
him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24; 10:9; Ac.
2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm. 6:4; Ph.
3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;
and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11.
Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving
anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from eternity,
‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 9:5 - They descended from the patriarchs, and
from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God forever blessed.d
Amen. Footnote d says “Both the context and the internal
development of the sentence imply that this doxology is addressed to Christ,
Paul rarely gives Jesus the title ‘God’ though, cf Tt 2:13, or addresses a
doxology to him, cf. Heb 13:21, but this is because he usually keeps this title
to the Father, cf Rm 15:6, etc., and considers the divine persons not so much
with an abstract appreciation of their nature as with a concrete appreciation
of their functions in the process of salvation. Moreover, he has always in mind
the the historical Christ in his concrete reality as God mad man, cf Ph 2:5+;
Col 1:15+. For this reason he presents Christ as subordinated to the Father, 1
Co 3:23; 11:3, not only in the work of creation, 1 Co 8:6, but also in that of
eschatological renewal, 1 Co 15:27f; cf Rm 16:27, etc. Nevertheless, the title
“lord’, Kyrios, received by Christ at his resurrection, Ph 2:9-11; cf Ep
1:20-22; Heb 1:3f, is the title given by the LXX to Yahweh in the OT., Rm
10:9,13; 1 Co 2:16. For Paul, Jesus is essentially the ‘Son of God’, Rm
1:3-4,9; 5:10; 8:29; 1 Co 1:9; 15:28; 2 Co 1:19; Ga 1:16; 2:20; 4:4,6; Ep 4:13;
1 Th 1:10; cf Heb 4:14, etc., his ‘own Son’, Rm 8:3,32, ‘the Son of his love’,
Col 1:13, who belongs to the sphere of the divine by right, the sphere from which he came, 1 Co
15:47, being sent by God, Rm 8:3; Ga 4:4. The title ‘Son of God’ became his in
a new way with the resurrection, Rm 1:4+; cf Heb 1:5; 5:5, but it was niot then
that he received it since he pre-existed not
only as prefigured in the OT., 1 Co 10:4, but ontologically, Ph 2:6; cf
2 Co 8:9. He is the Wisdom, 1 Co 1:24,30, and the Image, 2 Co 4:4, by which and
in which all things were created, Col 1:15-17; cf Heb 1:3; 1 Co 8:6, and have been
re-created, Rm 8:29; cf. Col 3:10; 1:18-20, because into his own person is
gathered the fullness of the godhead and of the universe, Col 2:9+. In him Gd
has devised the whole plan of salvation, Ep 1:3f, and he, no less than the
Father, is its accomplishment (cf. Rm 11:36; 1 Co 8:6 and Col 1:16,20). Tha
Father raises to life and judges, so does the Son raise to life (cf Rm 1:4;
8:11+ and Ph 3:21) and judge (cf. Rm 2:16 and 1 Co 4:5; Rm 14:10 and 2 Co
5:10). In short, he is one of the three persons enumerated in the Trinitarian
formulae, 2 Co 13:13+.”
2.
Rm 10:9 - If
your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead,e then you will be saved. Footnote e
- Profession of faith, such as is made at baptism, is the outward expression of
the inward commitment of the ‘heart’.
3.
1 Co 6:14 - God who raised the Lord from the
dead and will by his power raiseh us up too. Footnote h says “Var. ‘has raised’”.
Verse 5 says: Through him we received grace and our
apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faithe to all pagan
nations in honor of his name.
Footnote e says “Subjective
genitive: the obedience implicit in the
virtue of faith. Cf. Ac. 6:7, Rm. 6:16-17, 10:16, 15:18, 16:19,26, 2 Co.
10:5-6, 2 Th. 1:8, 1 P. 1:22, Heb. 5:9, 11:8.”
As it has always been believed by many based on the trial of Jesus
Christ, the majority is not always right nor on the side of the truth.
An quotation of Thomas E. Boomershine, PhD, from
www.gotell.org/© 2010 GoTell Communications:
This story is part of Jesus' farewell discourse to the
disciples…. This part of Jesus' last talk with the disciples in John is one of
the central sources of a major doctrinal controversy, called the filioque that
has divided the church. The description of the Holy Spirit in the Nicene Creed
is that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. This was the form of the
Creed that was originally approved at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Later in
the context of the ongoing controversies with Arian theology,the Western Church
began to add that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son.
Filioque means "and the Son" in Latin. In the eleventh century, the
Western Church (Roman Catholic) added the filioque to the Nicene Creed. The
Eastern Church (Orthodox) was greatly offended by this violation of the rule
that had been established by an ecumenical council, that nothing would be added
to the Nicene Creed without the approval of a full ecumenical council of the Eastern
and the Western church. The result was a schism between the Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches. In the eleventh century, the split became official
and is with us today.
Thus, the Son and the Spirit are intimately related to the
Father—are one with the Father. Their relationship is a relationship of mutual
identification and mutual spiritual identity as well as each being a
distinctive dimension of the character of God. It is one of the great ironies
of the Christian religion that this statement from John, that he intended to create
and sustain unity and collaboration, has become the source of division and
schism. My own opinion is that this story reflects John's explicit intention to
maintain the ambiguity. It is the ambiguity created by the intimate interaction
of the different dimensions of God's spirit.
Later Jesus says that the Spirit will "take what is mine
and declare it to you," in Greek ektuamu. Literally translated Jesus'
statement is: He will receive "what is out of me and declare it to you and
he will glorify it because it is from me that he will receive what he will make
known to you." This describes precisely what has happened. The Holy Spirit
has been present with us and has continued to reveal things to us in the course
of the history of interpretation of the stories and sayings of Jesus. As we've
lived through these 2000 years, Jesus'
prayer has been answered and the Holy Spirit has continued to reveal things to
us. The dynamic of this address is the dynamic of hope. Jesus was going away,
he was going to die. His promise was that the Holy Spirit will come and be with
us and will continue to make known to us the thoughts and words that he
received from the Father.
An article “What is truth?”, by Matt Slick from www.carm.org :
"What is
truth?" is a very simple question.
Of course, answering it isn't so simple.
We can offer definitions like "Truth is that which conforms to
reality, fact, or actuality." But
this basic definition is not complete because its definition is open to
interpretation and a wide variety of applications. What is reality? What is fact?
What is actuality? How does
perception affect truth? We could offer
answers for each of these questions, but then we could again ask similar
questions of those answers… In order
for truth to be defined properly, it would have to be a factually and logically
correct statement. In other words, it
would have to be true. But, perhaps we
could look further at truth by determining what it is not. Truth is not error. Truth is not self-contradictory. Truth is not deception. Of course, it could be true that someone is
being deceptive, but the deception itself isn't truth…”
“The Greek word for
“truth” is aletheia, which literally means to “un-hide” or “hiding nothing.” It
conveys the thought that truth is always there, always open and available for
all to see, with nothing being hidden or obscured. The Hebrew word for “truth”
is emeth, which means “firmness,” “constancy” and “duration.” Such a definition
implies an everlasting substance and something that can be relied upon.
“From a philosophical
perspective, there are three simple ways to define truth:
1. Truth is that which corresponds to reality.
2. Truth is that which matches its object.
3. Truth is simply telling it like it is.
“First, truth corresponds to reality or
“what is.” It is real. Truth is also correspondent in nature. In other words,
it matches its object and is known by its referent. Truth also matches its
object. In short, truth is simply telling it like it is; it is the way things
really are, and any other viewpoint is wrong.“
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