TRINITY SUNDAY
After the Son revealed His
relation to the Father through Good Friday and Easter, and the Spirit revealed
Himself at Pentecost, the most Holy Trinity can now be fully worshipped.
Tobit, Chapter 5, Verse 21
Tobit reassured her: “Do not worry! Our son
will leave in good health and come back to us in good health. Your own eyes
will see the day when he returns to you safe and sound. So, do not worry; do
not fear for them, my sister.
It is natural to fear
something you cannot control. Christ could not be controlled by the men in
charge of the Temple system; so they feared Him and they feared the crowd that
followed Him. Christ’s message was good news to the crowd who were but pawns in
the Jewish Temple system of wealth and power. We in times of trouble should be
like Tobit and seek to walk all the days of our lives in paths of truth and
righteousness. It was Tobit who defied those in power to do an act of mercy by
burying the dead. While his neighbors mocked him and saying to one another: He
is still not afraid! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of
this very thing; yet now that he has scarcely escaped, here he is again burying
the dead!” (Tobit 2:8) Love makes sacrifices. He (Christ) laid down His life
for us. We should also lay down our live for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)
Tobit[1]
- On the first night out, Tobias and Raphael/Azariah
camped by the Tigris River.
- When Tobias went to bathe, a fish jumped out of the
water and tried to swallow his foot. Scholars see much symbolism in
this event. Typically, water represents chaos; then it’s an attempt
to disrupt their trip. “Feet” sometimes has sexual connotations;
then it’s an attack on his manhood.
- Azariah told him to grab the fish.
- He hauled it out on the shore, and Azariah told him to
cut out the heart, liver, and gall bladder. What he couldn’t eat, he
salted and took with them. Since he ate it, it could not have been
an unclean fish. (Now, as an angel, Azariah never ate anything, which he
will point out later in the story. Tobias, however, didn’t catch on
to any of this.)
- Along the way, the angel told Tobias what to do with
those fish parts.
Most of us by the grace
of God are never confronted with such terrors as Tobit. Yet, we too in our
quiet lives can lay down ourselves in service to our brothers.
John McCain in his book
Character is Destiny[2] highlights
the life of John Wooden who in his own quiet way as a Basketball coach made a
huge difference in countless lives of young men growing up teaching them the
power of COOPERATION. Coach Wooden was a modest man who inspired young men
under his tutelage, leading by example; teaching them wisdom and decency to
become both winners and good men.
McCain states Wooden:
He cared about his
players, and paid strict attention to teaching them the small and big things
that would help them become the best basketball players they could be, and,
most important, the best men they could be. He would bench a player for using
profanity or for criticizing a teammate or for treating an opponent
disrespectfully. He expected his players to dress appropriately, be courteous
to everyone, acknowledge their other teammates when they scored, and to refrain
from showing excessive emotions on the court. He taught them dignity, based, as
dignity is, on self-respect and respect for others. And he taught them not only
the usefulness of teamwork, five men all playing their assigned roles, but the
virtue of cooperation, and the sense of satisfaction it provided to an
individual.
Coach Wooden[3]
taught that success is, “peace of mind
that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to
become the best that you are capable of becoming.” Coach Wooden developed a
Pyramid of Success which he taught his players which not only help them win at
the game of basketball but also in the game of life.
Feast of the Most Holy Trinity[4]
Sunday
is dedicated to the worship of the Triune God, and is called accordingly the
Lord s day; but the first Sunday after Pentecost is appointed by the Church a special
feast of the Most Holy Trinity, because this mystery, as the fundamental
doctrine of the Christian religion, began at once to be preached by the
apostles, as soon as they had been enlightened and strengthened by the descent
of the Holy Ghost.
What thoughts and affections should occupy our minds on this feast? Although
the mystery of the Trinity is incomprehensible to us, we must consider: 1. That
God would cease to be God, if our limited understanding were capable of
penetrating the substance of nature. 2. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity,
though incomprehensible to our intellect, is yet not without fruit in our
hearts. The records of revelation show us God the Father as our Creator, God
the Son as our Redeemer, God the Holy Ghost as our Sanctifier; and should not
this move us to a child-like gratitude towards the blessed Trinity? In praise
of the Most Holy Trinity, the Church sings at the Introit of the Mass, Blessed
be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity; we will give glory to Him, because He
hath shown His mercy to us. O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is Thy name in all
the earth.
Though the mystery of the Holy Trinity is the greatest dogma of the
Christian faith and the Feast of the Holy Trinity one of the beloved annual
feasts of Christianity, there are not many customs or rituals quintessentially
associated with this day. It has always been the custom, however, to keep this
day with great reverence and
solemnity. Festivals after Mass featuring thunderous preachers
and thunderous bands aroused their listeners to joyful
heights, while Holy Trinity Confraternities
(which were once very influential) would sponsor special events and
devotions on this their name day. Superstition also ascribed great powers to
the weather on Holy Trinity Sunday, regardless of what it was:
"Trinity rain" was considered as healthy as "Trinity
sunshine."[5]
Trinity
Sunday Top Events and Things to Do[6]
·
The Trinity is often described as a holy mystery
beyond complete human understanding. To mark Trinity Sunday, consider
other things that are beyond human understanding, like the universe, or the
concept of time never ending.
·
Listen to a sermon on Trinity Sunday to see what
examples the pastor uses to illustrate the concept of God in three persons.
·
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music to celebrate
the Trinity. Listen to one of his Trinity Sunday cantatas on YouTube.
·
Experience the Trinity in art at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. One painting that depicts
this is The Trinity by Italian
painter Angulo Gaddi.
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