First of all, sorry to begin with a sad story: I was once made a visit to someone who was severely held back in life by a mental health issue. He was truly tormented, despite having received the best of care. He told me though, that he was actually afraid of getting better because, having endured his ailment for so much of his life, he wasn’t sure who he would be without it. He had allowed disorder, his cross, to define him.
We each allow a variety of values to define who we are and it’s a big deal because how we view ourselves shapes the choices we make around what to wear or buy, what language we use or how energy and time is spent. Some, very aware of their limits, might define themselves by their weaknesses, what they can or can’t do. They may say things like, “I’m not a great athlete” or “I’m just not great first thing in the morning” and it can become progressively more self-deprecating.
Holding a slightly more positive outlook, others define themselves by their strengths; they know what they’re great at and what their best qualities are. They know they’re strong or fast or smart and are pleased to let everyone know that’s who they are. There are problems with both approaches, of course, because the various qualities someone might use to define themselves change. Someone who identifies as a good athlete is challenged when health fails or the inescapable truth of age creeps up. The one who identifies as ill is challenged when the right cure is found. Being defined by qualities, strengths or weaknesses, just eventually falls apart.
Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. Often, it’s a prompt to revisit the Christian definition for who God is: three persons, one God, a true mystery. But today’s feast isn’t just a celebration of our Church’s definition of who God is. It also celebrates the fact that God reveals himself. He reveals himself in creation. He reveals himself in the unique life of each. Best of all, he’s revealed himself through Jesus and, yes, he’s revealed himself as a Trinity. There may be a lot of mystery despite the best of definitions, but the Trinity remains worth celebrating because it’s amazing that God reveals himself for us at all. It’s also a celebration because when God reveals himself, he also reveals who each of us are. He is the maker and his mark is in each person; it’s why we assert that each has been made in his image and likeness.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals a little bit about who God is: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”[i] Through this one verse we begin defining God as one who sends his son and wishes to offer eternal life. But the same verse begins to define each of us too; it reveals that we’re worth loving and we’re worth saving: some very Good News!
The more we learn about God the more we learn about ourselves. Without God, we’re left to struggle to define ourselves; those anxious about weaknesses begin to tear themselves apart while others, honouring their strengths, can easily become prideful and even worse can happen when one group defines themselves as superior to even the smallest degree.
Our faith proposes a different way: a definition based on who God says we are. Our faith proclaims that we’re not defined by strengths but by our Baptism: we’re first of all children of God. Our faith proclaims that we’re not defined by weaknesses either but by the cross: there’s no need to prove our worth when the Saviour has given his life for us. Our faith proclaims that we’re not defined by any quality but by our call to share in the work of building God’s Kingdom.
Disciples don’t define themselves but accept God’s definition and this matters because those who define themselves allow their strengths or weaknesses determine how to live out faith. But disciples who accept God’s definition allow him to determine how to live out strengths and weaknesses.
Going back to the today’s feast: as we celebrate the Trinity, how God has revealed himself as three persons, yet one God, as one who sends his son and offers eternal life, we also celebrate what it reveals about us: the Good News that we’re worth loving and worth saving. But there’s one more thing: God’s self-revelation also unveils how we don’t have to convince God of our value; we’re worth loving and saving simply because God has defined us so. We only need to accept it.
Father of all, we thank you for revealing yourself to us through the mystery of the Holy Trinity. May our contemplation of your revelation help us see ourselves not through our own eyes, through strengths or weaknesses, but as your beloved children, created in your image. Grant us the grace to accept the worth and dignity you have given us, trusting that we are worth loving and worth saving because you have declared it so. Following the example and command of your son, may our actions and words reveal your glory and the dignity of each person. We offer this prayer in his name. Amen.
[i] John 3:16 NRSVCE
