Sharing in Divinity

From the Catholic Liturgy for Trinity Sunday, June 16, 2019. Gospel: John 16:12-15. Theme: Sharing in Divinity

Throughout human history every world religion has tried to grasp the reality of who God is and how the divine interacts with us.  The primitive tribal religions saw everything in nature as part of a Supreme Creator.  The ancient Greeks and Romans saw humans as kind of like checkers on a board-game and the gods as the players in control of their lives. The Eastern religions such as Hinduism vary greatly and can have hundreds of gods and goddesses, all influencing some aspect of human life.  Islam sees God as the All-Powerful Master and people as his slaves and servants.  Judaism worships God as Lord and King who has made a covenant with his people who prove their allegiance to him by obeying his commandments.

Amidst all this diversity what stands out most clearly is that all agree that there is Something or Someone greater than us, that transcends the limitations of our humanity.  All agree that it is right and just to give worship to Divinity. All agree that belief in Divinity has implications for our own behavior and choices in life. But what we also learn from all these differences about God is that, apart from the fact that a Supreme Intelligent Being exists, we cannot really know anything specific, anything more. That is, unless God chooses to reveal these things to us in person. And that is precisely the foundation and the unique message of Christianity.

Today, Trinity Sunday, calls us to reaffirm our faith in the revelation that God is love and that because God is love, there is a communion of persons in the One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And even more-so, since the nature of love is to give of itself, the Trinity reaches out to us, inviting us to enter into their relationship. They want to draw close to us and want us to draw close to them.  

Our God does not treat us like checkers on a game-board nor like slaves who live in fear of their Master. Never before or since, in any of the world’s religions, has God been thought of or taught about in such an intimate personal way.  And the only reason we know about this reality of who God is, is because Jesus of Nazareth, God-himself-come-in-the-flesh, has spoken and taught us about it.

Unlike other religions, the God of Christianity does not want us to remain apart from him as outsiders, as spectators. He came to us in the flesh, to share our humanity.  And in exchange, he invites us to come to him and share his divinity. Yes, Jesus wants us, invites us, makes it possible for us to share in his divinity.  That sounds so strange to many people, yet sharing in divinity is the solid teaching of both the New Testament and of the Catholic Church.  It is called salvation. It is called grace. It is called holiness. And those who make it the treasure and goal of their lives are called saints.

St. Paul wrote about it in today’s second reading where he says that God’s love is poured into us by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. You see, in the Trinity’s relationship the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son, and he is sent to us who are baptized as a link of connection, as the pathway into their divine relationship. This sharing in divinity that begins with baptism is deepened and intensified within us by the Holy Spirit through our reception of the other sacraments and by our commitment to prayer and to living the Gospel of Jesus in daily life.

Now, just so you don’t think that I am making this up or preaching some kind of Mormon doctrine in saying that God calls us to share in divinity, listen to this little prayer from the official liturgy of the Church.  It is recited at every Mass by the deacon while he pours water into the wine of the chalice getting it ready for consecration into the Blood of Christ:  By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.

And this prayer for sharing divinity is intentionally said as we prepare for Holy Communion because it is through the Eucharist above all the sacraments that we most intimately share in divinity while still here on earth.  Jesus himself told us this in the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, when he said those who eat the Bread of Life will participate in the relationship he has with the Father and have divine life within them.

Through worthy reception of Holy Communion, which means belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and having our consciences free from serious sin, this sharing in divinity deepens within us, so that we can become, day by day, more loving children of God the Father, more loyal disciples of God the Son, and more spiritually radiant temples of God the Holy Spirit.