The Holy Trinity
(Also known as Hospitality of Abraham)
Andrei Rublev (1411 or 1425-27)
5th Week of Easter
We are of the same nature as you, human beings. (Acts 14:15)
Paul’s emphatic statement was meant to stop the people of Lystra from looking up to him and Barnabas as gods. Today, we face a temptation from the other side, to look down on those who don’t share our awareness of life’s spiritual dimension. We may forget that they are our brothers and sisters, equally loved by God and worthy of just as much respect and honor as the greatest saint.
It’s true that many people seem hostile or indifferent to the reality of God. They equate religion with superstition that holds people back from developing their full potential. They see Christians as joyless robots who do as they are told rather than thinking for themselves.
But recent popes have written and spoken eloquently about how God really wants us to live. They have told us that to be fully human means developing every facet of our personalities in the light of God’s revelation. We don’t have to suppress our persistent questions, our strong feelings, or our desires. Rather, we let them develop according to God’s creative and redemptive love. Our unflinching questions can motivate us to explore how God has built this world. Our outrage at injustice can lead us to fight for the powerless. Our wonder at God’s creation can unlock our own creative potential.
As Paul told the people of Lystra, God has left traces of himself everywhere, especially in human beings since we are created in his image. If we want to be effective evangelists, we need to value the people around us. If we can see them as family, we’ll be more willing to come alongside them, affirm what is good in them, and help them discover the “more” that God has for them.
Today, consider these words from Pope Francis: “It is urgently necessary to find new forms and new ways to ensure that God’s grace may touch the heart of every man and woman and lead them to him. We are all simple but important instruments of his; we have not received the gift of faith to keep it hidden but rather to spread it so that it can illumine a great many of our brethren on their journey” (Address to Participants in the Meetings of the Pontifical Mission Societies, May 17, 2013).
“Father, thank you for creating us in your image. Help me to treasure your image in every person I meet.”
Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16; John 14:21-26