Today's first reading shows us what we might call the summits of Israelite wisdom grappling with the mystery of God. We see here, in a text of what we call wisdom literature, the figure of wisdom personified. Who or what is this figure, "at the side" of God, "as an architect, and day after day it cheered him up."who works with God in the creation of the world? And yet Israel continues to grope in the dark.
The psalm continues the theme of confrontation with the mystery of God, focusing this time on the dignity of the human person. Before the splendor of creation, what is man within it? "You made him little inferior to the angels.". But the Hebrew word used here is Elohimi.e., little less than "gods". However, the Greek translation of the Septuagint translates it as "angels," as does the New Testament letter to the Hebrews (Heb 2:9). Man is such a great creature that we are like angels, even like God himself, made in his image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27).
However, we need the New Testament for the full revelation. Here we learn that God's inner being is truly trinitarian: one divine nature, but three divine Persons. We have access to the Father through the Son, who became man as Jesus Christ, and divine love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, himself God's living love, as St. Paul teaches us in the second reading.
Today's Gospel is dense, but it is worth unraveling. Even with the fuller revelation received through Christ, we are still groping before the divine mystery. Jesus taught us so many things about the inner life of God, but "you can't carry them for now.". However, the Holy Spirit is at work in our hearts and in the Church to guide us. "to the full truth". The Spirit takes the teachings of Jesus and leads us to a fuller perception of them: "he will receive of mine and will announce it to you.". If we are docile to the action of the Spirit, the life of the Trinity grows in us, leading us to know and relate to each divine person in a deeper, livelier and more loving way.
The life of God is always a mystery that eludes our understanding, but exploring this mystery is an exciting journey in which the Spirit constantly gives us new insights, ultimately fostering our hope for heaven: He "he will tell you what is to come.". On today's feast of the Holy Trinity, we might consider how real, how alive, is our relationship with each divine Person.
