“It is not good for man to be alone,” declared God at the dawn of creation. God said this because we human beings are created in his image. And God, who has existed for all eternity, has himself never been alone. God is a community of three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- who are united as one in perfect love.
Today’s gospel spoke of how this love is demonstrated in three ways. First, this love involves sharing. “Everything that the Father has is mine,” said Jesus, who in turn shares this with the Spirit. Second, we heard that this love builds each other up, in that the Spirit glorifies Jesus, who in turn glorifies that Father. Third, this love leads all involved to possess a common mind. The Spirit does not speak on his own. Instead, he declares the mind of Jesus, which is one with the Father.
We can see that within the Trinity, there is sharing, cooperation, mutual encouragement, and a common purpose springing from a united will. As Christians, this should be the model and goal of all our relationships too. The gospel challenge today is for us to love each other in the same way the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit love each other. A love that has already been shared with us.
Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/060111.shtml
Photo Credit: John Workman via Creative Commons