5-31-27 Feast of the Holy Trinity

May 31, 2026

In the opening lines of Genesis, we find the following:” Then God said: Let us make* human beings in our image, after our likeness.   Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.    God created mankind in his image; in the image of God, he created them; male and female* he created them. (Genesis 1: 26-27)                                 

We celebrate in our liturgy this weekend the feast of the Holy Trinity, which calls us to ponder the very nature of God, that is three persons in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.    Now speaking in those terms, and using the customary language of the Old Testament, it would seem that God’s nature is very much Male.  However, to the ancient Jewish mind, that authored most of the Old Testament in Hebrew, when reference is made to God’s spirit, the authors use the Hebrew word for Spirit which is “Ruach.”    "n Hebrew, (Ruach) is generally treated as a feminine noun, both in biblical and classical usage,1" And even in Greek, which much of the New Testament was first written in, the word for Spirit is “pneuma” and the gender of that word is neuter.                                                                                         And from the Genesis’ reading above, we see that from the earliest understanding of God in the Old Testament, that all creation is included and flows from God. 

Why might that be important for us to ponder we might t ask?   Because it is important to understand that as we celebrate this feast of the Trinity, we must appreciate that the relationship of the persons in God is about inclusion not exclusion; they are about caring for and caring about. And as such they portray a very familial image.    Through Christ and his salvific actions on behalf of humanity, we are invited back to a sharing in that inclusive relationship, not only with Christ and the Father and the Spirit, but with all of creation; a relationship just as it was when God created the world and humanity.  And through, that inclusive relationship, from Gensis, mankind shares with God, dominion over and care for, all creation.  And as such, while mankind has power over creation, mankind also has responsibility for the care of, the protection of that which God has created.   It is an awesome responsibility which God entrusts to humanity, but it is a responsibility which humanity shares with God.  And through this relationship with God, mankind, men and women, are empowered to protect what God has created.                                                                                                                                 

In our liturgy for this Sunday. we see also in the Second reading, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, again this responsibility for caring for all God’s creation, especially our brothers and sisters - Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace….” (Corinthians 13:11) Thus Paul stresses this need for the “caring for” and the “protecting of” one another.  And when we do this with open hearts and mindful attention then, as Paul says in his letter-. "the God f love and peace will be with you…..” Finally Paul closes his letter reminding the Corinthians and us of that love which is between the persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit,  and which will be ours, as he says “The grace of the Lord Jesus  Christ and the love of the God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”   

 Our gospel this weekend takes place in the dark of night in a meeting between Jesus and Nicodemus who was one of the leading teachers in Israel.   He has come to Jesus in the dark of night because he doesn't want to be seen by others as seeking out Jesus.  They discuss many things during this meeting but finally Jesus comes to explain why he is here at that time in the history of Israel. He is not there to judge, “for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through him.”   Jesus is here to restore the original relationship between mankind and God.  This relationship of the persons of the Trinity, the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit is offered to mankind out of love and the concern for all creation.  But it reminds us also that while we have dominion over the creation of the earth we too share with the Trinity the responsibility to manifest a care for, and protection of that creation.  Through Jesus’ willingness to surrender his life for us, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own…” (John10:16), and through the love of the Father, and the blessing of the Spirit, we are all offered a pathway, “I am the way.;……(John14:6) back to the  life of the Trinity.  A life which was ours from the beginning and which is offered once again to us if we but believe and choose it. 

                    “Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.”(Genesis 1:25)                                                              

1.Copilot, 5-27-26, gender of Ruach

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