>>We find ourselves in the midst of a journey of solemities. It was just a couple of weeks ago that many dioceses around the country celebrated the feast of Jesus’ ascension into heaven. And then, of course, last Sunday, we celebrated the Pentecost, the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. 

And today, we find ourselves celebrating who God is, God whose father, son, and Spirit. And then next Sunday we’ll celebrate the gift of the Eucharist, Jesus’s body and blood. These are four powerful celebrations. But for today, let’s stick to the trinity that we celebrate today. And on this feast day of the Trinity we have for our readings; John’s the third chapter of John’s letter, the Gospel.  

You know, sometimes you’ve seen the numbers 3-16, 3 colon 16 at football games or soccer games as people hold little signs up. Anyone ever seen those? And sometimes GN3:16. Those signs are held up there because we find this as the core centerpiece of who God is, a God who sent his son Jesus into the world so we might have everlasting life. John 3:16. Mark those numbers in your head. Remember that the third chapter of John’s gospel, the 16th verse: God so loved his world, he sent his only son.  

What I find compelling about this reading for the Trinitarian Sunday, the Trinity Sunday – what I find compelling is who Jesus is speaking with in this passage. You can go back to the third chapter and read it. He’s speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Now Nicodemus is a Pharisee. The means he’s amongst the highest level teachers in all of Judaism. He’s a Pharisee who comes to Jesus under the cover of night. Nicodemus has a deep belief in God, but he also is coming to a deep belief in Jesus. He knows Jesus was sent by God. He wants to know more about why Jesus was sent by God and what does God have in store or in mind for this Jesus.  

So Nicodemus goes to Jesus and questions him about who he is and what his intentions are. Jesus confirms he is sent from God and with this beautiful passage. But Jesus then goes on to teach Nicodemus a little bit about the Spirit. The Spirit of God in which we are baptized as Christian believers, in which we receive new life.  

So I want to share that in this gospel passage, in this conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, we have a great outpouring of who is God in the Trinity. Nicodemus knows God. He knows Jesus to be God’s son. And then he also knows now more about the Spirit. And I love the way Jesus describes a spirit like the wind blows. And you don’t really know how the spirit blows. In the whole reading of the third chapter of John, you’ll hear that reminder about the spirit that blows. And we as Chicagoans know how Spirit blows around us don’t we? We know.  

Let us be mindful of how the spirit blows among us and inspires us sometimes in powerful ways, like a tornado, sometimes in gentle ways, like a wind or breeze during the summer. I encourage us to continue to pray that we come to know the Trinity in all its beauty.  

We pray to God the Father for all of our needs, asking the father to take care of us. We pray to Jesus, the Son asking for healing or forgiveness, or forever lasting life. We pray that the Spirit, the spirit might inspire us always in our work as disciples of Jesus.  

Today we celebrate the great Trinity, and we hear it in the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus. May we live that trinity. And keeping our prayer, our beautiful desire to connect more deeply with God whose father, God whose Son Jesus and God whose Spirit that inspires.