Moses’ admonition to the Israelites is very clear in today’s readings:
“Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other” Deuteronomy 4:39.
Monotheism is precisely that—a belief that God is but one. All three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, celebrate this fact. But celebrating is quite different from creating our own theology as opposed to the one revealed to us.
Our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters rightly emphasize the oneness of God, but often times they do so in order to counter what Christians rightly believe has been divinely revealed, i.e., that God is One, in Three Divine Persons; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. That is, God is a Trinity of Persons. This is what we are celebrating today in a special way—God, as he has revealed himself. It is a mystery, and logic demands mystery. Why? We are finite, and God is infinite. Do we really think we’re going to be able to comprehend everything that is even remotely related to God, unless he sheds light on the issue at hand? So, mystery is and will always necessarily be present.
The Church therefore has always had to present, in as clear and concise a manner as possible, this truth for all its faithful to consider and acknowledge, since given all the erroneous interpretations of what God has indeed revealed about himself, heresies where bound to arise when one or a number of elements of that revelation were not being considered, taken out of context, misconstrued, denied etc. Basically, when the Church had to figure out who was telling the truth and who was in error, they would always go back to the sources of scripture, and to scripture itself to accurately see what the Lord had precisely revealed. In so doing, it was fulfilling its role to protect that Divine Revelation under the inspiration, guidance and illumination of the Holy Spirit, whom Christ had promised would lead them, the apostles and their successors, into all truth. It is a guidance of the Holy Spirit we already see beautifully occurring in the Acts of the Apostles, that is, in the infancy of the Church which was beginning to take Jesus’ message to all corners of the world.
Saint Athanasius, who was a bishop of Alexandria from 328-373 AD, was one such instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit, so as to combat the pride of Arius his contemporary, which had morphed into a powerfully deceptive heresy known as Arianism.
The Athanasian Creed, which is attributed to this staunch defender of the Triune God, even if it cannot be traced to him as the author, nevertheless presents his thought and apologetics accurately. It is a lengthy statement of faith that outlines the doctrine of the Trinity and the nature of God. It is considered one of the most important and influential creeds in the history of Christianity. The creed is a statement of faith that affirms the following:
The Father is eternal, uncreated, and unbegotten. The Son is eternal, uncreated, and coeternal with the Father. The Holy Spirit is eternal, uncreated, and coeternal with the Father and the Son. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, coequal and coeternal. The Father is not begotten, nor created, nor proceeding from anyone. The Son is begotten, but not created, nor made. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is no other God except the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is no other Lord except Jesus Christ and finally, that there is no other salvation except through Christ alone.
Athanasius refuted Arius' teaching that Jesus was a created being and therefore less than God, and Sabellianism's teaching that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three modes or manifestations of one God. Athanasius also refuted Apollinarism's teaching that Jesus had a divine soul.
The creed concludes with a warning against those who do not accept its teachings:
"Whoever wishes to be saved should in the first place keep these following points in mind: 1. He must above all have faith in the true God, 2. He must believe in the Holy Trinity, 3. He must worship one God in three persons, 4. He must
confess one Lord Jesus Christ, 5. He must acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, 6. He must renounce Satan and his wickedness. And whoever does not keep these points should be anathema [cursed]!"
Now this is quite the harsh pronouncement from Athanasius, but we have to understand how much he suffered so as to safeguard that truth. He was exiled for over seventeen of his fifty-plus years of episcopate, as Arius’ followers had gained ground all over Europe. They made his life a living hell, and still he managed to be vindicated by the true God, who allows us to undergo these trials, only to happily give us a higher place in heaven to enjoy for all eternity. To those who suffer for his name, and remain humble in light of the overwhelming, sublime and beautiful depth of what He has revealed, he grants unique rewards, blessings and graces.
The Franciscan philosophers, particularly St. Bonaventure and Bl. John Duns Scotus, played a significant role in the development of Trinitarian theology in the Middle Ages.
St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) was a key figure in the Franciscan school and a prominent theologian of his time. He emphasized the importance of the Trinity as a central mystery of Christian faith, arguing that it is the source of all being and salvation. In his work "Breviloquium," he presented a comprehensive treatment of the Trinity, emphasizing the unity and diversity of the divine persons. Bonaventure's Trinitarian theology was characterized by a focus on the Father's love, which is the source of the Son's generation and the Holy Spirit's procession.
Bl. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) was another influential Franciscan philosopher who made significant contributions to Trinitarian theology. He developed a nuanced understanding of the Trinity, focusing on the relationships between the divine persons and their respective roles in the economy of salvation. Scotus emphasized the importance of the Father's will, which is the source of all divine actions, including the generation of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit. He also argued that the Trinity is not just a static reality but a dynamic process, with each person contributing to what constitutes the Godhead.
Some key features of Franciscan Trinitarian theology include: 1, an emphasis on the unity of the Trinity. Both Bonaventure and Scotus stressed the essential unity of God, arguing that the Trinity is a single, undivided reality. 2. Franciscan philosophers emphasized the importance of the relationships between the divine persons, particularly the Father's love, which is seen as the source of all divine actions. Bonaventure for example declared that the only reason we can call and say God is love, in its essence, is because he is a plurality of Persons, a Community of Love, which makes him One. Perhaps the best analogy of this is how a husband and a wife, according to our Lord, become “one body” after having left their fathers and mothers. They unite, and become one. 3. The role of divine will: Scotus, in particular, highlighted the importance of divine will in understanding the Trinity, arguing that it is the Father's will that is responsible for all divine actions. 4. Dynamic understanding of the Trinity: Both Bonaventure and Scotus saw the Trinity as a dynamic process, with each person contributing to the overall life of God.
In summary, Franciscan philosophers like Bonaventure and Scotus made significant contributions to Trinitarian theology, emphasizing the unity and diversity of the divine persons, and highlighting the importance of divine relations and will in understanding God's nature.
By no means, will our Trinitarian theology, even if conducted till the end of time, ever be exhaustive. In his work "De Trinitate" (On the Trinity), Saint Augustine (354) wrote that his understanding of the Trinity was like a child trying to grasp the ocean in a small cup. He used this analogy to describe how he had initially struggled to comprehend the nature of God as a Trinity of three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).
Just as the boy in the famous story was trying to empty the sea into a hole in the sand, Augustine was trying to grasp the infinite and eternal nature of God within his own finite and limited human understanding. He recognized that he could not fully comprehend the Trinity, just as the boy could not empty the sea into a hole in the sand.
And so too it is with us, my dear brothers and sisters. We were never expected, nor created to know everything there is to know about God. We were created, on the other hand, to know him, love him, and trust him in all his ways, especially when we do not understand. In trying to love him and imitate his love, and in being created in his image, in the image of a plurality of Persons therefore, we too are only functioning within the capacity of our purpose as human beings, when we extend ourselves to others. If we live for ourselves and our own selfish needs, we evade the point of our existence.
May the Mother who knew, loved, and served this wonderful God of ours perfectly, be our help and our strength as we humbly walk before Him, each day discovering more and more just how much he has truly and will continue to truly love us.
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