Scripture: John 14:7-10
If you have really known me, you will also know the Father. From now on you know him and have seen him.” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father; that will be enough for us.” Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I have spoken to you I don’t speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me does his works.
Thought for the Day: Christianity has, from the beginning, struggled with how to understand and explain the mystery of the Trinity. By the very fact that we use the word mystery should probably tell us something. One of the earliest treatises on the Trinity was written by Bishop Hilary of Poitiers around the year 350AD. It’s interesting how he focused on the relationship between the first two persons of the Trinity, the Father and Son, and less on the Spirit. And though his work has not been respected because of the diminished placement of the Spirit, Hilary’s emphasis on the equality of the Father and the Son is what historians find interesting. His work was mostly a response to Arianism, the belief that the Son was subordinate to the Father. Hilary did not want to have the Son, the Christ, a lesser-God, as that begins to unravel the concept of monotheism. There are many different approaches to how one thinks of the Trinity, but in the end, we must continue to remember how language matters. Something may sound nice, but the theological ramifications are troubling or even dangerous. Though if you still struggle to find language and meaningful structure for the concept of the Trinity, please know that you are in good company.
Prayer: Continue to provide opportunities for me to know you and to grow in my understanding of you, O Great Mystery of the Universe. Through the life of Jesus Christ, I believe I have seen you…or at least, all that I am capable of seeing and knowing. I ask for your Spirit to continue to encourage my search and my questions, for in the end, I want to know you better so I can follow you more closely. Amen.
SEE YOU THURSDAY
