(Begin by reading the Gospel. It is a short one, but you might ask someone to read it to you. The Word is better heard.)
We know that all God desires is to gather us all together into God, for the Kingdom of God to be complete. We know that we collaborate with God, we cooperate with God to bring about the Kingdom in all its fullness. But how are we to know what to do today? How are we to know what to do tomorrow? What about the next day? Or three months from now? How are we to know what to do in 5 years time??? On this Sunday—Trinity Sunday—we consider how Jesus answers these questions.
At the Last Supper, Jesus says to the disciples,
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
There is more to know but the disciples are not ready. It is too late. Jesus is about to die. They have run out of time. We wonder how that makes the disciples feel. They did not get it in time.
But Jesus says,
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth
It is not too late. It has only just begun.
In fact, when St. John sits down to write this Gospel, the Spirit of Truth has already come. The Spirit of Truth has already begun to guide them into all Truth.
In our time, too, the Spirit of Truth has already come to us—at our Baptism and, in an even more exquisite way, at our Confirmation. Even now—right now—the Spirit of Truth guides us.
And "guides" is an important word. A guide does not hand us a map of where we are to go and a list of steps of what we are to do. A guide accompanies us. A guide walks with us, showing us the way, one step at a time.
for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
When they are ready, they will be told what they need to know.
Actually, it will be declared to them.
To declare means to tell in a most solemn way.
To declare means to proclaim, to announce, to communicate.
To declare means to reveal.
The Holy Spirit is the Revealer of all that is Truth, the Revealer of God. The One who guides us, reveals to us the path each must walk, one step at a time when we are ready—is the Holy Spirit.
He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit of Truth glorifies Jesus, making him great, lifting him up. We know how great Jesus is because the Spirit of Truth reveals him to us. We think of St. John, sitting down to write this Gospel so that we might know Jesus. His pen poised over the papyrus, he wonders what he should say and how he should say it. He takes a deep breath, inspires in the Spirit of Truth. He breathes out and begins to write.
All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
If all that God has belongs to Jesus, Jesus could have said that the Spirit of Truth takes what is God's and declares it to them. But the disciples know God because they know Jesus. Jesus reveals God to them. And the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to us.
From God to Jesus, from Jesus to the disciples, through the Spirit of Truth.
From God to Jesus, from Jesus to us, through the Spirit of Truth.
This is a mystery and a truth about life. We are not meant to know everything now. We cannot bear it, Jesus says. But we have been sent the Spirit of Truth who guides us, revealing the way one step at a time, into all the truth.