Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.

 

Exodus 34:4b – 6, 8 – 9

Throughout Salvation History, we read in Sacred Scriptures that God revealed himself to us at various times.  In Gn. 3:8ff, we hear God walk in the Garden of Eden and have a personal conversation with Adam and Eve.  After he expelled them from his garden, he still continued to reveal himself.  We read that he was known by name to Enosh, the grandson of Adam and Eve (cf. Gn. 4:26), and to Abraham (cf. Gn. 12:8, 13:4); in the original Hebrew Scripture, it actually includes the name יהוה – Yahweh. Then, we hear him reveal his name to Moses, first when he revealed himself in the burning bush (cf. Ex. 3:13 – 15) and then as he entered into a covenant relationship with Israel through him.  In this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear of the renewal of the stone tablets on which the Decalogue is to be inscribed and we hear the Lord proclaim his name, thus renewing his care for his people even though they had not obeyed his commandments. As we read the passage, note the evidence to indicate the source (J).  This section is probably J’s version of the making of the covenant and parallels chapters 19 -20.  It may have been intended, after the breaking of the stone tablets, to indicate that the covenant would continue despite Israel’s unfaithfulness.  For our celebration, we see God reveal his name again, as we saw earlier in the burning bush incident (cf. 3:13 – 15).  If we look at the footnote for v. 33:12, we see another reference to Moses knowing God by name.

 

4 [Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and] early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets.

5 Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with him there and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”

6 Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, “The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,

 

The LORD passed before him: compare 33:18-23

 

gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity:  Looking at the footnote, we see that “this succinct poetic description of God is repeated several times in the Old Testament (cf. Nm 14:18; Ps 103:8, 145:8; Jl 2:13; Jon 4:2).  This powerful phrase reinforces God’s covenant relationship with his people.

 

LORD, the LORD:  If you look it up in the Hebrew scripture, you see that יהוה is written twice; that was the way that someone would emphasize something.  And, remember, names often revealed who a person was.  Abraham means “the father is exalted,” Sarah means “princess,” Moses means “drawn out of the reeds,” Jesus means, “God saves,” etc.  There is endless debate as to what יהוה actually means.  As you have heard me say before, the best explanation I have heard is that it is the pluperfect active participle of the verb “to be” and it means “I am who was, who is and who will be.”  It speaks of the eternal existence of God.

 

7 continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!”

 

8 Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.

9 Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.”

 

10 The Lord said: Here is the covenant I will make.  Before all your people I will perform marvels never before done in any nation anywhere on earth, so that all the people among whom you live may see the work of the Lord.  Awe-inspiring are the deeds I will perform with you!

 

never before done: notice in your footnote what this really means: created.  These wonders are a new creation that only God can accomplish.

 

11 As for you, observe what I am commanding you today.

 

observe what I am commanding you today: the only requirement for the people is to obey the commandments; that’s why they became the people of the law.


John 3: 16 – 18

 

Throughout John’s Gospel, we discover the clearest proclamation of the Trinity.  Yet, this Sunday, we hear a revelation only of the Son of God in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus, a Pharisee who is also a member of the Sanhedrin, and also a rabbi, represents the quintessence of Judaism.  Yet, he dares to meet with Jesus, albeit at first in secret. 

 

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

 

God so loved the world:  the only adequate explanation we shall ever have of the gift of eternal life made possible for us in the redemption achieved in Christ’s death and resurrection is God’s infinite love.

 

Gave: God gave his son as a free gift, not an obligation.  As a gift in the incarnation, and also “over to death” in the crucifixion; cf Romans 8:32.  

 

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

 

Condemn: the Greek root means both judgment and condemnation. Jesus’ purpose is to save, but his coming provokes judgment; some condemn themselves by turning from the light.  

 

18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

 

Has already been condemned: Christ has been sent into the world to bring eternal life.  Willful unbelief is the cause for condemnation.  And, such judgment is not only future but is partially realized here and now.  


2 Corinthians 13:11-13

 

This Sunday, we hear the end of Paul’s exhortation to the community in Corinth to live in peace.  He then offers a Trinitarian blessing as he wraps up this second letter.  These verses may have originally concluded 2 Cor 10-13, but they have nothing specifically to do with the material of that section. It is also possible to consider them a conclusion to the whole of 2 Cor in its present edited form. The exhortations are general, including a final appeal for peace in the community. The letter ends calmly, after its many storms, with the prospect of ecclesial unity and divine blessing. The final verse is one of the clearest trinitarian passages in the New Testament.

 

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

 

live in peace: if they reconcile with one another and encourage each other, they will experience the peace of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

 

 

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you.

 

a holy kiss:  Paul often ends his letter with this directive (cf. 1 Thes 5:26; 1 Cor 16:20; 1 Pt 5:14). A holy kiss has its origin in the customary greetings of rabbis and, indeed, all devout Jews. According to some ancient writers, it was extended in the Last Supper.  This is the origin of the Kiss of Peace at Mass, which is a holy greeting, not just a friendly “hello.”

 

13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you.

 

This is the richest and most instructive final blessing in the Pauline epistles.  Paul explicitly wishes for everything necessary for the Corinthian’s salvation: grace, love, and union with God!

 

In the first reading, we learn about God the Father.  In the Gospel, we hear Jesus identify himself with God and in the letter to the Corinthians we hear the earliest written account of a Trinitarian blessing. 

 

We are all complicated and complex individuals.  It takes our entire lives to discover who we really are.  And, as intimate a relationship we may have with another, there is always a mystery about the other.  And, we’re just human beings!  Imagine how infinitely complex God is so it shouldn’t surprise us that we don’t understand God completely.  And yet, God reveals himself to us so that we can begin to comprehend who he is.  Let’s examine the Catechism of the Catholic Church to explore a little more about the Blessed Trinity.

 

THE HOLY TRINITY

 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

 

III.  The Holy Trinity in the Teaching of the Faith

249 From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, principally by means of Baptism. It finds its expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis and prayer of the Church. Such formulations are already found in the apostolic writings, such as this salutation taken up in the Eucharistic liturgy: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

 

251 In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop her own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin: “substance”, “person” or “hypostasis”, “relation” and so on. In doing this, she did not submit the faith to human wisdom, but gave a new and unprecedented meaning to these terms, which from then on would be used to signify an ineffable mystery, “infinitely beyond all that we can humanly understand”.

 

252 The Church uses (I) the term “substance” (rendered also at times by “essence” or “nature”) to designate the divine being in its unity, (II) the term “person” or “hypostasis” to designate the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and (III) the term “relation” to designate the fact that their distinction lies in the relationship of each to the others.

 

253 The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the “consubstantial Trinity”. The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: “The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God.” In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), “Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature.”

 

254 The divine persons are really distinct from one another. “God is one but not solitary.” “Father”, “Son”, “Holy Spirit” are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: “He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son.” They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: “It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds.” The divine Unity is Triune.

 

255 The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: “In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance.” Indeed “everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship.” “Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son.”

 

  1. The Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions

 

257 “O blessed light, O Trinity and first Unity!” God is eternal blessedness, undying life, unfading light. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God freely wills to communicate the glory of his blessed life. Such is the “plan of his loving kindness”, conceived by the Father before the foundation of the world, in his beloved Son: “He destined us in love to be his sons” and “to be conformed to the image of his Son”, through “the spirit of sonship”. This plan is a “grace [which] was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began”, stemming immediately from Trinitarian love. It unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church.

 

258 The whole divine economy is the common work of the three divine persons. For as the Trinity has only one and the same natures so too does it have only one and the same operation: “The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three principles of creation but one principle.” However, each divine person performs the common work according to his unique personal property. Thus the Church confesses, following the New Testament, “one God and Father from whom all things are, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and one Holy Spirit in whom all things are”. It is above all the divine missions of the Son’s Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that show forth the properties of the divine persons.

 

259 Being a work at once common and personal, the whole divine economy makes known both what is proper to the divine persons, and their one divine nature. Hence the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons, without in any way separating them. Everyone who glorifies the Father does so through the Son in the Holy Spirit; everyone who follows Christ does so because the Father draws him and the Spirit moves him.

 

260 The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: “If a man loves me”, says the Lord, “he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him”:

 

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me forget myself entirely so to establish myself in you, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity. May nothing be able to trouble my peace or make me leave you, O my unchanging God, but may each minute bring me more deeply into your mystery! Grant my soul peace. Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling and the place of your rest. May I never abandon you there, but may I be there, whole and entire, completely vigilant in my faith, entirely adoring, and wholly given over to your creative action.