The Divine Dance

 In Bette Midler’s song “From a distance” there is an image portrayed that God watches us from a place far far away. This can be tempting to see God as an entity that exists somehow out of the plane of our existence. Almost a God who sets everything in motion and then sits back to see what happens. This is an image of a God who is a spectator to what has been created rather than an active involvement with creation.

I believe this is the importance of the celebration of the Solemnity of the Trinity. It shows us that God is at the heart of creation and is passionately involved with who we seek to become. As a Father, he seeks to reveal to us not only the goodness of creation but also the goodness of our creation. The Son as the creative Word helps us to articulate that in a way that can be understood and lived. The Spirit engages us as a living water welling from the source of creation to quench our thirst.

So we hear in Wisdom how God is ever creative and ever new. The image of God as the master craftsman ever at play brings forth delight in what is created. The sense of this creation is something that does not see God as remote or distant from what is created. There is a natural wonder raised up in people as they contemplate the diverse nature of the world of which they are a part. This can be noticed when we break out of the confines of the city but is also present when we notice the cycle of the seasons which envelop us and enwrap us with their beauty. We are not called to be mere spectators but participants who are renewed and enlightened with the life around us and within us.

It is recognizing that we see this incarnate truth through the person of Christ, which embodies this wonder within his person. The creative word becomes one with creation so that we can understand our true nature that grows in relationship with God. We are drawn into a mystery that is recreated within us and through us. We are one with God, in communion with each other and recreated with the vision of God. This once again is at the heart of our concern for each other who are created in the image and likeness of God. We are called to experience the same divine life, which gazes upon the world. It enlivens us to not stand by when people are in great need but seeks to nourish, reconcile and heal those who are burdened by suffering both physically and spiritually. To become people whose patience and perseverance bring forth hope.

This can allow us to discover how the Spirit is at play in befriending us with a spirit that seeks out God in all things. It helps us to build on the sacred underpinnings that are at the heart of life. They help us to become stewards of creation and counselors for humanity. We do not stand apart from creation but are drawn into the heart of the voice that breathes life into the world. We become part of the divine dance that notices the dance, the dancer, and the dancing. A God who is ever-creative, ever new.

Thus, the Trinity invites us into a relationship with the heart of life that breaks through the barriers that can appear between us. The places where we can distance ourselves from God and that distance us from each other. This divine relationship reshapes our vision to look at the heart of creation with the eyes of God. It no longer limits us to an image of sin and repentance but rather embraces us in the spirit of the Goodness of creation and our salvation. No longer are we strangers to God but he seeks at the heart of the mystery of the Trinity to behold and befriend us and to labor with us for the good of the whole of creation. In this, we see echoes of what St Cyril of Jerusalem notices when he says “In each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals his presence in a particular way for the common good.”