Fr Antonio Pineda
his Sunday’s Gospel is a scene from the Last Supper. Jesus tells his disciples that they had much more to learn but he did not teach them there and then. Why? Had He run out of time? Had the Last Supper taken too long?
No, Jesus’ timing was always perfect. He knew his hour had come. It wasn’t a matter of time sneaking up on Him. And He was always ready for whatever he had to do. Rather, Jesus had “much more” to teach his disciples because they weren’t ready to hear it. They couldn’t understand everything yet. They needed time and experience—and a lot of help from the Holy Spirit. Think of a child. He will not know everything in the first three years of his life. He will need his parents’ age-appropriate guidance for many more years.
Like Jesus’ first disciples, we have much more to learn. We don’t quite comprehend a lot of what Jesus teaches, and we need the Spirit’s help to live out the things that we do understand. This Sunday’s feast of the Holy Trinity is a classic example. Every Sunday we proclaim the Creed and in so doing we proclaim that we believe in one God in three divine Persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Trinity is a mystery we will never fully comprehend. Jesus certainly has a lot he can teach us—about the Trinity and so much more. He unfolds these mysteries for us over our lifetime, as we seek him and open ourselves to the Spirit.
When we think about this properly, we realise how blessed we are. Jesus loves to reveal His truths to us, and He offers us everything we need to understand Him. Through His death and resurrection, He has overcome the sin that clouds our minds and hinders us from seeking and knowing God. Not only that, but He has given us the Spirit, who lives in us and helps us understand the truths of our faith. And He has given us the Church, where we receive the Scriptures, the sacraments, and brothers and sisters who love us. All these things help to reveal more and more to us about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.