“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” asks the divine voice in Isaiah 6:8. In John 3:8, we hear Jesus say to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” I suggest that, as we read these biblical texts for Trinity Sunday, we let them speak to us about the fullness of God’s activity in the world and how God invites us to be part of it.
God calls everyone to experience the divine wind, also known as the ancient ruah. A Hebrew word, ruah translates as both wind and Spirit that moved over the primordial waters during creation. God’s breath of life—eternal, present in creation, untamed—sends us today to proclaim divine justice and mercy for all.
As we respond to God’s invitation to proclaim God’s word in our daily living, we are reminded, like Nicodemus, that we never know for sure what lies ahead of us. The Spirit, like the wind, blows freely where it pleases, and we can’t control it.
As we respond to God’s invitation to proclaim God’s word in our daily living, we are reminded, like Nicodemus, that we never know for sure what lies ahead of us.
Like Isaiah, we are called by God to face the unexpected and difficult challenges of life in community. The vision described in Isaiah 6:1-8 happened in approximately 738 B.C. Three years later, the prophet found himself speaking of justice and mercy during the tumultuous Syro-Ephraimite War. So it is with us. The Spirit moves believers to engage the political, social and economic challenges of our world through the lens of God’s word, both a mirror of the reality we face (the law) and an assurance of God’s love for us (the gospel).
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically unveiled the inequalities in our society, and these lessons can help us formulate a theological understanding of God’s mission at this critical moment in history. Consider the following questions: In what ways is the Triune God—Holy Parent, Child and Spirit—calling us to minister in our present context? Can we find new ways to serve and be the church? What words of justice and mercy is the Spirit giving us to proclaim for the sake of the world as we face the pandemic of racism?
Although we can’t fully comprehend how our Triune God operates, we know for certain we are God’s beloved children. We belong to the one who was lifted up on a cross for the sake of the world and who has invited us in to feel the breeze from the divine wind and help build the realm of God among us.
