Well, it’s Trinity Sunday. Today we celebrate the greatest and most profound mystery of our
faith: that there are three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and one God.
I love the first reading because of the image it gives us of the Trinity. Two words are repeated in
that reading: delight and play. What a beautiful image of the Holy Trinity—delight and play.
The reading says, “I delighted before him day after day, and I played before him all the while,
playing on the surface of the earth, and my delight was in the human race.”
I want to talk about that idea of delight and play.
Growing up, one of the things I loved most was playing. I enjoyed being outside in
nature—riding bikes and ATVs through the woods, water skiing, and just playing on the surface
of the earth.
To hear that God delights in that? That’s a wonderful thing.
It makes me think of water skiing in relation to the Trinity. If you’ve ever water skied, you know it
takes three people: the driver, the spotter, and the skier. I want to use that as an image of the
Trinity.
In the first reading, Proverbs is speaking about Jesus, who delighted before the Father, day
after day. In creation, we see this play between the Son—who creates—and the Father—who
delights in heaven.
Imagine Jesus as the skier and God the Father as the spotter. The spotter never takes their
eyes off the skier. Their job is to watch constantly, offering guidance or warning when needed.
In the same way, God the Father never takes His eyes off of you. As you delight in creation, He
delights in you.
Now consider the driver—let’s call that the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives you the speed, the
power, the energy, and also knows when to slow down, when to speed up, and how to steer
around the waves. The Holy Spirit is always guiding us.
And that brings me to what it means to be invited into the Trinity.
Not only do I love water skiing, but I especially love teaching others how to ski. I get to see new
generations—kids I’ve taught who now teach others—rising up on the water for the first time.
That joy, that freedom, that sense of play literally on the surface of the earth… It’s incredible.
And God’s delight? It’s not only in us playing, but in us teaching others how to delight—how
to play.
Think about your own life: How much play do you allow yourself? How much time do you spend
enjoying this beautiful creation God has given us?
What does your week look like? What does your Sunday look like? Sunday is supposed to be a
day of rest—and a day of play. No work. Just enjoyment.
Sometimes I think we take our calling too seriously—by which I mean we forget that God often
calls us through joy. He invites us into the things we love, into the things that bring us delight.
Into play.
Remember, today’s reading gives us this image of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, delighting in one another through play.
And in this Eucharist, we’re invited to take our place in that mystery.
When the Father looks at you, He sees His Beloved Son, Jesus—and He takes delight in you.
And when you embrace that calling, when you walk in discipleship, you become like the
spotter—helping others find Christ, and inviting others into this Holy play.
What an incredible image of the Trinity.
I hope you make time for play this summer. I hope you allow God the Father to delight in you. I
hope you let the Holy Spirit guide you—give you that movement, that energy, that joy on the
surface of the earth.
You are invited—as a disciple—into the life of the Trinity.
Into the play.
Into the Father’s delight.
