6.4.23 Gospel Meditation

Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced. The same can be said about God. God, who is the Mystery of mysteries, may be beyond our intellectual comprehension but not beyond our experience. Were our human minds really capable of knowing the true essence and depth of God, we would then be “equal” to God and as superior as He is. Just because we cannot fully comprehend or master and control God, it does not mean that His presence is diminished or that he is completely out of our grasp. What it does require is a change of focus. Experiencing the incomprehensible mystery of God requires more “soul work” and less “brain work.” It is only in our souls and not in our brains that a Divine encounter can occur.

One of the best tools we can use to open our souls to an experience of God is metaphor. Imaging that God is “like” something else provides an avenue for encounter and deeper understanding of Mystery. It gives us a focus. One such image or metaphor we can use is that of a well-choreographed dance. It can be truly inspirational. Each movement and step are interconnected with each contributing a piece to the unfolding artistic story. The beholder is caught up in the rhythms, music, and gestures realizing that none of the pieces are dispensable and all are necessary. Through encounter and imagination we can become one with the dance.

The same is true of the Holy Trinity. It, too, is a well-choreographed Divine Dance. Each Person of the Trinity plays a part using unique gestures and movements with each connected to the other Divine Partners. They tell a story of love and devotion. Every movement and step are born of Love, which flows on into eternity and exudes joy! The Divine Dance never ends. God the Father/Mother Creator leads powerfully, yet with gentle love. Creating and recreating, birthing and sustaining, God dances with the compassionate incarnate Son guided by the light and breath of the Holy Spirit. Moving as one They still remain three. They share one heart, one goal, one essence and one purpose — inviting all of creation to join in Their dance and experience Their joy! This joyful Trinity of Persons beckons us to join in Their artistic rendering of Love.

The energy and life of the Trinity flows through all created things. It is a dance of the heart and soul, not of the mind. It has to be experienced and cannot be dissected. It has to be contemplated, not understood. As we stand before the Divine Dance we do so in awe. We are amazed at all that God creates and sustains. The dance moves in the cry of a newborn infant and in the soul of one who has been forgiven. It flows in the cry for justice and in the wounds of the oppressed. The Dance heals and unifies and even transforms common bread and wine into Divinity itself. It circles through the changing of seasons, the cycles of birth and death, and is found in the wisdom one acquires when they find Truth. The Divine Dance continues in the majesty of a mountain, the power and wonder of an ocean, and the vastness of the universe. All different parts with diverse faces but completely one. The Dance never ends.

Spiritual Master and mystic Meister Eckhart reminds us that all God wants is for us to allow God (the Trinity of Persons) to be in us. When God’s Word takes flesh in our souls it gets passed through our desires, intentions, virtue, charity, gratitude, joy and the like. God desires to be born in us so that our lives can be choreographed in tune with the Divine Dance itself! Taking a leap of faith, let God be God in us. Meister Eckhart asks us, “what harm can it do you to do God the favor of letting Him be God in you?” We are so accustomed to living out of our minds. It takes great practice and intent to learn to live out of our souls. We must desire God’s joyful rendering of Love to be ours.

When we dance with the Trinity, our lives become intently orchestrated and less fragmented. Our minds and emotions can be overly burdened by the temporal worries and concerns of our lives. Our souls, however, can see the bigger picture of the whole of reality and touch eternity itself. Our souls can gain wisdom but they never age. A person can be 110 and still carry the youthful, playful spirit of a 5-year-old within. There is no time in our souls. Often being very fragmented and disjointed, we can easily lose our focus and center. We jump from one distraction or preoccupation to another with nothing connecting the various pieces of our lives. Rather than move with intent, unity, and purpose, we move with random movement, often struggling for what the next step should be. It is no wonder we are often anxious and discontent.

The Divine Dance always leads us to contemplative prayer. It is only there that we can leave ourselves for a bit and open ourselves to God. Living with greater direction and purpose and less fragmentation, we find ourselves much more in tune with the power of faith, hope, and love and more detached from things that can concern and distract us, especially our feelings and needs. The Divine Dance allows us to celebrate the “Now” moments of life when God is trying to keep our attention in sometimes subtle ways. We must leave the past and worry less about the future in order to appreciate the Divine Symphony playing in our souls.

Put on the eyes of faith. Stand in awe of the perfectly choreographed Divine Dance playing around you and experience its beauty and majesty. Become what you see.

—Fr. Mark Suslenko

Trinity of Persons and Loving God,

may the rendering and dance of your love live in my soul.

May I have the courage to step aside

and allow you to be who you are,

giving birth to yourself within me.

Help me to leave the past behind

and worry less about what tomorrow may bring

so that I can see your presence

as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

dancing in, through, and around me.

Help me see this and be this here and now,

in this very moment.

May I pursue less of my own needs and desires

and set aside distraction so that I can

follow your lead to justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude.

May my eyes and soul be open enough to see

your Divine Trinitarian presence resonating and playing

in all of creation and in my brothers and sisters.

Amen.