I recently read somewhere about the continued work of the Trinity in creation, in the Church and within human relationships. The author described this work as a “dance.” I was struck by the thought and wondered if I could try to illustrate the dance of creation that the work of the Trinity continues to undergo. After some reflection in prayer, I began to sketch out my ideas and put them on a canvas. I completed the image several months ago. It is twenty inches square, painted with acrylic paints on wood.
I am reminded of this image as I continue my series of the Genius of One. Author Greg Holder (“The Genius of One: God’s Answer for Our Fractured World”) states, “‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one.’ Try to imagine the love of the Father hearing these words from human lips formed only a few years earlier – and yet, spoken by the eternal Son who knew no beginning. It’s almost too much. God is both above the story and now – like never before – in the story.”1
If that doesn’t get you thinking, what about this quote from the same author? “Jesus is inviting us into the eternal dance of love between Father, Son, and Spirit. We are not to observe it from the outside, but as redeemed mortals, we are to enter the dance, enveloped in and baptized by God’s love, soaked through and through. … This is the chance to join something for which our souls have longed – that raucous, healing, life-giving dance. It is the work of God on planet Earth and the work of God in our own relationships. That’s why this matters. For the watching world, it is an invitation to consider this Jesus for the first time or the first time in a long time.”2
Each of us entered this dance when we were baptized into the Church. Because of this rebirth within Christ, we are called to be shockingly different so that the world will pay attention. We are to be ministers of reconciliation in a world that screams, “If you don’t believe what I believe, then I will cancel you!” Shockingly, we see this attitude woven in our society today. We are the Beloved of God, his sons and daughters! We are to love as we have been loved. Love. That’s what joining in the dance of creation is all about! It’s a conscious choice to make the love of Christ visible in the world.
How does one do this? First and foremost, it demands humility. This virtue is the building block of every relationship. From that virtue, generosity builds on the foundation of humility. I give of myself as Christ gave to us when he walked the face of the earth. It can be found in the action of reaching out your hand and asking another to share in the dance.
Shall we dance?
1Holder, Greg. The Genius of One: God’s Answer for Our Fractured World. Navpress, Published in Alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2017. Pg. 18.
2Holder, pg. 22, 25.
By Sister Geralyn Schmidt, SCC, Special to The Witness
