I beside him as His craftsman, and I was His delight day by day, playing before Him all the while, playing on the surface of His earth; and I found delight in the human race.”
During the Easter Season we heard a great deal of Jesus’ teaching on the nature and character of His Father in heaven. We learned about the Father from the Son and He introduced us to the gift that was to come: But when He comes, the Spirit of truth, He will guide you to all truth.
In the brief passage given for today’s gospel we get a picture of the interrelationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. None acts in isolation or apart from the others. They are in perfect eternal union.
We know that the Father’s love was most perfectly expressed in Jesus’ sacrifice for us. We know the Father’s love is most perfectly expressed in His ongoing relationship with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
What the Father sent the Son to do and the Holy Spirit to carry on is the re-establishment of what Proverbs paints for us – a relationship of delight, joy, and love.
This is easy to picture, the Son playing in the garden of the earth and taking delight in the human race.
Humanity created in the image of the Trinity’s relationship is an object of love for God. The Trinity wants what is best for us. The Trinity wants what will pull us from sin, pain, and sorrow into the realm of heavenly glory.
One key take-away from today’s Solemnity is the joy God takes in us. We tend to think of ourselves as less than worthy/ Perhaps we see ourselves as not quite a joy to ourselves, others, and God. But we are a joy for God. We are His delight.
The Father, Son, and Spirit delight in each other – and they reflect that very same delight toward us.
In the end, this is the very reason for the Son’s sacrifice, for His opening the gates of haven to us. It is so we can get back to our rightful place in God’s presence, so we will be His delight eternally.
As we face the week ahead, let us concentrate on who we are in the Trinity’s eyes and live up to being Their delight.