A sermon on The Holy Trinity, John 3:16-18

By Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist

Twenty years ago, I was honored to be a Chaplain for the Cincinnati Fire Department. During those two years, I met true heroes who dedicated their lives to save lives. 

One such hero was Oscar Armstrong. Oscar was a young man who had an "old soul," wise beyond his years. He once told me, "to help others is what makes life worth living." 

Oscar gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life when he entered a burning house believing a child was inside. I was honored to speak at his funeral on Thursday, March 27, 2003. More than 1,000 firefighters from the United States and Canada filled St Xavier Catholic Church in downtown Cincinnati where Oscar's casket was carried there on Engine Nine. 

I remember one line from my sermon on that sad day: "Firefighter Armstrong gave his life because the life of a child mattered more than his own safety."

God gave us Jesus because our eternal life mattered more than the life of His only Son. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16.) 

In this one sentence, God reveals who He is, what He does and why He does it. The who of God is Love. What He does is constantly give it all away to anyone who will receive it. The why is so that all of us can have life forever with Him.

There is a word that explains this. It is "Kenosis."

Kenosis explains how God operates. Kenosis means to pour out, to empty oneself. God loves us so much He sent Jesus who emptied Himself of His Divine Glory and took on the suffering of human nature. God's Word says, "Though he (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness” (Phil. 2:5-8.) 

Our eternal life mattered more to Jesus than the joys and glory of He had in Heaven. On earth, Jesus experienced hunger, thirst, weariness, rejection, frustration, betrayal and death for us.

Kenosis helps us to understand how the Trinity operates. God is a family of Love. Father, Son and Holy Spirit continually pour forth their Love into each other which is the very essence of who God is. There is a theological term called the "Overflow of Love" to describe what these three divine persons do in the One God. Their Love is so powerful that God decided to give more of it away. That's why He created humans so we can receive the overflow. John 1:16 describes this overflow. "From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another." The blessing is Love. It really makes God happy when you receive His Love. 

When you receive God's Love, you can't keep it just for yourself. Jesus commands you to give it away. 

"I'm giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you." (John 13:34.) 

How did God love us? Jesus shows us. God emptied Himself, making our lives more important than His own glory. At Children's Hospital, the working of the Trinity is made present when parents sacrifice their own lives to "love their child to health." These parents reveal kenosis at its finest. God is so pleased He receives them as His own.

I experienced the awesomeness of kenosis when a mother gave part of her liver to her little daughter. I blessed both mother and child before the life-giving transplant.

Mom gently held her daughter's hand as she lovingly said, "I would give all my organs to keep you alive." 

The transplant was completely successful. A successful life is when you willingly make sacrifices from the overflow of love pouring out of your heart. Blessings to all, Fr. Mike.