Proverbs 8:22-31/ Romans 5:1-5/ John 16:12-15
There are many laws and principles that govern nature, and it is these laws and principles that help to make the world go round in an orderly and logical manner.
Many of these laws and principles have been discovered and thereafter they were put into a scientific and mathematical formulation.
For eg, we have heard of the Archimedes Principle. It is a simple formulation of fluid mechanics, which states that an immersed object is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it actually displaces.
It is said that Archimedes discovered this principle when he immersed himself in a bathtub.
It is an everyday occurrence and can be so obvious, and yet it has to be discovered.
Another law of nature is the law of gravity and it was Isaac Newton who discovered it.
The story was that Isaac Newton was sitting under an apple tree and an apple fell on his head and thereafter he thought of the Law of Gravity.
Again that is an everyday occurrence and it is an obvious fact, and it has to be discovered.
But besides mathematical and scientific formulations, there are also a whole slate of laws and principles that give a reflection of the reality of life.
We would have certainly heard of Murphy’s Law. It’s that famous formulation: What can go wrong will go wrong. (We will certainly agree!)
And besides that, there are also funny and humorous “laws”.
Law of the queue: If you change queue, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.
Law of telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged tone.
Law of the bath: When your body is coated with soap lather, the doorbell will ring.
Law of encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with (a warning for those who are two-timing).
Law of coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until your coffee is cold.
Enough of humorous reflections about the “laws” of life.
But whether it’s the law of gravity or the Archimedes Principle or Murphy’s Law, it is about the reality of life.
And the reality of life has a fundamental truth to it. When we discover and understand this truth, then we will be able to handle life and be at peace.
In the gospel, Jesus told His disciples that He still had many things to say to them but it would be too much for them.
But He will send the Spirit of truth to lead us to the complete truth.
Today, as the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday, that is the one truth that has been revealed to us.
The fact is that in the whole Bible, we can never find the word “Trinity”.
Nor is it said anywhere in the Bible that God is three Persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
Yet, that is the truth about God, and it is revealed to us by God Himself. But we need to reflect on it and discover the meaning of it in our lives.
But the essential truth of the Trinity is that God is united in a loving relationship of the three Persons, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
That is the truth about God. And what about ourselves? What is the truth about ourselves and our lives?
One of the golden rules about life is that whatever you do to something, it does back to you, ie. An action follows with a reaction.
It may be people, it may be situations, it may be objects.
There is a story of a father and his son walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams, “Aaahhhh!!!” To his surprise, he hears a voice repeating, “Aaahhhh!!!”
Curious, he yells, “Who are you?” He receives the answer, “Who are you?”
Angered at the response, he screams, “Coward!” He receives a reply, “Coward!”
He looks to his father and asks, “What is going on?”The father smiles and says, “My son, pay attention.”
Then he shouts to the mountain, “I admire you.” And the voice answers, “I admire you.”
Again the man shouts, “You are good.” The voice answers, “You are good.”
The boy is surprised and does not quite understand. Then the father explains:
People call this the Echo, but really this is life. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in this world, then have more love in your heart. If you want more peace in this world, then have more peace in your heart.
This fact applies to everything, in all aspects of life. Life will give you back everything you have given to it.
The Law of Echo is so obvious; it has been discovered and yet we need to be reminded of it.
God who is Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, loves each other and they are united in love.
The echo of Their love resonates constantly in our hearts so that we can love others in the same way that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit loves each other.
So on this Trinity Sunday, let us remember the Law of Echo.
Life gives back to us what we have given to it.
So, let us be loving, and love will be given back to us.