Proverbs 8:22-31 / Romans 5:1-5 / John 16:12-15
There are many inventions that come about from a process of in-depth thinking and designing.
These are most obvious in the engineering and technological areas.
But there are also many inventions and discoveries that were made by accidents.
For example, the world’s first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, and it was actually the result of a contaminated laboratory dish.
The accidental melting of a chocolate bar while working with radar technology led to the invention of the microwave oven.
Those Post-it notes was accidentally created while working on a super strong adhesive.
Other examples are chocolate chip cookies, superglue, Velcro tape, etc.
These examples demonstrate that accidents and unintended events have played a significant role in scientific and technological progress.
That also highlights the importance of observation and curiosity in making new discoveries.
But we also believe that everything happens for a reason, and it happens in God's time and in God's plan.
When we reflect deeper on this, we can also see that discoveries don't happen by mere accident.
It is by God's revelation that discoveries are made, and human beings are involved in this revelation by observation and with reflection.
Today, the Church celebrates Holy Trinity Sunday.
The mystery of the Holy Trinity is a divine revelation that tells us that there is one God, and in that one God there are three Persons.
It is a revelation of the very nature and essence of God, which is unity, family and charity.
And who the Holy Trinity is, the Church is called to be.
We, the Church are called to be like the Holy Trinity, called to be in unity, called to be family and called to charity.
That is what the Church is called to be, so that the Church will be a sign of God's divine presence in the world.
But as we know, the Church can be messy.
The many Christian denominations say it all about Christian unity.
It also says much about the unity in the Church, so praying for Christian unity is not an option but an obligation.
And when we think about Church as family, it could be that the Church is like the “Tate Family”.
The Tate family is a rather humorous portrayal of the Church as family.
There is the old man “Dic Tate”, because he wants to run everything.
There is that uncle “Ro Tate” who tries to change everything.
And there is that aunty “Agi Tate” together with her husband “Irri Tate” who are always stirring up trouble.
And there is that “Decapi Tate” who is even worse, because he is always going after whoever is in charge.
And when someone proposes a new project or event, it is impossible to get “Hesi Tate” or his wife “Vege Tate” to be interested, because they always want to wait and wait.
And there is that “Regurgi Tate” who always wants to bring up the same thing again and again.
And there's also a “Resusci Tate” who wants to bring new life into the Church.
And there's that “Imi Tate” who wants the Church to be like that of another Church.
So much about the Church that is like the “Tate Family”.
And when it comes to charity, much is said and much needs to be done.
We take the love of others for granted, and others take our love for granted.
Oh yes, we take our father's love for granted, and when we become fathers, we know how our love can be taken for granted, but we will still love anyway.
But as God reveals to us the mystery of His nature as unity, family and charity, He also calls us to enter into that mystery.
In the gospel, Jesus tells His disciples this: I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth.
So, truth and love are what God has revealed to us in the Church.
We may not understand now, or we may understand later, but this poem of “The Folded Page” may help us to understand.
“The Folded Page”.
“Up in the attic of an old house,
as raindrops pattered down on the roof,
I sat paging through my old schoolbook.
“I came to a page that was folded down.
Across it was written in my own childish hand:
‘The teacher says we should leave this for now.
It’s too hard to understand.’
“I unfolded the page and read it.
Then I smiled and nodded my head and said,
‘The teacher was right; now I understand.’
“There are many pages in the book of life
that are hard to understand.
All we can do is fold them down and write:
‘The Master says to leave this for now.
It’s too hard to understand.’
“Then, someday in heaven,
we’ll unfold the pages, reread them, and say,
‘The Master was right; now I truly understand.’
And as we let God reveal in His time what we need to know about God and about life, love and truth, let us remember that Serenity Prayer which goes like this:
O God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.