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Gospel: John 3: 16-18
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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By a show of hands, how many of us have heard about or even read Dante’s Inferno, the first book in his famous trilogy, The Divine Comedy?
The Divine Comedy is the story of Dante’s journey to God. He begins in hell, but eventually he makes his way through purgatory into heaven.
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In hell, Dante descends through nine different circles, each representing a gradual increase in wickedness: lust, greed, anger, and so on. Finally, when he reaches the very bottom, he encounters that ancient beast, Satan.
Surprisingly, Satan isn’t breathing fire as many of us might have imagined.
He’s frozen, trapped waist-deep in ice. Above his waist, his furry bat-like wings flap restlessly as he torments himself eternally.
That’s where the Evil One chooses to be – stuck in the darkness, frozen in ice, completely separated from the outside world.
For Dante, that’s hell; being isolated.
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Alone.
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Loneliness is something we’ve all felt.
It creeps in after a heated family argument; after scrolling through social media for hours on end; after a breakup; or losing a loved one.
Why is loneliness so painful?
Because we were made in the image and likeness of God, who is relationship.
Today we celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday, our belief that God is Father, Son, and Spirit. Three distinct Persons who live in such perfect harmony that they are One.
This is what Dante discovers as he ascends from the icy darkness of hell, through the purification of purgatory, into the glory of heaven.
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Heaven is a place of welcome, light, and love. The angels and Saints swirl around the throne of God in praise. The higher Dante climbs the brighter it becomes, until finally he beholds God Almighty.
Unlike Satan, God isn’t alone. He isn’t flapping furry bat-like wings.
God is living in communion. Or, we might say, community as Father, Son, and Spirit.
Dante discovers that this is the secret to his own happiness – living the way that God does, in perfect harmony with others.
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It’s an amazing Christian insight:
The more we live in harmony with our neighbors, the more we reflect the inner life of God.
As Saint John writes, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”
Wherever there is love, God is found.
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God is found when couples exchange their vows. God is found when parents behold their newborn child. Or watch them grow.
God is found when neighbors are reconciled; when the hungry are fed; when the naked are clothed; when the weak are cared for; and when the sick are cured.
God is also found in our brokenness. His Spirit is that healing balm that slowly pieces us back together.
As Dante writes at the end of The Divine Comedy, God is, “the love that moves the sun and the other stars.”
God is everything that is good.
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If hell resembles being alone, then heaven means being together.
This is what God desires for us – to live as one, just as the Father, Son and Spirit are one.
On this Trinity Sunday, we pray that God would strengthen the bonds we hold so dear – our connection to our family, to our friends, to this community, and to God.
Doing so gives us a taste of heaven, even while here on earth.
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Image credits: (1) All Saints Mills River (2) NIV Bible (3) Divine Comedy, Dante, Amazon.com