There is a beautiful Russian Icon of the Blessed Trinity painted by a monk by the name of Rublev. It depicts the three Divine Persons sitting at a table. A dish of food lies on the table. But the thing that immediately strikes is the fact that at the front of the table there is a vacant place. The vacant place is meant to convey openness, hospitality, and welcome towards the stranger and outsider.
That vacant place is meant for each of us, for all the human family. It signifies God’s invitation to us to share in the life of the trinity. God does not exclude us He does not talk to us at the doorstep. He invites us to come in and sit at his table. He wants to share his life with us. In the words of the Gospel for this feast: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son……” Many are intimidated by the great mystery of the Blessed Trinity. This is a pity. We should see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as friends to whom we can relate, to whom we can talk in prayer. Because God’s Son, Jesus, befriended us, we are no longer strangers or outsiders. We are God’s children. We are part of the family.
He has already given us a place at the banquet of earthly life. But he wants us to have a place at the banquet of eternal life too. Only at God’s table can we find the nourishment our hearts are hungering for.
From all of this we see that God is a God of love. Our response can only be one of trust in God and love towards one another. What St. Paul said to the Corinthians is meant also for us: ’Help one another. Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.’