Holy Guidance

There’s an old saying, ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know.’ And today, we might add, ‘It’s not just who you know, but what kind of guidance you have.’ Think about it: remember the days before GPS? You’d set off on a trip, maybe with a crumpled paper map or road atlas, trying to decipher those tiny lines, squinting at street names, perhaps even pulling over to ask for directions from someone who might give you a shrug or wildly unhelpful guidance. It was an adventure, certainly, but often a frustrating one. You could get lost, take wrong turns, miss opportunities, and generally spend a lot of time just… wandering.

Now, compare that to today. You hop in the car, attach your phone to the cradle, use your voice assistant to indicate the destination, and then that calm voice immediately tells you, ‘Turn left in 200 metres. Take the third exit. Recalculating.’ It knows the most efficient route, tells you how much the tolls will cost, avoids traffic, even warns you about speed cameras or road works! It’s a constant, unfailing guide, available right there on your phone, transforming what could be a confusing, stressful journey into a focused, efficient one.

Today, on this great feast of the Trinity, we’re going to talk about a guidance system far more sophisticated than any GPS. It’s God’s own divine wisdom, and the incredible truth is, it’s not just for a select few. It’s available to all believers, not just to get us to heaven, but to transform our lives right here, right now, for profound service in this world.

Today, we delve into the very heart of who God is: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three Persons, yet one God, a profound mystery of communion and love. This feast isn’t just about abstract theology; it’s about understanding the God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies us, and how His divine life invites us into a transformed existence, especially through His wisdom, which is available to all believers for service.

Our readings today speak volumes about this divine wisdom. The Book of Proverbs introduces us to Lady Wisdom, personified and speaking with authority. She is portrayed as being present with God from the very beginning, “brought forth as the firstborn of his way, before his deeds of old.” This imagery points to an eternal wisdom, woven into the fabric of creation itself. When God established the skies, carved a horizon on the deep waters, and set boundaries for the sea, Lady Wisdom was there, delighting in His work, and indeed, “delighting in human beings!”

This paints a magnificent picture of God’s wisdom not as some distant, academic concept, but as an active, joyful force intertwined with creation and deeply invested in humanity. It is through this wisdom that “kings reign, and rulers issue decrees that are just.” It’s a practical wisdom, enabling leaders to carve out order from chaos, to establish justice, and to foster environments where life can flourish. This divine wisdom, therefore, is inherently geared towards ordering the world, preventing it from slipping back into chaos and darkness.

The beauty of this is that humanity has a key role to play in this ongoing work of ordering the cosmos. We are made in God’s image, called to live by this divine wisdom as we “carve out our own little spots” in His world. When we live by God’s wisdom, we join His project, creating spaces and communities where all creatures can flourish in peace. But, as we know, humans often reject this divine wisdom, choosing to do “what’s right in our own eyes,” thereby pulling creation back towards disorder and death. Lady Wisdom, at the conclusion of her speech, offers a clear choice: “The one who finds me, finds life and receives favour from Yahweh; but the one who forfeits me, hurts themselves. Those who hate me, love death.” Every day, she presents us with this decision: will we live by God’s wisdom and contribute to order, beauty, and justice, or will we live selfishly by our own wisdom, pulling creation back into chaos?

Now, how does this profound wisdom of God, present from creation, become truly accessible and transformative for us today, particularly for service in our world? This is where the Holy Spirit, comes into sharp focus. Our Gospel today speaks directly to this: “But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come.”

This passage is a cornerstone for understanding the Spirit’s role in guiding us into divine wisdom. The Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, is not an independent voice inventing new doctrines. Rather, the Spirit reveals what has already been given by the Father and made known through the Son. The Spirit leads us into the “complete truth” – a deepening, fuller understanding of God’s wisdom, His plan for salvation, and our place within it. This truth isn’t just intellectual assent; it’s a living, transforming reality that shapes our very being and our actions.

Moreover, the Spirit “will tell you of the things to come.” This isn’t about predicting the future in a fortune-telling sense, but about revealing God’s ongoing purposes and empowering us to participate in them. It’s the Spirit who illuminates the path of service, who inspires us with divine insights, and who equips us with the courage and gifts needed to respond to the needs of our time.

The wisdom of God, brought to us by the Spirit, transforms our lives for active participation in building His kingdom.

Think about it: in our complex world, we face countless choices every day. Do we listen to the clamouring voices of self-interest, fleeting trends, or cynical despair? Or do we seek the profound, life-giving wisdom of God? The Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, is our constant guide to this wisdom. He helps us discern God’s will, not just in grand decisions, but in the myriad small choices that shape our character and our impact on others. He gives us the insight to see the divine order beneath the surface chaos, and the creativity to be instruments of God’s ordering power.

This wisdom is not reserved for a select few. It is available to all believers. It transforms how we lead our families, how we conduct our business, how we engage in our community, how we care for creation. It calls us to embody justice, to pursue peace, and to love with a radical, self-giving heart, mirroring the very communion of the Trinity.

When we allow the Spirit of truth to lead us, our lives become transformed. Our choices become aligned with God’s design. Our service becomes less about our own limited abilities and more about the inexhaustible wisdom and power of God working through us. We are called to be partners with God in His ongoing work of ordering the cosmos, of creating spaces and communities where flourishing is possible.

So today, as we reflect on the Most Holy Trinity, let us renew our prayer for an ever-deeper outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask the Spirit of truth to lead us into all truth, to deepen our understanding of God’s wisdom, and to reveal to us “the things to come” – the divine purposes for which we are called to serve. May we choose daily to live by God’s wisdom, contributing order, beauty, and justice to our world, and in doing so, truly find life and receive favour from the Lord. Amen.