"Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore."
Psalm 133:1-3
Blessed Trinity, you are the epitome of unity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: you are three and yet one. Three persons, yet one God. Our human minds can't fully comprehend this mystery: the mystery of unity. And yet, by your grace, we can, in part, understand love. We hear love in the Father's proud delight in his Son: "This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased." We see love in the Son's absolute trust in his Father and his willing submission to his plan: "Yet not as I will, but as you will." We see love between the Spirit and the Son, when Son says of the Spirit: "He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you." God, your love is pure and true, self-giving, beautiful and amazing. And when perfect love meets perfect love, as it does in the Holy Trinity, we see unity. A glimpse of heaven! A glimpse of perfection, of peace, of absolute harmony and complete bliss.
Sometimes, O Lord, we taste the blessed joy of unity here on earth, in the friendships and family love you have given us. It often is fleeting, as our sinful hearts all too often stop us short of fully giving ourselves in love, of putting others first, and of giving without thought to ourselves. We pray: forgive us when harmony breaks down because of our selfishness, our lust, our pride, and all the other ways our sin exhibits itself, putting ourselves first. We pray: give us more and more foretastes of unity here on earth. Make our love for others true, and surround us also with genuine love and affection, trust and care. We know this is our heavenly destiny, to live in the joy of perfect love, yet we pray that we might experience this more and more in this life too.
We thank you, O Lord our God, for the times we have experienced unity. Indeed, God, it is good and pleasant when brothers dwell together in unity. Thank you for this gift we have in Jesus, who made us one. We pray in his name, amen.
