May 30, 2021. Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

 

Readings: Deut. 4:32-34, 39-40; Rom. 8:14-17; Matt 28:16-20.

Love is the Language of the Trinity

1.     Last Sunday we reflected on speaking our native language. We concluded by saying that this language must be learned in our families from birth, that no interpreter was needed. It must be seen, experienced, felt, practiced and then spoken. The family that speaks this language is the family of God and God’s people. The Trinity speaks it. This also was the native tongue of the Holy Family. All members of God’s people must speak this same language. Luke tells us that the early Christian “community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” (Acts. 4:32). That was their language, their native tongue. They were called Christians because of how they loved themselves. Christ tells us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love” (Jn.16:11). He gave us a new commandment, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn. 13:34-35). We are called to speak the language of God, the native tongue of the Trinity, both as a community and individually. For where there is charity and love, there the God of love abides.

2.     As we reflect on the Most Holy Trinity today, we call to mind that we worship the God who manifests himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are not three Gods but three Persons in one God. The Father is the Creator, the Son is the Savior, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. Though there are three Persons having different responsibilities, the responsibility of one Person is the responsibility of all Persons of the Trinity. The Father is not older or younger than the Son or the Holy Spirit, the three Persons are the same in every way. This is a mystery revealed by God himself. We do not seek to understand it as a mathematical equation or calculation, but we must believe it as a revealed truth. And this is what we profess in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God…For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified.” The children of Israel believed in one God, hence Moses pleaded with them to avoid the worship of the Canaanite gods. The Lord of heaven and earth who created heaven and earth and sustains the world in being is more powerful than any created things or the gods of other nations which are themselves the work of human hands.

3.     Little wonder why Moses asked the children of Israel, “Did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?” (Deut. 4:34). God cannot be compared to other gods. For they are, like the Psalmist says, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but speak not, they have eyes but see not, they have ears but hear not, no breath is in their mouths. Their makers shall be like them, all who trust in them.” (Ps. 135:15-18).

4.     Today as always, we acknowledge the God who reaches out to us through the Holy Spirit. Hence St. Paul reminds us “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” (Rom. 8:14). Due to the Spirit poured into our hearts by the Father and the Son, we can call God daddy, Father. This was unheard of, to address God as a son would his father. God is indeed our Father, He and the Son dwell in us through His Spirit. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20).

5.     Our mission as Christians is to make the God who manifests himself as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit known and loved. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Baptism in the name of the Trinity is the manifestation of our faith. Our prayer is Trinitarian. We begin and end every prayer by blessing ourselves in the name of the Trinity. We offer prayers to God the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit. And so, we must teach all nations about the God who loves us and seeks to create a loving relationship with us. May we experience the loving relationship enjoyed by the Trinity, a relationship of communion, unity and respect.

6.     Let us pray that we may speak the language of the Trinity, the language of love, communion, understanding, peace and unity. May the Triune God who initiates a relationship and communion with us assist us so as to live in peace and love with one another. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP