Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Responsorial Psalm Ps 8:4-5.6-7a.7b-9 (R.2a); Romans 5:1:5; Gospel John 16:12-15.
Theme: Blessed Trinity & Unity of Purpose
Many people have wondered why the Sign of the Cross is the trademark of the Catholic Church. From altar servers to knights, footballers to celebrities, the religious to the pope, the sign of the cross has remained a spiritual insignia that defines Catholicism.
Trinity Sunday provides us with an answer for this ancient yet timeless practice in the Church. Well, there are three divine persons in one God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The word trinity means, one God, three eternal persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In simple terms, the Father is not the same person as the Son - the Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit - and the Holy Spirit is not the same person as Father.
This is because each of them has a will and speaks to each other and to people. The use of word “person” implies that each person of the blessed trinity is separate in self awareness, speech, will and expression.
The essential points to note on Trinity Sunday include:
1. There are Three Divine Persons in One God: The trinity does not constitute three separate gods or separate beings. They are three distinct persons yet, one indivisible God. As such, in taking about the trinity, the words, coeternal, coequal and co-powerful are crucial to the substance of the Godhead. As human beings we are called to a unity of purpose in defending the values of life and human dignity. As a Church such, we are reminded about our universality and our shared-spiritual heritage.
2. God the Father is the Creator of the World: All monotheistic religions teach that God created the universe. The penny catechism teaches that created the world and all it contains. As Creator, it is in him that we live and move and have our being. He is not done with creation as he keeps all things in being. Our faith teaches us that God’s fatherhood cuts across every tribe, tongue, people and nation. This is an important message for us in a world that is fragmented by racial, religious and ideological divides.
3. God the Son is the Redeemer of the World: The popular John 3:16 says it all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Here, we recall three redemptive epochs in human existence – original state of blessedness in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve enjoyed the bliss of God, fallen humanity when they sinned by eating the forbidden fruit and restored humanity when Jesus came for a rescue mission.
Shall we appropriate Jesus’ manifesto by keying into the fight for the oppressed, those unjustly detained and others under the yoke of slavery and sin? Trinity Sunday provides us with the example of Jesus whose liberating mission he has left the Church with.
Since Jesus who is truly God and truly man, as the theology of the hypostatic union teaches, we are left with the legacies of one who was God yet emptied himself to take up the place of a slave.
Writing on The Trinity, the Hypostatic Union, and the Communicatio Idiomatum, Matt Slick makes the point that “Jesus cooperated with the limitations of being a man (Phil. 2:5-8). In other words, He really was a man and as a man exhibited the proper restrictions of His humanity such as growing taller, eating, growing in wisdom, etc., which would be expected of a real human being.”
This brings us to the lessons of servant leadership, the best kind of leadership epitomised by Christ. By his life and teaching, Christ was a servant leader par excellence. The dramatic washing of his disciple’s feet and the teaching that followed on Holy Thursday has remained a metaphor for service in the Church. Servant leadership entails that the leader:
Exercises authority on behalf of the people;
Allows participatory and sometimes collective decision making;
Makes for accountability to the people and accepting constructive criticism;
Doesn’t appear self-seeking but lives to serve the people;
Gets support by influencing people, not through coercion.
In Jesus, we see a leader who had vision and purpose, one who walked his talk, one who demonstrated commitment through courage and tenacity and a leader with good management skills.
It is our responsibility to make sure that religious (ecclesiastical) governance becomes a torch which illuminates the church and the world in the way of humility and suffering humiliation for the sake of others.
Jesus, the second person of the blessed trinity took to self-emptying and exemplary leadership which enriched others. It situates us as priests, religious and laity in perspective for learning from the school of Christ.
3. God the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier of the World: God the Holy Spirit is the paraclet, the consoler and the spirit of promise (Gal. 3:14; Eph. 1:13). It is the Holy Spirit that revives the gifts of healing, miracles, prophesy, recognition of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues (1st Cor. 12:1-11) in the Church.
It is by the same spirit that the Church superintends over ecclesiastical governance as well as administers the sacraments. We can only bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit if we rely on the help of God.
4. The Trinity is a Mystery: Saint Augustine tried to know the depth of the trinity so he could explain to his congregation. While reflecting on this quandary, he went to the beach and sighted a little boy trying to empty the sea into a small hole he had dug by the side of the shore. Upon telling the boy that it was an exercise in futility, Augustine got the shocker of an answer: “Likewise it is impossible to know the depths of the trinity” and the boy vanished from his sight.
Despite our human efforts in trying to understand the theology of the trinity, what is clear is that our finite nature cannot penetrate infinite depths.
We ought to pray today as we did on Pentecost Day for God to release some quantum of the spirit to diffuse the evil on our world.
Where there is pain, may the Blessed Trinity give you peace and mercy;
Where there is doubt, may the Blessed Trinity release a renewed confidence to work through you;
Where there is tiredness and exhaustion, may the Blessed Trinity bring you understanding, guidance and strength;
Where there is fear, may the Blessed Trinity release a renewed courage and confidence;
May the Blessed Trinity bless your homes, places of work and businesses;
May it enrich your finances and bring your ambitions to fulfillment;
May the Blessed Trinity bless you with vision and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage you now and forever, Amen.
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