Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

Trinity Sunday – June 7, 2020

Readings: Ex. 34:4B-6, 8-9; Responsorial Psalm Dn. 3:52, 54, 55, 56; 2 Cor. 13:11-13 & Gospel John 3:16-18.

Theme: Holy Kiss as Metaphor for Trinity!

Sunday Synopsis

The first reading (Ex. 34:4B-6, 8-9) points out that God is love. The second reading (2 Cor. 13:11-13) presents us with the love that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The gospel reading (John 3:16-18) reveals how God expressed the love he has for us by sending his son to redeem humanity. On Trinity Sunday, we are charged to love God and neighbour unconditionally while worshipping him with heart, mind and soul alert.

Introduction

Friends in Christ, today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The theme for our reflection taken from the second reading (2 Cor. 13:11-13) where St. Paul urges us to greet one another with the Holy Kiss is: “Holy Kiss as Metaphor for Trinity.” Though they are three distinct persons, they constitute one Godhead absolute in perfect harmony, consisting of one substance. They are coeternal, coequal, and co-powerful (Slick, 2010). Entitled “Holy Kiss as Metaphor for Trinity,” our reflection shall scan through the background, theological insight, trinity as a mystery and pastoral lessons.

Background and Summary of the Readings

The first reading (Ex. 34:4B-6, 8-9) tells how the Lord revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai as a merciful and gracious Gods low to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We told that Moses then worshipped God. He goes ahead to ask pardon for the people begging that the Lord should take the people as his inheritance.

In the second reading (2 Cor. 13:11-13), St. Paul enjoins the faithful to rejoice, mend their ways, agree with one another and live in peace. He assures that by so doing, the God of love and peace will be with them. He surmises: “Greet one another with a holy kiss – the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and he love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

The Gospel reading (John 3:16-18) reveals the love of God to humanity through sending his beloved son Jesus so that those who believe might not perish but have eternal life. Therein, Jesus cautions: “He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Trinity: Brief Theological Insight

The teaching of Hypostatic Union is encapsulated in the angelus when we pray, “And the Word was made flesh” – the mixing of water and wine during the celebration of the Holy Mass while the priest prays silently, “By the mystery of this water and wine may come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity” further proves the point. The hypostatic Union does not imply that Jesus is half God and half man. On the contrary, He is fully divine and fully man - That is to say, Jesus has two distinct natures namely, divine and human as indicated in scripture: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... 14 and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us...” (John 1:1, 14).  This means that the divine word became flesh in the single person of Jesus, who is thus both human and divine in nature – The divine nature was not changed or altered in this union.

Closely related to the theology of the hypostatic union is the Latin communicatio idiomatum which translates into (communication of properties/attributes). This teaching ascribes both divine and human natures to the one person of Jesus (Cf. John 17:5; John 3:13; Matthew 28:20). Since the person of Jesus died, His death was of infinite value because the properties of divinity were ascribed to the person in His death (Slick, 2010). The Trinitarian communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy is encapsulated in this teaching: God the Father created the world, God the Son redeemed the world and God the Holy Spirit sanctifies the world. In the bible, there are various passages that teach about the Trinity: The Father is called God in (Phil. 1:2); the Son is called God in (John 1:1, 14), and the Holy Spirit is addressed as God in (Acts 5:3-4).

Trinity as Mystery

The Holy trinity is a mystery we cannot fully understand unless we become eternal like God. Since it is a mystery, we must be careful not to introduce inequality when addressing the Trinity in prayer – for instance some people say: “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” which is wrong. In addressing the Trinity, we should say: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Sometimes we make the mistake of removing the definite article in the Son and the Holy Spirit after addressing the Father.

St. Augustine was said to have been contemplating about how to describe the Trinity to his flock - upon going to the sea shore, he saw a boy trying to empty the water into a small hole he had dug. When the Saint told him that it was an exercise in futility, the boy retorted, it is also impossible for you to explain the Trinity and he vanished.   

Pastoral Lessons

1. Reflect the Father’s Creative Power: By revealing that God descended in the cloud as our first reading indicates, we are urged to respond to the devastating effects of global warming by being accountable in sustaining God’s plan for creation.

2. Emulate the Son’s Sacrificial Love: In the light of God’s tenderness, compassion, kindness and faithfulness as espoused in first reading (Ex 34:4B-6, 8-9) in answer to the gospel (John 3:16), we are challenged to live for our brothers and sisters who are suffering from COVID-19 in different isolation centres and others who are at the margins of society.

3. Relish the Consolation of the Spirit:  In the seeming helpless situation of a health pandemic and lockdown, our liturgy calls us rely on the consolation of the Holy Spirit as His abiding presence assures that we are not alone. 

4. Seek the Trinitarian Unity: The hypostatic union plus the unity of the Godhead as demonstrated in the Trinitarian Communion calls us to seek the unity of the spirit in our homes by making them the desired domestic church and the Church, citadel of God’s love abiding presence where the Eucharistic celebration enables us to use our gifts and talents for the common good.