By Fr, Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp. (Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17;Matthew 28:16-20)
Today we celebrate one of the greatest mysteries of our Christian faith, the Holy Trinity. This celebration reminds us that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal persons of the one true God. They are never separated, though, each one of them is a distinct divine person. There is unity of essence and relation within the three divine persons.
The concept of the Holy Trinity is not easy to explain in human terms. We know the story of St. Augustine of Hippos who sought to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity so that he could explain it logically. Preoccupied with this as he walked along the seashore, he saw a little boy who made a hole in the sand and was fetching water from the sea and emptying it on the hole he had made. When he asked the little boy what he was doing, he replied that he was trying to empty the sea into the little hole he made. That was an impossible feat that showed St. Augustine how difficult it was to fully understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
You probably already know another story about a young boy who climbs a mountain in India to meet a guru. When he got to the top, he found the guru sleeping and woke him up. The guru asked him, “What can I do for you, young man?” He answered, “I want you to explain God to me.” The guru smiled and said, “A God that can be explained is not a God that you should worship.” And went back to sleep. This is so because once we can define God and fully understand him, then we have reduced him to something we can manage and control. It is not about the truth of these stories that matters, but the fact that, like the little boys, understanding the mystery of the Holy Trinity in its logical form is difficult and unnecessary. What is important is understanding what it holds in stock for us.
The doctrine of the inner relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a mystery in the sense that we grow every day in our understanding of it, but might never know everything about it. The readings would not get us there. The word Trinity is not found in the Bible. Early Christians arrived at the doctrine when they applied their God-given reason to the revelation which they had received in faith. Jesus spoke about the Father who sent him (the Son) and the Holy Spirit he was going to send. He said that the Father had given him (the Son) all that he has and that he in turn has given to the Holy Spirit all that he has received from the Father. In this, we see the unity of purpose among the three persons of the Trinity.
The importance of this doctrine lies in this: we are made in the image of God which we have seen to be a mystery. Experts in religion tell us that people always try to be like the god they worship. People who worship a warrior god tend to be warmongering, people who worship a god of pleasure tend to be pleasure-seeking, people who worship a god of wrath tend to be vengeful, and people who worship a god of love tend to be loving. Like a god, so the worshippers. Therefore, the more important question for us to ask today is: What does the doctrine of the Holy Trinity tell us about the kind of God we worship and what does this say about the kind of people we should be?
The human person is a mystery. We are made in God’s image and likeness. We bear something of God and something of human nature. We are not just human, but equally God in human expression. Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). We grow every day in self-knowledge. It is funny that despite the many years we have lived, we still surprise ourselves sometimes. We still don’t fully understand ourselves. That is why we struggle to understand ourselves more and to become the better version of ourselves. If we still struggle with understanding ourselves, how difficult is it then to understand others? This is an invitation to be patient with people, just as God is often patient with us.
By creation we recognize the creative power of God. By redemption, we recognize his infinite love that made Jesus undertake the pains of the cross. And by sending the Holy Spirit, we see that God loves to be with us at all times. These show us that God himself does not exist in solitary individualism but in a community of love and sharing. God is not a loner. He is a community of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These core characteristics should be seen reflected in us: creativity, love, compassion, assisting those in need, cooperation, and standing up for one another. This means that a Christian in search of Godliness must shun every tendency to individualism. The ideal Christian spirituality is that which encourages unity in diversity.
The mystery of the human person can be better understood in a loving relationship that mirrors the relationship that exists among the Trinitarian God. We are so diverse and gifted differently as individuals. Our gifts and talents become useful in the context of community when we put them at the service of others. God is God because he made humans through whom he reveals himself. Just as God is God only in a Trinitarian relationship, so we can be fully human only in a relationship of love in a community. The self needs to be in a horizontal relationship with others and a vertical relationship with God. In that way, our life becomes Trinitarian like that of God. The I-and-God-and-neighbor principle becomes our model of relationship.
Today, the church reminds us that the three divine persons are not divided in their essence and actions. Instead, they work together. Therefore, what we celebrate today is a model for our unity in diversity. One of the important lessons we can learn from the Holy Trinity is that in spite of our individual personalities and differences, unity is possible and a fundamental option. We need to reassess the place of unity in our communities, relationships, friendships, marriages, and families. It also reminds us that in spite of our different talents, gifts, social, and economic levels, we can live and work together for our salvation and the salvation of the world.
Like the apostles, we as Christians must carry this message: that God, that Jesus, that the Holy Spirit is love, and that He is present among us. He is present as Father in the love we give and receive, and also in those who give time and attention to the needs of their fellow human beings. He is present as Son in our faith; the faith we preserve and express in difficult times, suffering, and adversity. And He is present as Spirit in our faith that is stronger than all doubts, and in our enthusiasm that always renews and opens our faith to God’s endless love.
Sisters and brothers, may that be our experience of the Holy Trinity, the mystery that we will never be able to grasp with our human minds, but which instills in us that God is infinite love, close to us at every moment of our existence in the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen