Readings:
Ex 34:4-6,8-9; 2 Cor. 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18
"In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". That familiar prayer
leads us into the mystery we celebrate this Sunday, the Most Holy Trinity. One
of the optional greetings at the beginning of each Mass uses the beautiful
words taken from the second reading of today:
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you". In the gospel of this Sunday,
Jesus speaking to Nicodemus highlights the reason why God is communion. “God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life.” God is love by nature and
desires that none of us should perish, but that all share His life of communion
in eternal life. One the best description of the Holy Trinity for me is
Rublev’s icon depicting the three mysterious visitors received by Abraham in
Mamre (cf. Gen 18:1-8). In this icon, Rublev depicts
three angels seated around a white table on which a chalice-like bowl contains
a meal to be shared. Through the symbolism of the three angels, the icon
intends to draw our attention to the awesome communion of the three persons in
one God.
The Holy Trinity may
therefore be better understood as an awesome sharing of communion by the three
Divine Persons, drawing us all into that same communion shared by the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist we
highlight this mystery many times but more so in the doxology that concludes
the Eucharistic Prayer to show that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered
through Christ, in Christ, “in the unity
of the Holy Spirit; all glory and honor is offered to Father. The Holy
Trinity is not just a subject for theological speculation on the three divine
persons in One God. The Holy Trinity is not so much about the awesomeness of
God, but about an awesome lover who draws us into communion with Him. The Holy
Trinity is a life of communion to be lived, shared and celebrated liturgically.
Therefore, we need to go beyond talking about love, communion, sharing and
putting that into practice by being instruments of reconciliation, mercy and
communion. As one bishop put it jokingly, the reason why God in creating us
does not put us directly into heaven, is because if He did so, we would mess
life up there! Our life here on earth is a time to practice our stewardship in
concrete ways by sharing, healing and living in communion with the people God
has given us. The central message may be summed up in three points. 1) The
solemnity of the Holy Trinity is a model of life of communion in God to be
lived and imitated; 2) We are challenged to be instruments of reconciliation,
healing and communion; 3) To be such instruments, we need to be nourished by
prayer and scripture, for example in the family so we can grow into closer
communion with one another.
©2017 John S. Mbinda
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