The Church deems it proper that, at least, once a year we celebrate and
reflect on the most profound mystery of our faith: the Holy Trinity. I would
like to begin by saying what the Trinity is not.
First, it is not a mathematical conundrum. 1+1+1=1 doesn’t make sense
because the Trinity is not a math equation. Second, it is not a logical
fallacy. For three persons in one substance may sound confusing but not an ontological
contradiction, and with God nothing is impossible. Third, it is not a mere
human construct. It didn’t start with the Council of Nicea and even less with the
Roman Emperor Constantine – as claimed by some conspiracy theorists and non-Trinitarian
sects.
1. We believe in the Trinity
because this is how God chooses to reveal Himself.
First,
God revealed Himself to us as Father: creator of everything, provider of our
needs, liberator from oppression. Then Jesus Christ came as the fullness of
revelation, teaching the people to call God as Abba, a personal Father, loving, forgiving, merciful, and faithful.
He
overturned the popular notion of the long-awaited messiah from a folk hero-king to a suffering servant, a persecuted
prophet (much to the disappointment and consternation of many) who dies but
then rose again, conquering sin and death. He called Himself the Son and taught that He
and the Father are one. Even His
enemies recognized that anyone who claims to have the power to forgive sins
assumes to be God.
When He
was about to end his earthly ministry, He promised His disciples that He will
send another Advocate, His very Spirit, who will lead them to all truth. He sent them on a perpetual mission to spread the good news to all the nations and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And when
the Spirit descended, the Church too was born.
St. Paul
in 2 Cor 13,13 greets the early Church in Corinth: “The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of
you.” It is the same greeting said by the priest at the beginning of the Mass.
2. We are saved by what we believe in.
Revelation
is salvation. In John 3,16, Christ said: “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.”
However,
this belief is not just about intellectual assent or understanding doctrines. It
is accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and following His way just as He
followed the will of the Father. And then some. For faith in God is not just
about believing and following, it is also about becoming. Or more precisely: we
become who we worship.
If Genesis
1,27 says that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, then
the Trinity also points to our true identity. So what does it mean to have
faith in the Triune God?
To
believe in the Father who is loving and just, merciful and faithful, means to
strive to be loving, just, merciful, and faithful as well.
To
believe in the Son means to grow in our concern for the lost and the least
among us, to make friends of enemies, and to be willing to lay down our life
for them.
To believe
in the Spirit means to become seekers of truth and agents of transformation in
our communities and the world.
This is
how we are saved: by the saving power of the Triune God and by becoming who we
worship.
HOMILY for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (A)
Readings: Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9; Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18
HOMILY for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (A)
Readings: Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9; Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56; 2 Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18