LEARNING TO LOVE FROM THE TRIUNE GOD
Mat. 28.16-20
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Today we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. This mystery is called the mystery of all mysteries because the Holy Trinity is the core or centre of our faith. However, this fundamental truth that we believe is not only very difficult to comprehend, but also in fact, beyond our natural reasoning.
How can we believe in three different Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet still be one God?
Many great thinkers, such as St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas have tried to explain. However, when faced with such a great truth, even the best explanation seems like a drop in the ocean. Yet, we believe precisely because the mystery is not of human origin, but revealed to us by God. Faith that helps the intellect, the senses are insufficient to understand this mystery.
The clearest statement about the Trinity can be found in today's gospel. Jesus told His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".
We observe that we are baptised for salvation in only "one Name". Surely this one name refers to one Lord God. However, in one God, there are three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Saint Paul, the apostle to the nations, often pronounced blessings in the name of the Holy Trinity. In his second epistle, he blessed the church in Corinth, saying, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
It is true that the term Trinity does not exist in the Bible because it was coined to facilitate our understanding, but the Scriptures reveal the truth and reality of the Holy Trinity.
If then the Holy Trinity is indeed revealed by God Himself, what is the point of having faith in the Holy Trinity?
The answer can be found in the gospel of John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life".
God's identity is love. The Father loves the Son completely, and the Son loves the Father radically, and the love that unites the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. In love, there is a beautiful dynamic of three loves. Love is one, but three. Now, it makes sense why God loved the world so much and sent His only Son for our salvation. It's because God is love.
If God is love and God wants to share His love and His life with us, we need to be prepared to enter into that love. The best way to prepare ourselves is that we need to become part of love. We should learn to be more loving, forgiving and generous in our daily lives.
This means that we should learn to love others based on the love of the Triune God. As St John of the Cross said, “At the end of our lives, God will not judge us by our worldly possessions or our human successes, but (rather) how well (much and deeply) we have loved our neighbour.”
PEACE BE WITH YOU
Image: Andrei Rublev's icon, 'Trinity'. Read more about this icon and its meaning here.