The Triune God and Our Relationships

HOMILY: Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 

Matthew 28:16-20

30 May 2021

Fr. Ricky Canet Montanez, AA 

In the 90’s there was a very popular sitcom on 6 young people struggling in New York to build their careers and find love together as a tight group of FRIENDS. The show ran for 10 seasons, catapulting the actors to superstardom. To date, reruns continue to be played in numerous countries in different languages and the show has allegedly been watched 100 billion times!  Just recently, together with over a million people, I watched the much-awaited FRIENDS REUNION, 17 years after the final episode aired. The continuing friendship among the original cast was genuinely evident and the show maintains its entertainment value and relevance even among the kids of its original 90s fans. 

I’m a fan myself and I do have some favourite episodes of the 236 that were made. The show was successful because the issues were so relatable and fans identified with at least one character. We all loved the depiction of friendship and viewers felt that Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Monica and Chandler were like actual friends they let into their homes every week. I know of fans who have watched all 10 seasons several times over, having purchased the VHS and DVD box sets when Netflix was not yet a thing. It is great to relive the laughter and the good feelings generated by watching this ensemble group of FRIENDS. 

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We believe in One God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — three persons of the Holy Trinity. The very notion is difficult to perceive, explain and especially understand without faith. No one has truly seen the Father, even the great people of the Old Testament blessed to have come into His presence and spoken to Him. The Bible has no accounts confirming God as a fatherly old man with long white hair and a white beard. Just last week we celebrated Pentecost — the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. However, all biblical accounts only describe a strong wind and tongues of fire… no human form. It is by mankind’s experience of Jesus and His teachings about the Father and the Holy Spirit that we come across the trinitarian nature of God. Yet, until now, despite centuries of study, no one has come close to unlocking the mystery. Our understanding of the Triune God is limited to how “Father”, “Son” and “Holy Spirit” emerge in scripture in relation to one another. We understand God the Father as Creator whose existence and every action is love; who sends His Son, Jesus, His beloved, on a mission of redemption. In turn, it is Jesus who sends the Holy spirit, the bond of love proceeding both from the Father and the Son, to His followers to guide and strengthen them once He returns to heaven in the Ascension. 

However, I personally feel that our understanding of the Trinity is grounded on our experience of God and our need for Him. In the passage from the Book of Deuteronomy, we are told how God has been especially gracious in His dealings with His Chosen People — caring enough for them, providing their needs, which in this case was freedom from Egyptian slavery, an identity as a people, and a land to call their own. Of course, there are accounts of God reprimanding and punishing His people for their obstinacy and hard-heartedness as a father disciplines his children, but these are balanced out by accounts of how God desired that all His children prosper and enjoy the fullness of life He offers. As Moses enjoins the people: “You must keep His statutes and commandments… that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have a long life…” (Deuteronomy 4:40) This God goes even further. He has poured into the hearts of all believers His Spirit that moves us to relate to Him as our Abba (our Daddy, our Itay). In His Son Jesus, we are not treated like slaves but rather as brothers and sisters, adopted children of the Father, who are destined to a heavenly inheritance. St. Paul says: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…”(Romans 8:16) All throughout Scriptures, we encounter a God whose very nature is goodness and is moved by that loving nature to share His goodness with all of us His children. 

As I am on the cusp of moving out of Christ the King Parish, the reality of my departure has finally dawned on me this week.  I am in a flurry of emotions. I am thankful for the confidence our Bishop has placed in me and I am eager to begin my new assignment.  At the same time, I feel a great sadness in parting with people I have come to know as friends. CTK has been a wonderful and happy home for me for many years.  It has been a joy getting to know many of you on a personal level. I have learned that when one enters into a sincere relationship with God’s people, one inevitably reaps happiness. I always tell myself that as a priest, this is what I have signed myself up for, for the rest of my life. I do not own my life. The life of priests is one given to God and in the service of God’s people. Hence, though difficult we are to be always prepared to go where God needs us to minister to His people. My experience of God moves me to trust Him and follow His lead always. 

I have been asking a few friends — priests and lay people alike for their advice regarding my new assignment. The best advice I received from them is to strive to get to know your flock, to establish a relationship with them and to allow yourself to be known by them. Once you have taken care of this most basic thing in ministering to others, all the other concerns will eventually fall into place. I find this to be a very wise piece of advice. I remember that as a teacher, the first thing I did was to remember the names of my students. It may not always be easy. But once you have started to associate the name and the person of the student, there is a better kind of relationship that is established between a student and the teacher. I found it easier to mentor them, to guide them and to help them. 

We are known by how we relate with each other. This is how we become relevant to one another. This is also humanity’s mutual connection with God. God is a relational God — one who seeks us, rather than imposes on us.  He seeks to know each and everyone of us intimately…. Psalm 139 says “Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit and when I stand; You understand my thoughts from far away. You scrutinise my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, Lord, You know it all.” (Psalm 139:1-4) Similarly, we get to know God through our associations and by being sensitive to His presence in the people and the world around us. Those blessed with wonderful parents, will best come to understand God as Father. Those who have had impactful experiences of loving siblings and close friends and inspiring teachers will best come to relate to the person of Jesus who has presented Himself as teacher, friend and brother. Those who have had profound experiences with the gifts of the Spirit, will come to recognise God as Holy Spirit. We are all called and drawn in different ways, to the same God — the One God. We nurture this relationship by reading the Bible, receiving the sacraments, and opening our hearts in prayer. To endeavour to fully grasp the immense nature of the Trinity is futile because of the limits of human understanding. However, when we endeavour to enter into a personal relationship with Him, allow Him to work in us and through us, our limited knowledge of Him becomes meaningful, often life-changing. 

We may not know or grasp everything about our Triune God but we know that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all times has continuously reached out to us in love and desires to be known by His people as a loving God. In turn, as messengers of God in the world, we are commissioned to witness by our lives to the goodness of our Triune God. We draw strength from Jesus’ words: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” This is my last mass in CTK and my final homily as your resident guest priest. I am always overwhelmed by your love and support and I cannot thank you, enough. The CTK parish community has made a mark in my life and I am the better for it. Thank you for being my FRIENDS!