The Triune God and Our Call to Discipleship

Homily: Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

26 May 2024

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez

How many stars do you think there are in the sky? If we check tonight, we will see maybe a hundred of the brightest stars from the constellations. However, have we ever seen the night sky while we were at a beach or in the province — far from the city lights and LED billboards?  We will realise that there are so many more stars in the heavens. The universe is one of the greatest mysteries to humankind. Our scientists and astronomers try to learn as much as they can about the cosmos but there is so much more we do not understand. Despite this, we can still appreciate the beauty of a million stars twinkling in the sky.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is one of the greatest mysteries in Christianity.  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 who were all blessed to have come into His presence and to have 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 and the Blessed Virgin Mary. What we read in biblical accounts is a description of the Holy Spirit such as a strong wind and tongues of fire… no human form. It is by humankind’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, and who sends His Son, Jesus, as REDEEMER of the world. In turn, it is Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit, the SANCTIFIER, proceeding from the Father and the Son, to guide and strengthen the followers of Jesus in the work of evangelisation.

I personally feel that our understanding of the Trinity is grounded on our experience of God and our need for God. 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…”   (Deut. 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 (Father). In His Son Jesus, we are not treated like slaves but rather as brothers and sisters, adopted children of The Father, 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 in the Holy Spirit whose very nature is goodness and is moved by that loving nature to share His goodness with all of us His children.

For all of us believers, the Trinity is not just a dogma but an experience of the presence of three Persons in our faith life as God continually creates, saves and, sustains humanity and all creation. As followers of Jesus, we all share in the very life of the Trinity and we have been commissioned by Jesus to carry forth the saving work of the Trinity. We are called “to the creativity of the Father into a seemingly hopeless predicament.” Have you ever held a position of authority or granted responsibility over others?  As a parent of a family or the boss of an office, we will always be faced with challenges that can be overwhelming and almost impossible to address — how to stretch a small budget; how to make time for everything, and having to make sacrifices for the good of the majority.  In times like these, let us call on God the Father to guide us and to strengthen our resolve to face such challenges.

-We too, are to extend the forgiveness of the Son to all of us who recognise our guilt and who want to make amends for the wrong we have done. This is one of the more difficult things we have to do.  Naturally, because no one is perfect, we are all bound to make mistakes — mistakes that tend to hurt one another. What is important is we ask forgiveness from those we have hurt and forgive those who have hurt us. We pray this every time in the Our Father…. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” And yet, there are those among us whom we find difficult to forgive. We still feel there are those who don’t deserve our mercy and understanding. Let us call on the Lord Jesus to grant us the grace to forgive — to help us see the face of God in them. It is not about our worthiness for forgiveness but our capacity to be the bigger person. Let us remember that Jesus forgave us and loved us when humanity was unlovable and not even sorry for the sins each and everyone has committed.

Lastly, we are to bring the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to those who are finding their way to the right path. We are all responsible for one another because we are all part of God’s family. We should never say “we are not our brother’s or our sister’s keeper”. We are! We should care about one another and counsel one another when we see that there are those among us losing their way. Two weeks ago, when we celebrated Pentecost, we were reminded that the Holy Spirit gives us seven-fold gifts. We have to use these gifts to guide one another in genuine compassion. Even if people may misunderstand or reject our effort, the important thing is to try. We owe it to one another as we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

In all these ways the God who is love goes forth to “all nations” through us. Yes, we may not know or grasp everything about the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT especially when they are referred to as the Holy Trinity. However, for all times, our TRIUNE GOD has continuously reached out to us in love and with the ardent desire to be known by His people as a loving God. In turn, as messengers of God in the world, we are all commissioned to witness by our lives to the goodness of THE BLESSED TRINITY. Moreover, we draw strength from Jesus’ words: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)