TRINITY SUNDAY 31 05 26
FIRST READING: Isaiah 40.12-17, 27-end
NEW TESTAMENT READING: 2 Corinthians 13.11-end
GOSPEL: Matthew 28.16-end
Today being Sunday after Pentecost, we are celebrating our faith in God who is three and who is one. This understanding is called as the Holy Trinity. The word trinity is coined by one of the ancient church fathers Tertullian. Trinity Sunday is a special Sunday in the church year, it has been celebrated since 1334 when Pope John XX11 fixed it as the Sunday after Pentecost. Affirming the trinity would mean to affirm that God is three and God is one. We accept this as a divine mystery since there can be no logical explanation or description of this sacred unity.
This is a given foundation of our understanding of God and we accept this on the basis of our faith.
We should note that there is never a mention in the Bible of the word TRINITY, yet the Church uses Trinity as an explanation to understand the being of God. Though the Bible never talks about TRINITY, the biblical writers speak of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as God who are three persons in history and yet one.
Churches differ doctrinally as some emphasise the importance of God the Father and there are other churches that emphasise the importance of the Son and there are others who emphasise the importance of the Holy Spirit. We see God as three and as one. We receive this understanding accept this as a given mystery of the church.
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct persons yet they are perfectly one.
What do we see in the Trinity?
Perfect equality: All the three persons are equal and the beauty of this relationship is the wonder of equality. In any given situation, our minds want to define who is the greatest or who is important. The Trinitarian understanding of God is a wonderful expression of how life could be. Jesus tells his disciples, if you have seen me you have seen the Father. The Holy Spirit reminds us of what Jesus has taught. In this equality each person celebrates the other and points to the other. The equality in the trinity makes us see the radical way the three persons identify with each other.
Perfect continuity: The three persons of the Trinity co exist and there is a continuity in their essence and existence. Each flowing from the other and each pointing to the other. Genesis writers speak of God who is timeless and the presence of the Holy Spirit even in Creation. Paul write to the Colossians saying that everything created exists through Christ and for Christ. One of the major problems that we have as individuals is that we want to see the end of the line, drawing boundaries and we want to be clear about the distance. Fearing that personal space will be lost. Wanting individuality and wanting autonomy like the second son. Wanting to be independent of the other. The Trinity is a type of continuity between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit that makes them three persons yet one. Without any line of boundary to distinguish and differentiate them.
Perfect relationship:
In the Holy Trinity we see a relationship that is perfect. The Son self emptying for the Father, the Father giving up his Son on the cross, the Holy Spirit beginning a new age on the platform of the life and ministry of Jesus. In this relationship there is love for each other, the love that leads to surrender to each others will and pleasure. In this interaction of the Trinity a greater love is revealed, Gods love for humanity. The entire being of God acts and relates for the sake of the redemption of the world. Trinity is incomplete without your surrender to such love. Rubilev’s painting of the Trinity shows an empty space when the Holy Trinity is seated around and each looking at each other and all looking forward.