Trinity Sunday A

1.       The feast of the Holy Trinity is a feast about belonging. It is not about dogmas, doctrines and theology classes. Though the very talking about “Belonging” is Theology. It is belonging not in a touchy feely sense. Neither is it about warm fuzzies. Rather it is a response to an invitation. It is response to a deep inner need which is a part of every human being. And although, the Feast of the Trinity is very Christian, it is and should be a part of every believer in God. When the theologian steps in and tries to definite the undefinable in human concepts then we have problems. It is like trying to pour an Ocean into a coffee mug. Yet theology is necessary because we have to at least define or show the direction in our Journey towards the Infinite, our Journey towards Belonging.

2.       For our brothers and sisters of the Muslim faith, the idea of the Trinity seems like a Blasphemy. According to their beliefs, “There is only One God and Mohammed is his prophet.” The idea of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is unthinkable.

          For our Hindu companions, the Trinity does not faze them. There is always a place among their pantheon for not only the Father, the Son and the Spirit, but if we want to deify Mary, there is always a place for her as well.

          For our Catholic Teachers in Schools, the abstract theology of Three Persons and yet One God is dry and taxing on the imagination. They are glad that the feast is over and we can move on to something more tangible like Corpus Christi and the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

3.       Ironically, the Trinity, Corpus Christi and the Feast of the Sacred Heart are different kaleidoscopic colours of the Same Mystery. Each of them invite us to Belong. The mystery of a God who chooses to leave the Realm of the Infinite, the Almighty, the All Knowing and All Glorious and chooses to dwell among us.

          This is first seen in the dealing between God and Moses. There is an intimacy between the Divine and human which was beyond the imagination of Jewish Way of thinking. This human and anthropomorphic way of speaking of God just did not  coincide with the Transcendence of God. God was so beyond human conception, that even the name of Yahweh could not be uttered.

          And so alternatives like Angels, Wisdom were suggested as descriptions to try and solve the problem of a God who wanted to “dwell among us”. This paved the way for us to understand the “Word became flesh” and the mystery of the Trinity. God not only steps out and Communicates the very Being of God to us, but God also fashions a response on our part.

4.       Fr. Larry Gillick explains this in a way you and I can handle easily. He says that he  loves what he writes and loves it so much that he loves to share it with us. The more he loves what he writes, the more he loves to share it with us. What he shares with us is his very self, the mystery of his being. And so Fr. Larry is concerned about how you and I will accept what he writes, what he shares of himself. And in that sense although Fr. Larry is one, there is a threeness about him. Himself, what he writes and love which wants that writing, that mysteriousness of every human being to be sent, loved and understood. But then why should be surprised about the Trinity in us because we were made in the image and likeness of God.

5.       God chooses to live among us so that we may experience love, experience belonging. This is particularly relevant to a young Country like Canada. We are still developing our individualities. We are still blooming and blossoming as a nation. We may be all Canadians but we still describe ourselves as Filipinos or Tamils, West Indians or Latinos, Greeks or Italians, Portuguese or Pakistanis.

          We must belong to One of these groups. Without this grouping, we seem to be lost, we seem to have no identity.

6.       However, we definitely belong to Some One and that is God. We were baptised in the name of Jesus and we were sanctified and renewed by the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit that gives us the courage and power to call God - Abba, Father.

Paul’s letter affirms this picture of Belonging. Paul’s letter was not meant to be read in silence, in the comfort of an armchair and meditated upon. Rather the letter was to be proclaimed aloud in the congregation. It was a prelude to the Eucharist. Paul advises us all to put aside petty quarrels, desires for revenge and disagreements. Rather we should greet one another with a Holy Kiss and exchange peace because it was the Grace of Jesus, the Love of the Father and the fellowship of the Spirit that was to reign among us. It is no triadic formula and doctrine of belief, but the love and life of the Trinity alive in the Community which had gathered in the name of Jesus. This was both an Acclamation of Faith and a Baptismal formula in its embryonic stage.

7.       And when one Belongs there is no condemnation. It is only fitting that the Gospel affirms this, the Son of Man came not to condemn, but that we might have life and have it to the full.  More words would only clutter up the scene. Sufficient for us to know there is a God who is Love and who chooses to Love us - after this who could ask for anything more !