Reflection on Today's Readings, The Solemnity of The Holy Trinity, Year B, Sunday 30th May, 2021
Texts: Deut. 4:32-34.39-40; Ps. 33:4-6.9.18-20.22; Rom. 8:14-17; Mtt. 28:16-20
Today is the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The revelation of the Trinity is an uncommon deed of God that shows how much He cares for us. Hence, the first reading says, "Ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has God ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?" The revelation of Holy Trinity surpasses the revelation Moses spoke of in today's first reading. To the people God reveals Himself in images but in Holy Trinity He reveals Himself as He is to us; He reveals His inner life to us.
Holy Trinity is the greatest of all mysteries. The Church says, "The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God Himself. It is therefore the source of all the others mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of truths of faith. The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals Himself to men and reconciles and unites with Himself those who turn away from sin" (CCC no. 234). This revelation is meant for our age; God did not reveal it in ages past. God makes Himself known in order to save us. It is in the revelation of the Most Holy Trinity that the mystery of our salvation unfolds: the Father creates, the Son redeems, the Holy Spirit sanctifies.
The revelation of Trinity tells us that all things proceed from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the reflection of St. Athanasius on the mystery says, "the grace and the gift which is given in the Trinity is given by the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. For just as grace is given from the Father through the Son, so within us the fellowship in the gift cannot be brought about except in the Holy Spirit. If we have received the Spirit, the we have the love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Spirit Himself" (Office of the reading, p. 13). We receive all gifts from the Father through the Son with the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Without the presence of Holy Spirit in us, we cannot receive any thing from the Father through the Son and neither can we receive the Holy Spirit without the Son. The presence of Holy Spirit in us is an evidence of our faith in the Son, for no one can call Jesus Christ Lord except by the Spirit (1Cor. 12:3). The faith in the Son is also the confirmation of the faith in the Father. Whoever confesses the Son confesses the Father as Whoever confesses the Father confesses the Son (1John 4:15; 5:1).
God reveals Himself to us so as to share His life with us. The revelation of Himself is a call to participate in His life. By revealing Himself to us, He shares His life with us. The manifestation of our faith in the Holy Trinity is the life of communion. Our faith in Trinity should manifest in a loving relationship with one another, with brothers and sisters; it should always move us to seek peace and unity wherever we find ourselves.
Moses, in the first reading, also tells us that the revelation of God to us is a call to keep His commandments. He says, "Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God gives you for ever.” Apostle John puts it clearly thus: "In this way we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, 'I know him' without keeping his commandments, is a liar, and truth has no place in him" (1John 2:3-4).
Today's gospel reading also reminds us of God's invitation to share in His life, the life of Trinity. By our baptism we are welcomed to the life of Trinity. Today's second Reading tells about our our status in the life of Trinity. St. Paul says, "All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship." With the revelation of Trinity, we come to know our identity in God.
The gospel reading also shows that the revelation of God to us bestows on us the responsibility to go and make disciples of all nations. We are to teach them to observe the teaching of the Son and to invite them into the life of the Trinity. The encounter on the mountain is the revelation of Himself to the disciples. Having revealed Himself to them, He sent them out to make disciples of all nations. It is said, "The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.'” Hence, our faith in Trinity should not only manifest by living it but also by inviting people to live the life.
Lord our God, we thank You for the revelation of Yourself as Holy Trinity; grant that we may live in unity in spite of our differences. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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