MOST HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY, YR B: HOMILY BY FR JUSTIN ADIELE
THEME: LIVING IN THE ONENESS, UNITY AND LOVE OF THE TRINITY
INTRODUCTION:
Today, we celebrate the greatest mystery of our Catholic
faith, the mystery of the Trinity. It is a truth and doctrine based on divine
revelation rather than on science, human reasoning or sophistry. St. Thomas
Aquinas began his teaching on the Trinity by asserting that; “God is Father,
God is Son, and God is Holy Spirit”, and these are not three but one God. It is
this same unity in diversity that unites us in faith, and in humanity. Living
out in principle this one, loving and undivided unity revealed in the Trinity
will perfect humanity; will perfect our world just as God is perfect in
Trinity.
GOD WANTS US TO BE ONE/LIVE AS ONE
As we celebrate the Blessed Trinity today, we are challenged
to reflect amongst us the Oneness of the Trinity. It is an effort in futility
(unrealizable) to determine which of the Trinity is more powerful, more
glorious, more majestic, or more eternal. They are just one in glory, equal in
majesty and co-eternal. In the same vein, we should strive to eliminate amongst
us every power tussle; every racial/tribal domination/supremacy; and every
claim/pride of primacy/importance over others. The more we emphasize on our
differences, the more we end in futility. The more we see, feel and work as
one, the more powerful we become as God. Jesus had to pray; Father, may they be
one, as you and I are one, seeing no discriminatory difference between us and
our brothers and sisters.
GOD WANTS US TO BE UNITED
As we celebrate the Holy Trinity today, we recall their
distinct persons and their undivided unity, no one person claims to work
without the others. Jesus revealed that he only gave what he received from the
Father, and the Holy Spirit also gives what he took from the Son (cf. Jn. 16:
14,15). We all are also distinct by names and personality, yet we can still
live and work harmoniously together, taking, giving and receiving from each
other. We can actually live and share without any greed, strife, envy, enmity,
division, war or rancor. We must be united in the service of God and humanity.
We must learn to accept and receive one another, unbiased and in good faith.
GOD WANTS US TO LOVE, BECAUSE ONLY LOVE UNITES
Peter Kreeft once said; “If God is not a Trinity, God is not
love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship
between them.” The Bible says God is love; the Trinity is the perfect
expression of that ‘love essence’ of God. In a similar way, we must essentially
be loving / love one another. We must
remain in the Trinitarian cycle of love; either you are the lover, or the
beloved or in the relationship/business of love. Scripture crowns it all; “…God
is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in him… We have received
from him this commandment; whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (cf.
1 Jn. 4: 16 & 21)
CONCLUSION:
Robert A. Heinlein said something that could be interpreted
in both ways; he said; “Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his
religion is a monotheism can believe anything.” This could be interpreted
positively to imply that the person is a man of faith. The Trinity One God is a
real basis/expression of strong faith. If you can believe it, you can believe
in all that the Scripture revealed, you can believe in love, you can believe in
unity, you can believe in yourself, you can believe in others, you can believe
in the impossibility, you can believe in the sacraments, you can believe and
share in the power and essence of the Trinitarian God.
Happy Sunday!
Fr. Justin
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