Sunday Gospel Reflection
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Matthew 28:16-20
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”
Claud
Ministry of Lectors and Commentators
Others say that because we believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, then those are three Gods. But we do not add them up as “Father + Son + Holy Spirit = 3 Gods.” Why? Because God is not less without any of the three.
Rather, this is how I see it, “Father x Son x Holy Spirit = God,” resulting in God, ONE GOD.
Algebraically speaking, that’s 1 x 1 x 1 = 1.
God the Father. God the Son. God the Holy Spirit.
What is signified by the multiplication or ‘x’ function? It is God’s unending and ever-powerful love for us. In other words, God multiplies His love by being with us in three persons. And it makes sense even algebraically. When you remove (divide) any of the 1s from either side, the equation is still true. God is God, already perfect in the Old Testament, then He “multiplied his love” when He brought Jesus into the world, then He “multiplied it again” by giving/leaving us the Holy Spirit. His existence in three co-eternal and consubstantial persons is a manifestation of His infinite love.
St. Augustine wrote: “You see the Trinity if you see love.” According to him, the Father is the lover, the Son is the loved one, and the Holy Spirit is the personification of the very act of loving.
I have a confession. When I was in college and I started serving in church, I was already familiar with the story of Pentecost as I have already heard it several times. However, I could not truly understand what the Holy Spirit really was. I knew it by mind but not by heart, and this went on for several years, even during the time when I was already actively serving in church. It was only until recently, in 2017, when I started seeing things differently.
When I needed to reflect and figure out some things for myself, I left and went to somewhere totally unfamiliar to me. I stayed there for a few months with no definite plans. In that brief “floating” moment, I met people from different walks of life: a middle-aged refugee mother who meets and spends a day with her son every month at the country’s border because they could not cross each other’s countries, children with delayed mental development assisting fellow children who are more mentally and physically challenged, a migrant worker leading an organization for refugees by helping them make a livelihood for themselves. From these people, I saw with my own eyes different acts of kindness and love.
It was during that time of having no plans for and not thinking of myself that I became more aware of other people and even the little good things around me. Then, I thought, “Ah, these must be the works of the Holy Spirit.” The same Holy Spirit who was working on me ‘in secret’ by showing me those things.
In the Gospel, Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 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.” This reminds us of His second greatest commandment: for us to love one another as He loves us. It is like extending the left-hand side of the original equation by extending the manifestations of His love many times, to infinity even, yet still resulting in God, one God.
1 x 1 x 1 (x 1 x 1 x …) = 1
A blessed Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity!
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Artwork:
La Santísima Trinidad (The Holy Trinity)
Attributed to: Francisco Caro (1627 – 1667)
