THE HOLY TRINITY IN HUMAN HISTORY

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, YEAR C

THEME: THE TRINITY IN  HUMAN HISTORY

R1: Proverbs 8:22-31

R2: Romans 5:1-5

Gospel: John 16:12-15

Dear friends, last Sunday we celebrated the Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles through which they were commissioned to mission. Their mission was to preach the gospel and baptised those who believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Today we are gathered to celebrate this God of ours, who is one, in three persons; Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Trinity). Our belief in the Blessed Trinity makes us different from other religions. This does not mean we believe in a God who is three, rather we believe that God is one but exists in three divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a mystery beyond any human intellect. However, the readings of today make us to understand three major ways God manifests Himself as a Trinity in our history.

*1. AT CREATION:*

 God the Father is active in the creative work. The book of Genesis acknowledges that in the beginning when there was nothing, God created. His act of creation was accompanied by the presence of the Trinity, hence, God spoke and things came to be. John acknowledges that Jesus is the word of God, who has been with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1). And the divine wind (spirit of God) was hovering on the face of water at creation. The presence of the Trinity led to the creation of a beautiful world.

The first reading from the book of Proverbs explains that God from the beginning begot wisdom before he created. This wisdom was inseparable by His side and was the master’s craftsman throughout creation. WHO IS THIS WISDOM? Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:18-2:16).Hence, Jesus was present throughout the time of creation. John noted this when he said, “Through him all things were made” (John 1:3). After the creation of man, God breathed on man and he became a living being, and God made him master of all things created and to remain in union with him (Gen 1:26;28; 2:7). However, out of disobedience, man lost the initial friendship with God.

*2. AT SALVATION:*

Upon man’s disobedience, God never abandon mankind to their fate, He came down from heaven in the person of the Son, and through the power of the Holy Spirit He took flesh to dwell among us, encouraging us to follow the right part so as to unite with Him again at last in the garden of God’s kingdom.

Through His Son, God has granted us grace, that professing our faith in the Him we may be saved. Hence, the second reading points out that the grace we receive from the Son justifies us as children of God. Through grace we are being baptised and initiated into this divine relation of being children of God. As children of God, we have to preserve in faith through many trials. Being strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we have a sure hope our final destiny, which is the union with God. The possibility of our union with God lies on our acceptance of Jesus and his word. The word of Jesus are not just his own but the word of the Father, therefore, whoever believes shall have his sins forgiven and shall have eternal life (Acts 10:43, John 3:15). Sometimes, we face challenges and difficulties in accepting and practising the demands of the gospel, hence God sends us the Holy Spirit. 

*3. IN UNIFICATION:*

The Holy Spirit makes things clearer to us. When the apostles were afraid to preach the gospel, the Holy Spirit cleared their doubts and made them fearless preachers of the gospel (Acts 2:1ff). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Ethiopian eunuch understood the scripture and was converted (Acts 8:26). It is the Holy Spirit that makes us push higher and to aspire for the greater good and do it while avoiding evil. With the good we do we are sure of our final destiny, we are sure of meeting God our Father.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we call God, Abba (Father) Gal 4:6.

Dear friends, it is clear that the Blessed Trinity has always been present through our history. He calls us to a special relationship with Him. This relationship is what we have accepted through our baptism and strengthened through our reception of the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation.  With our baptism and confirmation, we are convinced of the truth of God’s plan for us. This divine plan started from creation, the plan that we should unite with Him forever. This divine plan has a process that should be followed. This process is the way of Christ, following keenly his example. One of the essential things is that God is love and the Holy Trinity is a simple of love and togetherness.  We are therefore encouraged to follow the example of Blessed Trinity by remaining one in love as Jesus prayed. Let us put aside our apathy, our differences and work together as sons and daughters of one God, knowing that we are all heading to one heaven.

Rev. Fr. Chukwuemeka Vincent Livinus, SMMM