First Reading: Dt 4:32-34. 39-40; Psalm: 33. R. v. 12b; Second Reading: Rom 8:14-17; Gospel: Mt 28:16-20

CALLED TO THE TRINITARIAN MISSION

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP  

Each year, when we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, one fact we must always admit is the insufficiency of human knowledge to totally comprehend the existence of God; and by extension, the mystery of the Trinity. However, as rational beings, although our understanding of God may be limited; but it is definitely not imaginary or some knowledge deduced from nothingness. Our knowledge and identity of God is drawn from existential realities; and to a greater degree from supernatural phenomena that unequivocally prove the existence of a Supreme Being that animates them. This means that God is not missing in action. God is constantly working in varied ways; and by that reveals Himself.

If someone asked us what identity we have of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity; I believe our answer would be pretty simple. God the Father is the Creator. God the Son is our Redeemer. And God the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier. Although we know that the work of One is the work of the Three; but we draw these identities from the works perceptively carried out by each but substantially by all Three. We call God the Father the Creator, for “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gn 1:1). We call God the Son our Redeemer, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son . . . that the world might be saved through him.” (Jn 3:16.17). And we identify the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier, for at Pentecost, the Spirit consecrated the apostles in the truth to become bold witnesses of the gospel. (Acts 2).

Now, in the life of the Trinity, there is always that mission of going out to do something not really for themselves but for us. “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’” (Gn 4:26). ‘Christ came into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.’ (Jn 3:17). Christ promised that ‘The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in his name, will teach his apostles all things, and bring to their remembrance all that he had said to them.’ (Jn 14:26). And at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles to sanctify and animate them to evangelise the world. So, the Father created the world; the Son redeemed the world; and the Holy Spirit perpetually continues to sanctify and inspire the world to carry on Christ’s mission of salvation.

This need to continue to proclaim the redemptive mission of Christ is announced in our gospel reading of today when Christ commands; ‘“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; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”’ (Mt 28:19-20). The Church as a body has never failed in actively carrying out this mission of salvation through the Word and Sacraments. The words “I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” indicates that we are creatures of the Father, now redeemed by the blood of Christ through baptismal water, and sanctified by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, every Christian faithful baptised in the name of the Trinity enjoys in fullness the divine actions of the Trinity.

As parts of the one Body of Christ through baptism, the call to make disciples of all nations is for us to participate in that Trinitarian mission of going out of ourselves to reach out to those in need of salvation. We need to do this because our existence and salvation is drawn from the life and activity of the Trinity. We are creatures of the Father, redeemed by the Son, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. So, we must not act any differently from the Trinity. How then can we make disciples of all nations? What should we do?

First, we will have to bear in mind that the call to witnessing to Christ as his disciples is not a ministry administered exclusively to certain people. Christ commands that we make disciples of all nations. So, this call is not about witnessing to Christ in specific people but in all people. Secondly, this call requires that we go out of our comfort zones. To respond to this call therefore, we have to be ready to go outside ourselves to reach out to others. And thirdly, we must bear in mind that we are going out only to witness to what Christ commands and not to do our bidding.

Since we are going out to do the bidding of Christ; to know what to do therefore, it will be very appropriate to ask; “God, what do you want me to do today?” This question may sound bland because we often do not listen but are mostly preoccupied with a catalogue of what we wish to do each day. But how about God’s to-do-list? How about what God wants us to do? If we woke up each day absorb with our to-do-list, we will never listen to God or know what God wants us to do. So, I challenge us today to ask each day; “God, what do you want me to do today?” When we ask this question; wait and listen. Don’t hurry to leave. We will be surprised to discover there are lot of things God is calling us to do.

We may hear God saying to us; “Let us go.” “Let us go and visit that sick neighbour you forgot to visit because you were too busy.” “Let us go and share your bread with the hungry at the locations and street corners.” “Let us go and reconcile with your spouse whom you have tortured with so much scorn and silent treatment.” “Let us go to promote and defend what is right and just in a marginalised society.” What God is calling us to go out and do is inexhaustible. For God never stops working through us. And this brings us to the next point.

Every good work God calls us to do is God’s work through us. In other words, we are incapable of doing any good without God the source of all Goodness. So, the Father is creating through us. The Son is redeeming in our works of love. And the Spirit continues to inspire us to co-create and witness to the love of Christ. The Spirit inspires us to do good because through Christ we have become adopted children of God. As St Paul points out in our second reading: “When we cry “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom 8:15-16). The redemptive work of Christ therefore has reconciled us to the Trinitarian Life; so that the Father will continue to create, the Son will continue to redeem, and the Spirit will continue to inspire through us and in us.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Most Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; we submit ourselves entirely to You in adoration. Help us to be responsive as You continue to use us to recreate, redeem and inspire the world. Amen