Trinity Sunday 2022

 John 16:12-15

Rev. Neli Miranda

 

Last Sunday, after some weeks of growth, we celebrated Pentecost, the culmination of the path of Easter. Every Easter we are renewed and strengthened by the presence of the risen Jesus, and we are also guided toward a recreation. We experience this recreation in Pentecost, when, as a community, we offer our lives before God, and God blesses us with the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Pentecost, as in the first creation, God breathes into us the breath of Life, and we become a living community among the world, ready to continue Jesus’ mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God in all the world.  After the celebration of Pentecost, we begin a new path of growth, the season called “After Pentecost”, but first we must celebrate one of the fundamental Christian beliefs, the Holy Trinity.

In our walk with Jesus, we have learned that God is not an isolated being living far removed from humanity but a being of community, of family. Jesus speaks of God in family terms. Jesus calls God his father, and proclaims himself as the revelation of God to humanity. Jesus also speaks about the Holy Spirt, the presence of God who comes to dwell among the new community of disciples. Based on the image of this divine community, the early Christians thought of a triune God: God our Creator; Jesus the revelation of God; and the Holy Spirit, the presence of God among the community of disciples. 

Today, on the celebration of Trinity Sunday we celebrate God our Father who is revealed to us in Jesus. We celebrate Jesus, the revelation of God and our brother, through whom we become one family in God. And we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit who constantly renews us and guides us on the path of life and truth. Thus, we celebrate the fullness of God widely manifested to humanity. We celebrate God as a divine community in which we have been called to participate. In the epistle of Romans, we read that we are part of this divine family. St. Paul says that all who have received the Spirit of God are children of God and heirs with Christ (8,14-17).

Dear brothers and sisters, in the image of the Holy Trinity we see a family, a community that lives in common-unity; we see relationship and closeness; we see unity in diversity; we see equality and equity; but above all, we see the immense love of God who  invites us to live as a family. Thus, the Holy Trinity is the image of what we, as disciples of Jesus, are called upon to be.

In a world of divisions and wars, may our trinitarian vocation bring peace and reconciliation; in a world of exclusion, may we bring love and inclusion; in a world of hate, may we bring compassion and closeness.  May we be a trinitarian community, living in unity, loving each other with no barriers, and bringing good news to the world.  

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen.