Holy Trinity Sunday (June 3^rd 2012)  

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Is the feast of the Holy Trinity the celebration of a theological doctrine, or is something urgently important for the life of the Christian? This week Don Fabio challenges us to examine the lethargic, reluctant, duty-ridden, feet-dragging version of Christianity that most of us subscribe to. The antidote to this mediocrity is the full immersion in the life of the Trinity that is the mark of a true disciple

The power of Jesus is the power to change the course of people's lives

On Trinity Sunday we reflect on the last words from the Gospel of St Matthew. The risen Jesus appears to the disciples and says, "All power in heaven and earth has been given to me". What is the power that is being referred to here? Jesus goes on to tell the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. The power of Jesus consists in the ability to change the direction of the lives of people, his capacity to make people go towards something which is no longer a chaotic, dissolute, meaningless life, but a life that is ordered according to the plan of God. We can change the composition of society and democracy as much as we like, but if the human person himself does not change direction at a fundamental level, then every structure of power on earth will always lead to the same end: evil and the regression of the human condition.

The human person thinks he is a master of his own destiny, but he is really a slave of the idols of this world. To be truly autonomous one must become a disciple of Jesus Christ

The Lord asks us to go and make disciples of all nations. What a wonderful mission! That the people of earth who do not know God might all become his disciples! To have this mission is to have the direction of one's life changed. To have this mission is to refrain from pretending to be masters of one's own existence. From the word "disciple" comes the word "discipline". The fact is that the human being is always a disciple of something or someone. He is a disciple of deceit, a disciple of the idols of this world, a disciple of vanity or evil. The human being is always a follower of something, even though he might be under the illusion that he is the master of his own destiny. With Jesus, all of this is turned upside down. When we become his disciples, we become a follower of his but this makes us autonomous. We become bearers of a dignity and nobility that is part and parcel of being his disciples.

We become disciples by being immersed in the life of the Trinity

How is one to become a disciple of Jesus? By being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Greek work "baptize" means to be immersed. Of course this refers to the physical ritual of baptism, but it also refers to the spiritual immersion in the Father, Son and Spirit, to the act of "remaining" in them, as the Gospel of St John exhorts. To enter into the name of the Father, is to enter into his truth, into that which he truly is. It is only when a person is immersed in this way that he is capable of fully observing that which the Father says. I obey the Father only when I know who he is, when I appreciate that he is truly my father.

The Christian life is defective to the extent that we refrain from immersing ourselves in the life of the Trinity

The Christian life is defective until we are immersed in the name of the Trinity. In the Church, we have an army of tired Christians who observe their faith with a lethargic sense of duty. The faithful come into church, dragging their feet, and hoping that the words "The Mass is ended, go in peace" will come as quickly as possible. Believers reluctantly give time to God as if it were an onerous duty. The root of this mediocrity is that we do not truly know the Father. No-one willingly obeys a stranger that they neither know nor love. Sometimes our observance of faith arises from fear of damnation, or from habit, or from social pressure. This kind of dull Christianity is grossly defective. If one is not immersed in the Father, if one has not become a disciple, if one has not had the direction of their lives changed, then a "believer" is like an old wineskin that is incapable of holding the fresh new wine that is waiting to be poured in.

God is not a detached centre of power but a relational entity whose name is "Father"

On this Solemnity, we must take our faith in hand and ask ourselves why the Church wishes us to reflect on the Holy Trinity. Is the Trinity an abstract concept that defies understanding? Is this Sunday a feast for theologians only? No, this is the feast of the experience of apostles, saints, martyrs, doctors of the church, popes, and those who have handed the faith on to us. These people were immersed in God and knew that God's name was "Father". God is not an abstract creator figure but a relational entity. "Father" is a relational term. "Son" is a relational term. The Holy Spirit is love, self-giving, the essence of relationship itself.

            In today's Gospel reading, we have many elements that testify to the beauty of our faith and that challenge us. Am I going where this Gospel challenges me to go? Has the direction of my life been changed so that I live as a disciple, immersed in Father, Son and Spirit?          At the end of the passage, Jesus says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the world". The nature of God is relational. It is not conceptual or abstract. God is the one who is with us, who wants what is good for us, and who wants a relationship with us. God is not a detached centre of power who stands isolated from us. God is father, and he approaches me with the tenderness of the only truly good father in existence.