THE COMMUNION OF LOVE IN THE MOST HOLY
TRINITY: MODEL FOR OUR WORSHIPPING COMMUNITY
HOMILY FOR THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
SUNDAY, YEAR C
Rev. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
Today, the Holy mother Church celebrates the solemnity of the Most
Holy Trinity. As we celebrate this, we must be courageous enough to state that
the situation of Nigeria poses serious indictments upon the Church and how she
has been able to live out her calling. Dear friends, the Church must learn to
look inwards, so as to discover how she has passed or failed. We live in a
society that is inclined to hatred and verbal attacks more than to love and
fraternal correction. We live in a time where the meaning of love has been
totally bastardized. We live in an epoch where individuals think that
intimidation paves the way, rather than love and humility. We exist in a period
where concern for others is understood as weakness. We live in an era where
community service and work is seen as the interest for the jobless. Our
communities grow bushy, are devoid of proper morality, buildings are admired as
they dilapidate, as maintenance culture becomes only a topic for studies in the
schools. The Igbo adage otu onye anaghi
azu nwa is now replaced with the adage zuo
nwa nke gi otu isi choo. We live in a political system that favours the
corrupt more than the sincere. Nigeria simply put is a decayed society. The
question comes: to what extent are these experiences influencing the
worshipping community? To what extent is the Church fighting to become a
panacea to the crises-ridden Nigeria? To what extent still is the Church contributing
to such societal evils experienced in Nigeria. Which way are we to follow? Who will
save Nigeria?
THE TRINITARIAN COMMUNION OF LOVE
The three readings expose to us the activities of our
Christian God. It is not enough to believe in God. We must know Him whom we believe in and must live as He lives. Our
God is three-in-one. The first reading informs us of the wisdom of God the
Father who creates in an orderly manner with the divine purpose of salvation
(Prov. 8: 22 - 31). The second reading tells about the work of God the Son,
Jesus Christ who redeems us by leading us towards justification, and thereby
glorifies the Father with it (Rom. 5: 1-5). The Gospel explicates on the work
of the Holy Spirit who brings to completion the work of the Father and the Son
by leading us to the complete truth. Hence, the Christian God is one that lives
as one and works as one. The Christian God is the God of the Trinity, whereby
there are three persons in one God.[1]
This knowledge of God as a communion of three persons is that which we have got
from God’s revelation of himself in Jesus Christ (i.e the Incarnation). The
specific character of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ consists of the
incredible message that God is a communion of persons. The Christian God is not
a solitary monad but a self-creating community, indeed a communion both in
Himself and in His relations with mankind and with creation.[2]
Hence, the Trinitarian lifestyle is that lived in the communion of the three
divine persons. God lives his own divine life in a tripersonal
inter-communication and need no complement, supplement of fulfilment from a
reality distinct from Himself.[3] “In every divine person as a subject, the
other persons also indwell; all mutually permeate one another, though in doing
so they do not cease to be distinct persons.”[4] What
is then the content of this communion?
Many seasoned theologians accredit that this
inter-communication of this tri-personal God is love. Indeed, Garrigou-Langrange
captures this perfect life of love and union when he advocates:
Indeed, the entire personality of the Father is the relation
to the Son, the entire personality of the Son is the relation to the Father,
and the entire personality of the Holy Spirit is the relation to the Father and
the Son.[5]
This divine life of love is a perfect beatitude without limit,
and these divine persons are happy with all the fullness of happiness. This
activity of love is seen in the sending character of His Son (cf. John 3:16),
and Christ’s prayer to His Father makes it clear that the Father loved him
before the creation of the world (John 17:24). Yet, this communion and union in
love manifests more in their glorification of one another (cf. John 12:28;
17:1; 17:5), joy at one another (John 15:11) and peace with one another (cf.
John 14:2). In essence, God is love (1 John 4:8.16). Indeed in the sending of
Christ “into the world, God reveals Himself as the God whose being is
constituted by relationship.”[6]
Our stake then is the discovery of how this communion in love of the Trinity
can serve as a model for our worshipping community.
A FOCUS ON OUR WORSHIPPING COMMUNITY
The Catholic worshipping community, by divine institution are
regarded as Christ’s faithful; they are comprised of the clerics (the sacred
ministers) and the lay people (cf. Canon 207, para. 1).
1. Among the clerics are the deacons, the priests and the
Bishops. These sacred ministers constitute the hierarchical structure of the
Church. However, it must be emphasized from the onset that the hierarchical
structure of the Church is one that has its foundation in service; as Christ
told his disciples: Now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet,
you also should wash one another’s feet (John 13:14). This service must be
based in love. It is in this sense that we can understand well the connection
that ought to exist in the ‘threeness’ of the Church’s ministers following the
triune nature of God. Just as the Trinitarian lifestyle is love, the lifestyle
of the Church’s minister should be love. There ought to exist no calumny,
character assassination, hatred, rancour, disobedience, authoritarianism, war, etc.
If we imitate the Trinitarian life of love, these cogs to the wheel of our
progress will melt in such a way that where
there is hatred and jealousy, love replaces; where there is war and calumny,
peace reigns; where there is gossip and character assassination, glorification
of one another overshadows; where there is authoritarianism and disobedience,
joy at one another surfaces. It is our duty to make this happen in our
religious society, which is our community of faith.
2. The lay people has too many lessons they can derive from
the Trinitarian lifestyle. They too are bound to this commandment of love and
service to the Church. They too must make a whole-hearted effort to lead a holy
life, and to promote the growth of the Church. They too have the obligation to
permeate and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel.
In whatever they do, they are to give witness to Christ. They too have the duty
to help the sacred ministers in their duties. The lay organizations in the
Church should together work for the good of the Church, and not engaging in tussles
that have the tendency of bringing bad name to the Church. Often, we notice
little rancour and inordinate struggle that exists between Pious Sodalities and
Movements. That which should not even be mentioned at all is the acrimony,
malice, resentment and bitterness being heard of some lay people against their
sacred ministers. Our duty is to love them, pray for them and help them for the
good of the Gospel. Never nurse the idea to partake in any meeting that is
carried out to pull down your fellow Christian, or worse still, to pull down
your Parish Priest, Bishop or any sacred minister working for the Church.
3. If we can achieve this in our circle, then together we can
work to transform our crises-ridden, corrupt, degenerated Nigerian society. It is
our task, the clergy and the lay to assist in this struggle. Nigerian society
is apparently without any saviour. The onus lies on us to save her from this
impending shipwreck. We pray not to fail. In fact, we shall never fail. Our society
needs us. Nigeria needs our sanctity in this face of immorality which is on the
increase. Nigeria needs our love in this face of inter-tribal wars and
agitations. Nigeria needs our justice in this face of a failed juridical system
incapable of offering justice to the poor masses. Nigerian citizens are in daring
need of ministers who will assure them that there is light at the end of this
dark tunnel. We need hope. We need to keep kicking. We need a country that we
can call ours. We need to experience justice, peace, love, joy, hope and equality
of all humans. It is our mission to work for this. Yes, it is the mission of
the Catholic faithful. Let us stop chasing after shadows, and face our duties. From
what we see currently, only the Holy, intelligent, and charismatic people of God
can save Nigeria.
The solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity provides antidotes to
anything that works against the unity and love of the pilgrim Church on earth. It
also can provide cure to our sick society; only if we align ourselves to the
Grace that constantly comes the triune God. Let us pray: Lord, may we continue
to be one even as you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one. May we
together and constantly grow in this awareness; such that reiterates that what
unites us is greater than what divides us; such that gingers us to work for the
good of your Church and our country. Amen. ♫♫ We are one holy family, we are
one in the Lord. We pray together, we sing together, we worship together; we
are one in the Lord ♫♫. GOD
BLESS YOU. GOD BLESS HIS CHURCH. GOD BLESS NIGERIA.
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