GOD IS COMMUNITY, GOD IS LOVE

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY - Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40

The first reading, taken from Deuteronomy, makes it very clear: there is only one God - “YHWH (Lord) is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” (Dt 4:39). As Christians, we inherited this belief from the people of Israel. Like them, we believe that there is no other God, but Yahweh. Together with the Jews and the Christians, the Muslims believe as well in one God, thus being considered monotheistic religions, called also Abrahamic because they follow the footsteps of Abraham who believed in one God.

Professing a very strict monotheism (tawhid), the Muslims accuse the Christians of shirk, the unforgivable sin of believing in several gods or of associating others with God. The Christian belief in the Holy Trinity is misunderstood as a belief in three Gods: the Father, Jesus and Mary. 

“O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Take me and my mother as gods rather than God?’” (Quran 5,116).

Christians never believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a goddess. In the Creed, proclaimed every Sunday during the liturgical celebration, we say: “I believe in one God”. In the strict monotheism of Islam, Allah is a lonely God, incapable of a personal relationship with human beings. He is the Almighty, the All-knowing and everything must submit to him. Islam is total and complete submission to God and his Messenger. The only possible relation is that one of the Master with the slave. Even though presenting himself as the Almighty  God, Yahweh put his power and his knowledge at the service of his love. Since the beginning, the Holy Scriptures present Yahweh as a God who affirms his divinity by establishing a relationship with humanity and then, for the sake of humanity, with the people of Israel. God sealed this relationship with a covenant, through which he commits himself the be our companion in our journey through this world. Little by little, in the history of salvation, we see the mystery of God unfolding before us - He never gets tired of establishing a relationship with humanity because in himself he is relationship. The belief in the Holy Trinity expresses that: God is a community. Within God, there is communion, because God is love. Being love, God is self-giving, bestowing his love and mercy upon the ones he loves.

In the letter to the Romans (second reading), Paul speaks of the relationship of love which God establishes with us by pouring his Spirit upon us, thus adopting us as his children.

“The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Ro 8:15).

We are not slaves, but children - the beloved children of God. In baptism, we were born again by the power of God to be destined to become “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Ro 8:17). That’s why we can approach him with confidence and hope. He will not turn his back on us. He will not go back on his word. He will never desert us unless we reject him and turn our backs on him.

We are called to be witnesses of God’s love and we are given the mission of announcing to the nations that in Jesus Christ we find salvation.

“Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” (Mt 28:19-20).