Saturday, May 26, 2018

Trinity Sunday, Year B, 27.05.2018

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 / Romans 8:14-17 / Matthew 28:16-20

There is one thing that most of us carry around and we often take it for granted. Most of our gadgets depend on it and it does a lot of background work although it is not prominently visible.

The age of mobile technology would not be possible if not for this one thing – the battery. 

The battery is quite an amazing thing. It is actually portable power, without which we can’t move around with our mobile devices and gadgets.

It is in all our stuff – mobile phones, cameras, laptops, torchlights, remote controllers, mini-fans, hearing aids, pacemakers, etc.

Also advancements in battery power technology have made it possible for high-power consumption. So it is the battery that powers those e-scooters, electric bicycles, and even electric cars.

And even at home, there are vacuum cleaners that are battery-powered. Although a vacuum cleaner can only run for about half an hour on battery power, it is perfectly fine for those people with short attention spans for doing cleaning.  :)

Having said these praises about batteries, it is also obvious that batteries do not stand alone. Batteries do go flat, and hence they need chargers to power them up again. Also a charged up battery can’t do much unless it is placed in a device or gadget.

So the battery does not stand alone. It needs the charger for it to be recharged. And it has to be placed in a device or gadget so that it gets those things working and going.

Today the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday. The Church takes a day to reflect and meditate on the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

And whenever we talk about mystery in the context of faith and religion, we talk about mystery as not something that is unknown. Mystery is about what is revealed and keeps revealing; it is an on-going mystery that does not stop.

So even though God has revealed Himself as the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it does not mean that we can fully understand the Holy Trinity or that there is nothing more to know about it.

In fact, there is a lot more that God wants to reveal of Himself to us, as we reflect on the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Yes, God keeps revealing Himself to us and we are drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery and the relationship of the Holy Trinity in our lives.

As we know it, in the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are intimately and deeply connected to one another. Each does not stand alone and apart from the other.

It is the Father who creates us, it is the Son who saves us, and it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us.

The Holy Trinity cannot be reduced to earthly analogies, but nonetheless earthly analogies may help us understand the mystery and the relationship of the Holy Trinity.

Just as in the battery mentioned earlier, the battery does not stand alone by itself. It needs the charger to recharge it, and then it needs to be connected to the device to power it up and make it work.

And as we prepare for the feast of the Sacred Heart in two weeks’ time, we have also prepared these “Jesus Invites” for the triduum in preparation for the feast day.

These “Jesus Invites” can be another analogy to help us understand the mystery and the reality of the Holy Trinity in our parish and in our lives.

At present, we have folded about 6000 of these “Jesus Invites” and we have given them out last Sunday and will be giving out again this Sunday.

These “Jesus Invites” are folded by the loving hands of our Catechism class children, and by members of our parish community.

Just as God the Father created us, we have “created” these “Jesus Invites”. But these “Jesus Invites” are not to be left at the bulletin stands or at the corners of the church.

Just as Jesus saved us, we also must go forth and proclaim the saving love of Jesus by distributing these “Jesus Invites” to those who are in need of the love of Jesus or those who have yet to know the love of Jesus.

We are to be missionaries and heralds of the Good News of salvation and these “Jesus Invites” are the means for us and it is for us to tell others about Jesus and His love for all.

And it is only when these “Jesus Invites” have been distributed out that the Holy Spirit can do His work. How the Holy Spirit works on those who have received these “Jesus Invites” is certainly beyond our understanding, but we keep praying that those who have received these “Jesus Invites” will be enlightened and will be led by the Holy Spirit to come and offer their prayers to the Heart of Jesus.

So in a way, the mystery of the Holy Trinity is practically understood as we prepare to celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart.

In the gospel, Jesus commissioned us to go forth and make disciples of all the nations.

Like batteries, we are powered up in the Eucharist, we have a mission with these “Jesus Invites”. Let us go forth and connect Jesus with others.