
Today and next Sunday are unusual Sundays in the cycle of feasts of the Church. The feast of the Trinity and the Body and Blood of the Lord are inserted because of their importance rather than the timing of any event. Today is the Feast of the Trinity, the one true God, three in one.
Every Sunday is the Lord’s Day. Today we especially celebrate the revelation of Jesus that our God is Three Persons in the one Nature, truly a mystery of our Religion. It is a mystery because our knowledge of it comes as a revelation of God. Indeed it is the principal mystery of our faith. We know it only because Jesus has told us.
Jesus often speaks of his Father. Jesus has been telling us about His Spirit. Today’s Scripture tells us in Jesus words that God is “Father, Son and Holy Spirit”.
What is my image of God? How do I pray? To whom do I pray? The Father, Son or Holy Spirit? The Liturgy gives us a special Sunday to reflect on this principal mystery of our faith.
There are many images in the Scripture. Jesus tells us that He is the mediator between heaven and earth, that no one can come to the Father except through Him. He is Saviour of the world. Jesus teaches us that His Spirit will lead us to Him.
A quick look at the text: “Go therefore” is obviously connected with the preceding verse. We are commissioned to go BECAUSE Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. The absolute authority of God is our source of authority for mission. Our commission is to make disciples, baptise and teach. I reflect often on this order. The first mission is to make disciples. We know from the gospels that this means to bring people to Jesus who is the teacher, to lead them to a world of the Spirit. I reflect a lot on the Church of today that seems to baptise, then teach and then hope for disciples. The words of Jesus urge us to seek commitment from believers who wish to belong to Him and to lead them to him. We are called and we call others to fall in love with Jesus. The Baptism can come later and the teaching can come much later. That is the human experience and is the model for the spiritual.
God is omnipotent and omniscient and all powerful. God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. God is Love.