CELEBRATING THE GOD OF COMMUNION

An accompanying, relating and a self-giving God

June 7, 2020: Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

Exodus 34: 4b -6, 8-9; 2 Corinthians 13: 11-13; John 3: 16-18

The feast of the Holy Trinity is an invitation to a life of communion, communion between persons, communion within the family, within the local church, in the universal Church and above all, an invitation to the ultimate and perfect communion with God! Communion defines what it means to be a Christian: and that is because we believe in a God of Communion!

Entering into the theology of the Holy Trinity will take us too far; but the verse from St. Paul in the second reading today (1 Cor 13:13), summarises it all. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Already in the early Church the understanding of God whom they believed in, the idea of the God whom Jesus introduced them to, the concept of the God who has been with them all this while, was clear and concrete. 

What we believe in, affects what we live. If not, we either do not really believe or we do not live our own life. If we really believe in the Holy Trinity as we should, we should be promoters of communion in our interpersonal relationships, in our family, in our faith communities and in the locality wherever we live, ultimately challenging the whole world to this communion of humanity. The divisive forces cannot really take the upper hand if each and every individual loves, longs for and promotes passionately this communion that the God we believe in stands for. 

The God of Communion is an Accompanying God. God accompanies not because we deserve that accompaniment, but because God takes responsibility over us, as God's people. Accompaniment is the crux of the covenant that God has made with God's people: you shall be my people and I shall be your God. In the first reading today, when Moses asks God to be with the people, it is exactly this covenant that is invoked. The Old Testament is filled with instances where the people concretely felt the accompaniment of a powerful and all providing God. They also realised what it means to go without being accompanied by God, not because God chose not to accompany but because they chose to move away from God. 

An accompanying God is the basis of the communion between God and humanity, and it is our belief that God has kept this possibility open right from the beginning. Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ - is the highest form of accompaniment that we have witnessed in history. As a continuity of the Old Testament experience, and as a fulfillment of it, the Lord deigned to come among us and walk amidst us, just like us in everything but sin. This is the greatest expression of accompaniment that we have witnessed and have benefited from.

The God of Communion is a Relating God. Communion is unreal, unless it is expressed and experienced through relationship. Relationship is constant communication, mutual dependence and forgiving acceptance. And God relates to us continuously, God communicates constantly, respects our liberty and waits for our response, forgives us unceasingly and accepts us unconditionally, wishing to remain in constant touch with us. Nothing matters more to God, than that the love that God has for us, however unworthy we prove ourselves to be.

A relating God, is the fundamental characteristic that we see in the Christian revelation. A relationship that is founded on God's love, a love that created us, a love that cares for us and a love that caresses us in spite of our imperfections. If we realise, respect and recognise the role of this relationship that God offers, it will necessarily be reflected in our day to day relationships with others: encourage each other; agree with each other; live in peace, exhorts St.Paul. This is in short the Love of God - and anyone who says he loves God and does not love his brother or sister, is a liar, warns St. James (1 Jn 4:20). 

The God of Communion is a Self-giving God. God is not merely almighty, God is all-loving and all-giving too! God gives and forgives, it is said; and we get and forget! For God so loved the world that God gave the only Son, Jesus Christ, that we may have life! For Christ so loved his brothers and sisters that he gave his own life, his body and blood, that we may have life! For the Spirit so loves us that the Spirit dwells in our hearts, in our bodies, in our selves! The God of communion seeks communion with us, and seeks communion among us. 

A Self-giving God gives because in giving God unites, brings together, binds and builds. The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit has to be seen in the gifts received and lived together. Last Sunday, we celebrated the feast of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that unites, the Spirit that gives us charisms to build up the community made up of the sons and daughters of God. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to think and act together, work and achieve together, forgive and accept each other. It is the indwelling Spirit that enables us to love, to manifest and share that love that God has filled us with.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity is the right corrective the world so divided and so threatened by hatred today. Killings, exploitations, discriminations, violence, malice, vengeance, corruption and manipulation are brass tacks manifestations of a lack of communion. Personal Integrity, Christian Fellowship and Universal Brotherhood are the three fundamental forms of communion that we need to work towards these days. Let us begin with our personal selves and reach wherever we reach, so that we can rightfully say that we believe in the God of Communion and that we stand for the Accompanying, Relating and  Self-giving God, the God of Communion, the Loving Father and Mother, the Life-giving Son and the Indwelling Spirit.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen.