Trinity Sunday

A relative came to visit Nasaruddin bringing a duck as a gift. So, the bird was cooked and eaten. Soon one guest after another began to call, each claiming to be a friend of the friend of ‘the man who brought you the duck’. Each one, of course, expected to be fed and housed on the strength of that hapless bird. At length Nasaruddin could stand it on longer. One day a stranger arrived at his house and said, ‘I am a friend of the kinsman who brought you the duck.’ And, like the others, he sat down, expected to be bed. Nasaruddin placed a bowl of steaming water before him, ‘What is this?’ asked the stranger. Nasaruddin said, ‘This is the soup of the soup of the duck that was brought to me by your friend.’ We ask the same question when it comes to the dogma of Trinity; we feel the same enthusiasm as we Christians don’t understand the mystery nor does it have any real significance for them in our lives.

The Trinitarian concept is not unique to Christianity: it transcends all religions and is a key ingredient of universal life and culture (Diarmuid Murchu). Trimoorthy of Hinduism, the Buddhist doctrine of the three bodies, The Zoroastrian triplicate of Zurvan, The Egyptian cult of Isis, Seraphis and the divine child Horus, the Neoplatonic triplicate of Good, the Intelligence and the World Soul and some 30,000 years of traditional Trinitarian worship in the Prehistoric times all portray the same One God seen in 3 persons.

Many see an arithmetic contradiction here: 2 equals 1. We all agree we all possess a certain ‘nature’ when we say ‘it’s my nature’. A person can possess a nature and not the other way around. ‘Person’ and ‘nature’ answer two different questions. ‘What is it?’ – NATURE. ‘Who is it?’ – PERSON. Further, we all can understand that our nature decides what is possible for us persons. I the person; nature is the source of our operations (F J Sheed). The same is applied to the Trinity. What we should be careful here is that 1. These three persons don’t share the divine nature 33.333, 2. They are distinct but not separate.

The doctrine can only make sense if it is understood in terms of Love and not in terms of administration. It is not about fixing rather loving. “The ancient wisdom that we share is: everything is created out of relatedness, sustained through relationships and thrives on interdependence”. If God is love, he or she better teach us what love is all about; what relationships are all about and what interdependence is all about! Thus, we turn to Trinity for all those answers. Trinity is all about love and unity in fullness.

We love our pets. TV shows like ‘It’s me or the Dog’, ‘Dog whisperer’ and the like teach us responsible behavior towards our pets. That’s not the way we love human beings. We love people as equals. This feast calls for responsible love towards others especially married couples. When Jesus said, “I am in the father and the Father is in me”, he didn’t talk about some confusing concept; rather he talked about intimacy that the whole universe is so much part of. Every loving person should be able to explain the doctrine of Trinity and the qualification is our ability to love and be loved.

Our call for unity is an urgent call and an indispensable mission. We continue to stick ourselves, our family and the society to the love of God. The oil spill should trouble us; a terrorist attack should bother us; a careless pilot killing 158 or natural disasters should worry us because we base our life on love which is beyond and without limits; and our unity is universal. Are you a loving person? Are you a Trinitarian? Not much of a difference there, is there?