The face of God

Good morning, happy Sunday, and blessings.
 
Remember that today we have our Community Mass in English and ASL at 10:00 by Zoom. Participates:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86977756635?pwd=R0ZzYUg0dWsrOFVFY3ljZWFpSUljdz09
Meeting ID: 869 7775 6635; Password: 839989.
 
Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday (also called Holy Trinity Sunday). For me, this issue of the Trinity must be seen and examined in the context of how God has always looked for ways to establish healthy relationships with his creation. Therefore, those who have used the Trinity to validate hierarchies of power, male supremacy, or heterosexist family relationships have deviated from the fundamental principles and values that God has allowed us to see since creation and has required us to build healthy relationships: equality; equity; harmony;  security; honesty; inclusion with recognition and participation; cooperation; and responsibility.
 
I’m going to argue in my sermon that God is a Divinity of many faces and that his existence as three persons united into one being is perhaps the most confusing belief in the Christian faith. The Church spent its first four centuries arguing about it, trying to figure out which understanding is the most faithful, and many of those ancient debates have re-occurred throughout the ages. Entire libraries worth of text have been published just to explain this one doctrine but understanding remains elusive.
 
It seems to me that we should be careful when we limit the beautiful faces of God to only three. What do we do with the mother face, or the grandfather or grandmother face, or the friend face? This just to mention other faces that were left out of the community party.
 
But I’m going to invite you to look at the Trinity as a model for humanity living in harmony and equality. If God as Trinity is understood as a perfect communion, then it becomes imperative for humanity to imitate the communion of God the Trinity in society. In other words, that human community live in mutual inclusion and communion. The Trinity is an abstract concept to the real lives of people’s experiences. We can’t use the Trinity to validate any heterosexual relationship or subordination of women. Any kind of oppression is contrary to the Biblical communion because communion itself is an integral part of human nature.
 
In the context of the scriptures for today we need to understand that in Matthew 28 Jesus calls us to be obedient to His teachings and share them with the humankind. In Genesis 1:1-2:4a that the inclusion and equality that was present during creation is a paradigm to build relationships. And of course, that in 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 there is a request to live in peace with justice.
This multiphasic relationship is marked by equality of personhood, interdependence (not independence), cooperation (not competition), unity of purpose, and mutual self-giving and receiving. Remember, she is a God with many faces who teaches us and asks us to practice radical hospitality.
 
Blessings
 
Fr. Luis+