Inclusively His

THE STORY is told about a father who wanted to know what his son would be when he grew up. He was advised by his relatives to put in front of his baby a book, some money and a microphone. If the baby grabbed the book, he would become a teacher. If he grabbed the money, he would become a businessman. And if he grabbed the microphone, he would become an entertainer. The son grabbed them all. And the father concluded that he would become a politician someday.

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Today, Trinity Sunday, we see the inclusive Spirit of the Trinity when Jesus gave the mandate to His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, and "baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Mt. 28, 16-20) Note that Jesus ordered this mission to be done in THEIR name. It was not exclusively His. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. All for one, and one for all, all the way.

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We Christians miss the point by a mile when we insist on our exclusivity or elitism. Debating, or even quarreling over who is right or wrong, who is closer to God, who is more favored, who is more righteous-all these must make God shake His head in frustration. After all these years, we still don't get it if we continue hurting each other, putting each other down, excluding each other, pushing each other. As the Father, Son and Spirit are one, we too should be one.

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The spirit of self-preservation and self-aggrandizement go against the self-giving and self-effacing spirit of the Trinity. The world is so caught up with self-fulfillment. The Trinity reminds us again that true self-fulfillment happens when we learn self-transcendence, which in its concrete form, is love.

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Today, Father's Day, I remember Papa in a very special way. It has been 16 years since he went back to the Father, but I still do miss him. The more I reminisce about him, the more I appreciate the things he told us. Basically, he always told us to be united as a family, and to share our blessings with others. His formula for unity was simple: respect for the older ones and assistance to the younger ones. His formula for sharing was likewise simple: what we have is from God, so, no to selfishness and greed in our hearts.

The more I think about him, the more I realize how he concretized the Trinitarian spirit of unity and sharing.

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"Saan kayo agaapa (Don't quarrel among yourselves)." I don't know how many times Papa told us these words when we were children. Nothing could displease and sadden him more than disunity in the family. He did not only preach unity, he initiated it, mended it, lived it. He would not let a quarrel or misunderstanding go unpatched. That was Papa, ad intra.

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What was Papa ad extra? He hammered on the theme of unity, but not exclusivity. I still have with me a cartoon he cut out of a newspaper showing a man drawing a bigger circle to include even his enemies. He was constantly reaching out. His whole life was dedicated to public service. Like his father before him, he made us realize that helping others, especially the less fortunate, was the stuff that a meaningful life was made of.

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It was Papa's virtue of humility that touches me most. Papa was of heavy stature but he never threw his weight around. I never heard him speak ill of anyone. He was very respectful of all people, rich or poor, young or old. I don't know how he did it, but he did not have any enemies. Not coming from him anyway, and if ever there was, he was the one who would go and, in humility, reach out.

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The humility of the Trinity. Sounds strange, no? But look again. Wasn't the Father sending His Son into our lowly world an act of humility? Wasn't the Son's obedience to the Father an act of humility? And likewise the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son?

The love of the Trinity ad intra and ad extra can be understood more clearly from the point of view of humility. If we want to share in the life of the Trinity, let us start with humility.

Today, Father's Day, all fathers, including reverend fathers, would do well to emulate God's "humility." It's not exclusively His. It's ours too, to own and to share.

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Today, more than ever, we cannot go about our mission to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations if we do not have the Trinitarian Spirit of unity, sharing and humility. Especially these days, let us humble ourselves before God as a church and as a nation to remove all obstacles to unity and sharing, with true humility. Our successes should humble us. So with our failures. It is not the time for clenched fists or for pointing fingers. It is the time for clasped hands in humble prayer, and the time for hands to reach out and make the Trinity circle bigger and bigger to include more and more people.

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Happy Trinity Sunday!

Happy Father's Day!

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, give me a heart that is not elusive and exclusive. Amen.