THE MYSTERY OF THE TABLE: SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY – A | May 31, 2026

SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY – A | May 31, 2026

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

THE MYSTERY OF THE TABLE

Many years ago, a young priest was visiting a family in his parish. He sat on their sofa, in the sitting room, watching the chaos of a busy household. The mother was stirring a pot of soup, the father was helping their youngest with math homework, and the older siblings were playfully arguing about whose turn it was to do the dishes. In the middle of it all, there was laughter, a few sighs of exhaustion, and an undeniable warmth.

The priest asked the seven-year-old child, “What is your family?”

The boy didn't give a legal definition. He didn't pull out a birth certificate or a dictionary. He looked around the room, smiled, and said, “It’s us. We live here, we love each other, and we share everything.”

Today, sisters and brothers, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. For centuries, theologians have filled libraries trying to explain how God can be three Persons in one God. They have used complex words, mathematical analogies, and philosophy. And, of course, they have done a great job... But if we are honest, trying to explain the Trinity using only logic is like trying to explain the beauty of a sunset using physics. It might be scientifically accurate, but it completely misses the experience.

The Trinity is not a math problem to be solved. The Trinity is a family to be experienced. It is a relationship to be lived. Our readings today do not invite us to analyze God; they invite us to sit at His table and experience His life.

In our first reading from the Book of Exodus, we find Moses on Mount Sinai. If we look at the context, this is a highly tense moment. The Israelites have just committed a terrible act of betrayal by worshiping the golden calf. They have broken the covenant. Moses is going back up the mountain, likely trembling, expecting a furious God.

But what does God do? God does not reveal Himself as a distant, angry judge. Instead, God passes before Moses and proclaims His name: “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”

Let’s think about it in a concrete way and in our day-to-day life. For sure, we may all have this experience: the moment we have deeply disappointed someone we love. Perhaps you made a mistake at work, said something hurtful to your spouse, or let down your parents. You walk into the room with your head down, bracing yourself for the shouting or the cold shoulder. But instead, the person looks at you, sees your pain, and says, “I am hurt, but I still love you. We will get through this.”

That sigh of relief, that sudden rush of peace, that is what Moses experienced on the mountain. God reveals that His very nature is relationship. He is “slow to anger and rich in kindness.” Moses, realizing this, makes a beautiful request: “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company.” Moses realizes that the law is not enough; the people need God's presence.

This brings us to the famous words of the Gospel of John: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...”

True love is never self-contained. It cannot be hoarded. When a couple is deeply in love, their love naturally overflows. It overflows into hospitality for their friends, into care for their community, or into the creation of new life in children. Love, by its very nature, must go outward.

Because God is a Trinity, a dynamic community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God's love could not remain closed. The Father's love for the Son, and the Son's for the Father, is so real that it is a Person: the Holy Spirit. And that love is so abundant that it overflowed into the creation of the universe, and ultimately, into the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

God did not look at our broken, suffering world from a safe distance and say, “Good luck down there.”  Because God is love, He had to come down. He had to give His only Son. And why? “Not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” So often, we carry a subconscious fear that God is waiting for us to slip up so He can condemn us. But John reminds us today that God's primary posture toward the world is not condemnation, but rescue.

How, then, do we live this Trinitarian life? Saint Paul gives us a very practical roadmap in his second letter to the Corinthians: “Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace.” Paul concludes with the famous blessing we hear at the beginning of every Mass: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.”

Notice the word fellowship (or koinonia in Greek). It means a deep, shared life. We cannot be Christians in isolation. A single ember taken out of a fireplace quickly grows cold and dies. It needs the other embers to stay ablaze.

·       We experience the Trinity whenever we build authentic community.

·       We experience the Trinity when a family sits down to dinner without their phones, truly listening to one another.

·       We experience the Trinity when a community rallies around a neighbor who has lost a loved one, bringing meals and sitting in quiet solidarity.

·       We experience the Trinity when we choose forgiveness over resentment, making space for reconciliation. Whenever we love, we are living the life of the Trinity.

There is an ancient Greek theological term used by the early Church Fathers (Saint Gregory of Nazianzus) to describe the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: perichoresis. Literally, it means “to dance around” or “indwelling.” The early Christians imagined the Trinity not as a static statue, but as a beautiful, dynamic, eternal dance of love. Today, God is not asking us to stand on the sidelines and analyze the steps of the dance. God is inviting us onto the dance floor.

Today, dear friends, let us take up that invitation. When we speak, let our words bring the peace of the Father. When we see someone in need, let us offer the self-giving grace of the Son. And when we encounter division, let us be the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Let us step into the divine dance, trusting that the God who is love will never let us fall.

Amen.

  

By B’rata Joe H., Sdb – P’titeLight