Commentary

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

We are One with the Trinity and One Another

In this Gospel passage, before ascending to heaven, Jesus affirms the disciples, "behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (v. 20). Jesus came into the world to reveal to us the unity and love of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By becoming one with us, Jesus draws us into that divine relationship.

Now he physically leaves us, but he is with us. And with Jesus, we are one with the Trinity until the end of the age.

However, this relationship that the Trinity shares with us is not to be preserved to a chosen few. Jesus commands us, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (v. 19). Unlike with the first Chosen People, relationship with God is now open to all. In Judaism, "only males could be properly introduced into the fullness of life in the People of God through circumcision, now the universal possibility of baptism is offered to all nations and to all people, women and men." (1)

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(1) Moloney, Francis J. This is the Gospel of the Lord, Year B. Homebush, NSW, Australia: St. Paul, 1993; p. 135.