Scripture Study for
The Most Holy Trinity
Deuteronomy 4:32–34, 39–40 / Psalm 33:12b / Romans 8:14–17 / Matthew 28:16–20
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Understanding the Word
By Br. John R. Barker, OFM
Deuteronomy is one long speech by Moses to Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, the point of which is: Be faithful to God, who has been faithful to you. The great temptation Israel will face is to worship other gods, which Moses addresses by reminding Israel that the God whom they encountered in “the midst of the fire” at Sinai has treated them exceptionally well in rescuing them from Egypt. Two things flow from this. First, God’s mighty acts have demonstrated that there is no other god than the all-powerful God of Israel. Second, that God is consistently faithful and can be counted on. Israel must reciprocate by being faithful to the God who has done so much for them.
In his letter to the Roman Christians, Paul has been outlining the fundamental difference between their lives before and after baptism. Before, they were subject to the law of sin and death, and they lived entirely “in the flesh,” that is, in mindset and behavior at odds with God. But in baptism they received the Holy Spirit, who delivered them from the realm of sin, death, and the flesh, and made them children of God through “adoption.” Thus it is the Spirit that allows them to address God as “Father,” and this same Spirit unites them to Christ as “co-heirs.” This means, however, that they must be willing to share the sufferings of Christ so that they may also enjoy his glory.
When Jesus appears to the Eleven in Galilee, they immediately worship him, but the text notes that they “doubted,” which suggests an incomplete comprehension of the reality and meaning of the Resurrection. Having been given “all power,” or authority, Christ is now the ruler in the reign of God, the scope of which he begins to extend by sending his apostles to make more “disciples of all the nations.” Although there is no developed trinitarian theology in Matthew, the “formula” for baptism reflects an identity among the Father, Son, and Spirit—as seen in the fact that Jesus tells the disciples to baptize in “the name” of all three, rather than in three names.