For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17

In the Name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit.

If you are a Roman Catholic or an Anglican, you will automatically say, “Amen”. It’s hard to imagine that this simple Trinitarian formula was a result of passionate and at times bitter theological debates splitting the church many times in its history. Most of the arguments seem a little confusing to us today; maybe even a little boring. It doesn’t mean that they were not important. We live in a different time and the things the early fathers thought were priority are no longer burning issues for us. None of this means that we comprehend the mystery of the Holy Trinity. We still need wrestle with it. The Trinity is a dynamic and sophisticated doctrine. Therefore, we do not want to ruin it with technical terms beyond a modern person’s comprehension. After all, it is about God. It should inspire and stir up in people a desire to know more about His mysterious character.

I thought about Felipe and the other youths. Well, the others are not quite there for me to have this kind of conversation with them. Felipe is different. He is beginning to think about God and life in a deeper manner. Every week he astonishes me with the things he comes up with. He is ready to tackle this complex issue about the Holy Trinity. In a subtle manner, I have already spoken to him about this special doctrine, albeit not explicitly. Actually, I just talked about a church with that name, “Paróquia de Santíssima Trindade” ( Church of the Holy Trinity). It was the first Anglican church we attended in this country. Mary was confirmed there too. It has an interesting story, more interesting than any theological debate about the divine economy between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It took us a while to find an Anglican church in this city. Mainly because we weren’t familiar with the city back then. This was a time before internet or mobile phones. It was before we got married or I was ordained. We were lay missionaries then. We walked into a sanctuary that once upon a time hosted a large congregation. We were encountered a small congregation of 25 to 30, mostly elderly people. Even the priest looked ancient. His hair was completely white and he had a bushy white mustache which made him even older. I didn’t get much from of the sermon, my Portuguese wasn’t up to par back then. However, thanks to the Prayer Book tradition, the liturgy was familiar. This church was definitely not what I was used to. The Anglican churches in Singapore have large congregations on Sundays and mostly a younger crowd. I thought that this church needed an injection of life and energy. I thought that maybe I could be instrumental in doing this. I admit, I was young and arrogant back then. Hopefully I have changed. Well, I am not young anymore…

This church once had a young and vibrant congregation. There were even a few prominent members of society in this church. However, it only took a chicken bone to upset the tranquility of this congregation. A street cleaner ran into the church asking the priest to help a friend who was choking on chicken bone lodged in her throat. He dropped everything and came to her rescue. She was taken to the hospital. The priest paid for all the expenses and ensured that she had the best care. He was just like the Good Samaritan in that parable we often hear about. On the first Sunday after her full recovery, she was in church with her children. Most of the members thought that she just came to express her gratitude. She lived in the outskirts, quite a distance away from the church. Her neighborhood was extremely poor and also known for crime and violence. There was very little done to help these poor communities back then. Even the public transport to these neighborhoods are precarious. She had to take several buses to come to the church. It was a long and arduous journey for her to come to this church. Nevertheless, she was there every Sunday. Each time, she brought a child from her community with her. Soon, there were a small group of children from this poor community in the church. They mingled with the other children and friendships were formed. She was bringing new life to this church. This disturbed the older members.

An ultimatum was given to the priest. It was “them” or the “new members”. Naturally, this was presented in a socially acceptable manner. They suggested that the priest organize a work in the poor community instead of making this woman drag her children to the church. They claimed that they were concerned for her financial well-being. The priest was a wise man. He took their suggestion and started a work in the community. He also got some members to help pay for the bus fares for the woman and the children to come to church every Sunday. Eventually, the disgruntled members left. It was a large exodus. The congregation was reduced to a small number with the presence of children from the poor community. The members that remained joined the priest and followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They went to the poor neighborhood weekly to visit with the families there. This handful of people I saw on my first Sunday were these people who worked many years in the community. They made sure all these children never felt like outsiders in the congregation. We were introduced to these people. All these people were saints. Their acts of love and kindness could fill volumes. The few young people in the church were formally from the poor neighborhood, including a pair of sisters. They told us the story of Mrs. Elizabeth; she was an elderly woman who spoke Portuguese with very strong American accent. She had been living in Brazil for almost fifty years. Her husband was the priest who started all this.

Unfortunately, he died in a tragic car accident not long these events. His widow, Elizabeth, decided to remain in Brazil and work in the community. It was common practice in the poorest community to keep the children locked in the house all alone while the parents were out working. The streets was too dangerous. There were no daycare services then. Little children were usually left alone in a small tiny space without anything to entertain them. The children were mostly unstimulated. Mrs. Elizabeth and a group of ladies from the church changed this. They visited these children every week. Mrs. Elizabeth used to stand outside by the window and talk to them in her limited Portuguese. They might not have understood everything she said but her love and affection were fluent. She embarked on a quest to teach them English. These little children in the worst neighborhood of São Paulo were getting private lessons from a native speaker. The children she taught learned to love her weekly presence. She opened their hearts and minds to a world that they never knew existed. The teachers who shared us this story were two of the children on the other side of the window. These sisters got an education through Elizabeth and eventually they went to college and became teachers. They started doing for others what Elizabeth had done for them.

Once Mary asked the priest of the church what he taught was the essential task of the Church in this city. He said, “We have to learn how to manifest the presence of Jesus in this world.” These weren’t just words. This church truly manifested the Spirit of Jesus in the community where they ministered. I walked into the church thinking I would change it. I ended being transformed by these saintly people. They helped me not to judge a church by appearances. This, by no means, was not an empty church. It was one completely occupied by the Divine Trinity. Anyone who enters this church won’t need to be convinced of the Holy Trinity. They can see the divine economy manifested in the lives of the members.

I told Felipe this story and he understood it. I am glad he did. His son is going to get baptized there once the pandemic is over. He wanted to baptize his son earlier and we are to be the godparents. Unfortunately, the church refused to do it because we are not members of their brand of Christianity. I talked to the present priest of Santíssima Trindade and he said that he would be delighted to baptize Felipe’s son, well maybe now, even his daughter. The church has changed now. There are more young people. It has grown in numbers but thankfully, it is still vibrant and spirit-filled like the first day when we visited this church.