A few days after the elections, most of the candidates for the top posts issued calls for unity. No sooner were the calls made than opposing views started to reemerge on several issues.

As we have read and heard, many friendships—both real and Facebook-based—were strained and “unfriended.”
Indeed, it is a time not just to call for unity, but to work toward it.

What makes for unity? What comes forth from unity? Today, Trinity Sunday, is a good time to begin to pursue authentic unity. The Holy Trinity is often cited as the prime example of unity in diversity.

I would not want to be theological or dogmatic in our reflection since I do not have the competence to do so. But let me focus on two elements that account for the Trinity’s unity: love and mission.

The result, often called diversity, is authenticity—becoming who we truly are, a person of integrity. How do we make these our own source and fruit of unity?

Chris Lowney gives us a rather thought-provoking conclusion in his book, “Heroic Leadership.” He says we are very hesitant to credit love as the power and inspiration behind the great achievements of human civilization.

Margaret Wheatley, in her book, “Leadership and the New Science,” identifies love as one of the most potent elements that can effect change in organizations.

If we are to achieve our unity, we must build communities of love, caring and compassionate communities. However, love, in its elementary human stages, needs an object to draw it towards Ignatius of Loyola’s “love is best expressed in deeds.” The object of human love, to concretize it, is mission.

Egalitarian

In the Philippine context, our mission is to create an egalitarian society, since the socioeconomic and cultural gaps have left the great majority marginalized.

As Pope Francis reminded us during his visit, we must go to the fringes of our society and serve the marginalized.

This is the mission we are called to as a church, as a nation, as a people, as human beings. It is a mission that is to be done with love for us to create a caring and compassionate society. It is a mission that renders loving service, compassionate service.

Compassionate service is the only way to live out our authentic Christian mission. In compassionate service, not only do we go to the marginalized, but we—in imitation of Christ’s incarnation—empty ourselves to enter the world of those we wish to serve.

In and through compassionate service, we enter the chaos of the other—share in their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their dreams and brokenness. And in this chaos, we stand in solidarity with them in search of meaning and hope.

Genuine compassion begins with sincere listening to the other. Those who desire to be in the service of others must stand before others in silence to listen.

Unfortunately, most of us come in to serve with preconceived ideas of what the marginalized need and want. As painful as it may sound, even in service, we can be so full of ourselves.

In the eye-opening book “Poor Economics,” authors Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo make a case for listening to the stories of the poor to understand their world and life:

“Armed with this patient understanding, we can identify the poverty traps where they really are, and know which tools we need to give to the poor to help them get out of those.”

The call to unity for our people and nation, we pray, is not just for the sake of niceties and good sound bites.

The Trinity showed us centuries ago that in their union in love for humanity, the Son was sent on a mission to redeem us. Because of this, the same union in love and mission is available to us.

It is in this perfect love and mission of the Trinity that we also see the fruit of diversity; each of the three persons—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—playing a unique and complementing role in the one love and mission.

Our unity—in love, mission and service—must create this diversity for all, a diversity that allows all the opportunity to pursue each one’s hopes and dreams, the opportunity to be the best by becoming their authentic selves.

There, perhaps, is a diversity in the choices and opportunities and perhaps even in the outcome. But such a diversity will always be rooted and grounded in the source of unity, authentic love, mission and service.

It is a diversity that will always have common ground— we will all be rooted and grounded in the love of the Trinity that came to us in Christ and continues to animate our life through the Spirit.

We will become loving persons, one in love in the diversity of the gifts we bring in building our caring and compassionate society.