When Obedience Mirrors the Holy Trinity
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
May the blessing of the Father who calls us and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who saves us,
and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies and transforms us be with us all,
that we may hear His word and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Amen.
Beloved,
We live in a time when obedience is misunderstood. It’s often mistaken for weakness, passivity, or even blind submission. But in the life of the Church, true obedience is neither weakness nor fear. It is the strength of the saints. It is the heartbeat of the Holy Trinity. It is the path that leads to Christ.
Today, I want to speak about how obedience, when lived rightly, becomes a reflection of the Holy Trinity, and how our spiritual relationships, especially between fathers and children, must be formed in that divine image.
1. The Foundation: Christ’s Obedience
Let us begin with the Lord Jesus Himself.
“Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Hebrews 5:8)
Christ, the eternal Son, was never disobedient. But in His humanity, He showed us the perfect obedience to the will of the Father—even unto the Cross.
St. Irenaeus said: “He became obedient unto death, and by His obedience, He undid the disobedience of Adam.” (Against Heresies, Book 3)
So obedience is not about control. It’s about love. It’s about union with the will of God.
2. Obedience Builds the Relationship
St. Dorotheus of Gaza said, “A spiritual father is a mirror for his disciple.” But how do we reflect Christ in that mirror? Not by controlling others, but by guiding them toward the image of God in themselves.
Let us not seek perfect mentors but cultivate perfect trust in God. We often say, “If only my father of confession were a clairvoyant elder, I would open up more, obey more, grow more.” But this is not spiritual thinking—it’s fantasy.
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man… But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5,7)
St. Mark the Ascetic reminds us: “A man advises his neighbor according to his understanding, but God acts in the listener according to his faith.” (Homily on the Spiritual Law, 78)
So obedience is a gift—not to the spiritual father, but to the disciple. If God grants you a guide, don’t glorify the vessel, but treasure the grace working through it.
3. The Trinity as the Model
What is the pattern of spiritual fatherhood? It’s not hierarchy as the world knows it. It’s the life of the Holy Trinity.
“That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us.” (John 17:21)
This is our standard—not worldly authority, but Trinitarian communion.
The Son is obedient to the Father. The Spirit proceeds and glorifies the Son. None acts apart from the other. There is perfect unity in love and mission. This is the relationship we are called to mirror—between priest and flock, between father and child.
St. Basil the Great taught: “The Spirit’s very being is fellowship, unity, and peace. What the Trinity is in essence, the Church is called to be in grace.”
4. Don’t Preach Yourself—Preach Christ
Our ministry is not to bind people to ourselves but to lead them to Christ. Like St. John the Baptist, our calling is to decrease so Christ may increase.
“He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all.” (John 3: 30–31)
When John saw Jesus passing by, he said to his disciples, “Behold the Lamb of God!” And what happened? “The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” (John 1: 36–37)
St. Augustine explains: “John was the friend of the Bridegroom, not the Bridegroom Himself… he rejoiced at the Bridegroom’s voice, not his own.”
This is our mission: to point to Christ, not to ourselves. To let go of the emotional need to be needed, and instead make room for the Spirit to work.
5. Strength in Obedience
Let’s be clear: Obedience is not weakness.
The weak-willed conform to every opinion, but the truly obedient stand strong in the will of God.
Christ said:
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
And again,
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction… Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life.” (Matthew 7: 13–14)
To deny oneself is the first step in discipleship. Obedience is the cross we carry—not imposed by others, but chosen freely out of love for Christ.
St. John Climacus said: “Obedience is the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility.” (Ladder, Step 4)
6. Obedience as Salvation
Remember the story of the paralytic:
“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men… When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’” (Mark 2: 3–5)
The paralytic didn’t walk to Christ. He was carried. In the same way, those spiritually paralyzed by sin, confusion, fear, need someone stronger to carry them: a priest, a mentor, a community.
That’s obedience. Not oppression, but support.
7. Final Reminder: We Are Only Servants
Finally, let us recall Christ’s words:
“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ… And do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23: 8–9)
Does this mean we stop calling priests “Abouna”? No. It means we understand that all earthly titles have meaning only when they reflect the heavenly reality. A true father teaches, guides, and serves in the likeness of Christ.
St. Gregory the Theologian said: “We must become Christs to each other, imitators of His humility, reflections of His mercy, bearers of His truth.”
Conclusion: A Mirror of Heaven
My beloved, obedience is not about controlling others or losing our voice. It is about finding our true voice in Christ. When a father and his spiritual child are united by the Holy Spirit, they reflect something heavenly.
Like Abraham, the spiritual father must surrender all to God’s will. Like Isaac, the disciple must trust even when the path seems hard.
May we all walk this path—not in fear, but in love.
Let us not ask to be followed. Let us ask to follow Christ.
It is the echo of the Trinity in our hearts.
May the Lord bless us, transform our hearts and minds,
that our homes may stand on the Rock,
our hands serve in the harvest,
and our hearts long for Heaven. Amen.