The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Lectionary: 165
Reading I
Dt 4:32-34, 39-40
Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
Responsorial Psalm
33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Reading II
Rom 8:14-17
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
Alleluia
Rv 1:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 28:16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
During the next few weeks the Scripture Readings will be focused on different dogmas of our faith. The first of these is today, Trinity Sunday, where The Holy Trinity is examined. As was revealed in the Gospels the Trinity consists of Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit: three distinct persons but of one substance. In other words all exist together as one but are separate in regards to personality and function. At first that may sound difficult to comprehend and not very easy to accept but there are various ways to approach this subject which can then offer some clarity. The way I like to explain it is by using myself as an example:
I am a husband, a father, and an ordained deacon. To my wife I am a husband. She doesn’t see me as her father and only rarely sees me as a deacon. My children see me as their father while not seeing me as their husband nor as a deacon. Meanwhile those who encounter me in my ministry see me as a deacon; not as their husband or father. Even though different people perceive me in different ways I am all three of these things at different times. It is all about the relationship with the individuals involved and how they interact with me.
God created us in His image. The relationships we have with one another are a reflection of how we should interact with Him. Sometimes we will feel His presence through The Holy Spirit. At other times we will feel a close relationship with Jesus that will lead to guidance, good counsel, good conversation, and a shoulder to lean on. There will also be occasions to encounter The Father. Each part of The Trinity has it separate function and characteristics and it is through their interaction and our interaction that God is defined.
The opportunities that God offers us to experience Him and to develop a relationship with Him are unique. As Moses proclaimed:
“Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,”
The revelation of God to the Jewish people and to the world was something that never happened before. The reality of God as dictated in Sacred Scriptures was something unexpected. The false gods worshipped then and now were and have been ones who demand human sacrifice, and are in a position of distance. Those who chose and continue to choose these false gods are ones that cannot even fathom a true relationship like the one God offers to us where we are the benefactors of everything Moses reminds us this in The Scripture Reading today. Keeping a right relationship with God will insure a joyful life with Him and enable us to experience life the way God intended us to do. We will also be under His protection and His guidance. Contemplate that for a moment: living our life with our God walking directly beside us and dwelling within us. We can actually enter into relationship with the Trinity and enjoy the full Trinitarian Experience. This is something that God offers to us because of His love for us. We are continuously offered an opportunity to experience God and to be lifted up to His level.
Jesus made a promise to His disciples when they doubted. He told them that He would be with them always until the end of the age. In other words He would be with them and with us throughout all of time until the End of Days. This statement, along with Him telling us that He would remain in us as long as we remain in Him, offers a clear vision of what a life with Him is supposed to be like: we cannot be separated from Him unless we are the ones who do the separating. We are inexplicitly a part of The Holy Trinity because Jesus is a part of us. Jesus is revealed through us and we are revealed through Him. When we recognize this any fears, anxieties, and resentments will fall away and a new awareness of His creation will be realized. Every day can be a new revelation filled with wonder and love.
Our faith can be both complex and very simple at the same time. Jesus wants it that way. It is simple in the knowledge that He loves us and wants us to love Him. The complexity enters the picture in the way we explore that relationship. The wonderment and new discoveries never end. We can never fully know everything about God. Whatever energies we dedicate to the process will yield an abundance of fruit. It is there for the taking. The more time we give then the more we will receive. There is an inexhaustive supply of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding poured forth through The Holy Spirit and we are the benefactors.
Small adjustments and small changes can lead to great results. A new way to appreciate our faith and get to know God more is to change our routine just a little bit. As we enter Ordinary Time again and are introduced to these different aspects of our faith we can appreciate more what is being offered us by committing ourselves to learning just a little bit more of what is being taught. We can read a little more, pray a little more, and spend a little more time focused on God. That little bit more will make a great difference. This can start today and, just like our relationship with God, the process will never end.
Deacon Tom
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