Homily-2024-05-25-The Most Holy Trinity

Homily

The Most Holy Trinity

Sunday 26th May 2024

First reading

Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 32(33):4-6,9,18-20,22

Second reading

Romans 8:14-17 ·

Gospel

Matthew 28:16-20

 

Today we celebrate The Most Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In this Trinity of names, we have been Baptised, placing an indelible mark on us that cannot be removed. As we start and end Mass, we bless ourselves in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In the creed, we express our faith, and our belief in the Holy Trinity. In the last few weeks Jesus has told us that we did not choose him, but that he chose us to be his body, the church. Solomon built the first Temple to be God’s house. God did not ask for a house to be built. Solomon’s father King David had gone from being a shepherd boy to a great King in a palace, and thought the Word of the Lord, in the Arc of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments inscribed on stone, should also be placed in a building. David’s mind had still not grasped how infinite God is.

The Israelites sinned against God and under King Nebuchadnezzar, from Babylon, the first temple was destroyed, and the people went into exile. Seventy years later, King Cyrus from Persia brought them back, and he was commissioned by God to build a second Temple. This was destroyed after the Third Temple.

Jesus is the Third Temple. The true temple of God. God the Son humbled himself because of God’s love for us, to be born to a virgin and made flesh, to dwell amongst us, to experience what we do, but without sin. And to submit to death as a Sacrificial Lamb, offered for all our sins, from the beginning of time until its end. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.

The Third Temple was rebuilt again, on the third day, the day of Our Lord’s Resurrection. Many times, the Spirit of God came through a messenger to the prophets, to Joseph and Mary separately to bring them Good News and they observed what was asked of them.

As God the Son, Jesus has been given all authority in both heaven and earth. He commands all of us to go out and make disciples of every nation of this planet, so they can be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We are to teach them to love one another as we love ourselves and love God the Trinity. This does not make us slaves, oppressed by a regime that has only selfish desires.

God wants us to call him Father because through our baptisms we are children of God, co-heirs with Christ. In this world, because of our belief, we will suffer because we share this with Christ, but we will also share in his Glory.

Jesus had to Ascend to his Father in Heaven, to allow the Holy Spirit to descend and dwell within us. We have become the Temple for the Holy Spirit, the church. The place in which he resides is within our hearts. If we open our hearts to receive him, he will remain there.

We can see all around the world, the darkness that is creeping in. The blindness to compassion has fed into fear and dread, motivating many to become angry and to lash out. Many people feel hurt, and this hurt has hardened their hearts, to the point where they cannot see where they have crossed a line and have been led to harm, or even kill others. This influence is seen in our films, it is encouraged in our games. How different is this to the Roman sport of watching gladiators fight to the death. Even St Augustine of Hippo talks about one of his friends being led astray after being forced to watch the fights, then later went out to bring other friends in to be spectators.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was an explosion of hostilities that had been ongoing since 2014. Most of my life the conflict between Palestinians and Israel has impacted the news. China is increasingly threatening to invade Taiwan. These outbreaks of hostilities are increasingly turning the minds of people to see their foe as monsters that need to be exterminated, and not as sisters and brothers who are themselves struggling in this world to get by. Yet, in each scenario it is the ambitions of a small number that are forcing the masses into thinking this way, blinded by their hatred.

Mothers and fathers are losing sons and daughters. Children are losing their parents. Grandparents and grandchildren are losing their lives or mourning loved ones. Whole communities are being decimated. Genocide is being permitted, not only of those who are seen as the enemy but also of the people being forced to fight such insane wars. Those who speak out are being punished for voicing their views, imprisoned, tortured, or even assassinated.

This madness shows how much the hearts of many have been hardened. Compassion is dwindling. Such wars force many to seek refuge elsewhere, far from their homelands, to suffer long journeys to unknown destinations, often to die at sea, or to cuddle up in tents as provisions are not adequately provided, because systems are already overloaded and stretched to their limits.

All this is evidence that on our own, without God, we are incapable of solving the problems experienced in this world. Now is the time to be humble and ask God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to come into our lives and reshape it for the better. Through Moses, God led the Israelites out of Egypt towards the Promised Land.

Today, if we trust in God, he will lead us to a better life. Let us reach out to God without fear and trust in the Trinity. Let us reach out to God, without fear, and trust in the Trinity. Let us acknowledge our belief that we are not alone and open our hearts to allow the Holy Spirit inside. By trusting in the Trinity, we will see change, but it will not be an instant fix. It will be a way of living that will be stable, even if the world around seems uncertain.

In the Psalm today, the first verse says: “For the word of the Lord is faithful and all his works to be trusted. The Lord loves justice and right and fills the earth with his love. Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own”.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.