Homily for Trinity Sunday, Year A

First Reading: Ex 34:4b–6, 8–9

Responsorial Psalm: Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55

Second Reading: 2 Cor 13:11–13

Gospel: Jn 3:16–18

Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Wichita Falls, TX

          God has revealed himself to us, his children, in Sacred Scripture as a unity of three Divine Persons. Who God is as Trinity teaches us how to live as God desires. Father’s greeting at the beginning of every Holy Mass is taken from the reading in Second Corinthians we just heard: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Cor 13:13). In this simple phrase is revealed a most profound truth about the Holy Trinity. God is a communion, a community of Divine Persons, formed in and of love. The three Divine Persons are an unending total-self-giving, a pouring out in love, of each to the others. The Holy Trinity is an eternal act of shared joy, love, and unity that overflows into our created world and actively works for our redemption. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us by virtue of our baptism, draws us into that same close communion with God. When we are made Christians, through the Holy Spirit, God invites us to participate in that same intimacy of the Holy Trinity, that same eternal joy, love, and peace for eternity. He created us in his image and likeness and he wants us to imitate him.

In the Gospel reading lies the most quoted scripture passage ever: John 3:16 “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” But do we really understand what this passage is saying? God loves us so much that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to us to save us from sin and eternal separation from him. But…heaven does not have participation trophies. That same Gospel passage says ‘might’, not ‘will’. Might not perish…might have eternal life. God’s gift to his Son, God’s invitation to us through the Holy Spirit to live in communion with him requires a response on our part. It is not enough to merely believe in God. We have to choose to accept the gift of Jesus Christ, to accept the invitation of the Holy Spirit. To draw close to God.

How then do we respond to this gift and invitation? A good way is to follow the example of the Holy Trinity; by trying to live in true communion with our fellow human beings. All our fellow human beings. Right now, there is unrest and division in our society and country. The hatred, the violence, the injustice, and the racism we see on TV and in the streets this past week do not reflect the love of the holy Trinity. These acts are not of God. They are diabolic in nature. God is a God of love, peace, and justice, not hatred, anger, and chaos.

We are all human beings created in the image and likeness of God. We only become our most true selves when we give of ourselves to another in a free act of complete and selfless love. We cannot be our true selves if we cling to lives of individualism, self-interest, isolation, or indifference. We as sons and daughters of God cannot realize our true human nature if we choose to not love all people with equality and justice. If we choose division among us, if we fail to speak out against injustice against our brethren, we sin against the unity of the Holy Trinity because we choose to not live as God lives.

On the other hand, when we extend our hand to our neighbor in peace and justice, when we make an effort to hear the other person and understand them, even when we do not agree with them, we become who we were created to be. To draw closer to God, we must to strive to let go of our prejudices, our politics, and our pride. Yes, it can be difficult. It is for me. The American theologian Gabriel Moran said “Every act formed by charity is a revelation of God. Every word of truth and love, every hand extended in kindness, echoes the inner life of the Trinity.”

When we come here together at this holy sacrifice of the Mass, we encounter our heavenly Father in the sacramental life of the entire Church. We receive Jesus Christ in the most Holy Eucharist. The Holy Spirit dwells within the deepest depths of our souls. God is so very close to us, and that closeness enables us to imitate the love of the Holy Trinity in our life. When we go forth from this celebration of the Holy Mass today, may we all work to live in communion with God and with one another. May we accept the gift and the invitation from God to live as he lives. 

St. Joseph, Most Just, Pray for Us!