Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity 
Homily by Deacon David Lesieur, May 22^nd 2016

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity celebrates our most ancient Christian belief.  Our New Testament is full of references to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and our early Church came to understand that this mysterious revelation of Himself was how God wanted us to see Him.  But today I do not want to dive into the dangerous waters of Trinitarian Theology. A wise old priest once told me that when we try to explain the Trinity (like what does consubstantial really mean!) we always lapse into heresy within five minutes!  And I will not try to "explain" the concept of Trinity in the often quaint ways we may have heard in our early years of catechesis (no shamrock comparisons today!).   Instead, let’s celebrate the mystery of the Trinity and reflect on our relationship with God who is in one; Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, and what our God has done for us.

Today I would like to particularly focus on our second reading because the selection from Paul’s magnificent letter to the Romans speaks of the Trinity in very basic terms which even I can understand.  Romans is Paul’s theological resume to those who did not know him well, but who he intended to meet. He is our Church’s first theologian and in this short selection from his ‘magnum opus’ Paul brings out the work of the Trinity in our lives– which is what is really most meaningful to us.

On our second reading today (Romans 5:1-5). St. Paul reminds us that God who is revealed to us as ‘Trinity ‘is active in our lives

1. God is our Creator; we are His creatures. He gives peace to us who have faith (who believe in him), and amid our life’s suffering, He pours out love and sustains our hope until one day we will share in His fullness.
2. This peace comes to us through Jesus Christ, who is God's loving self-communication to us; and by living in Christ we have the assurance of salvation.  
3. The Holy Spirit, animates us, enables us, guides us and provides the means by which we experience God's love for us in our lives. When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we speak about the breath of God, breathing in us. The Greek word for "spirit" is pneuma, which means "breath." We are rarely aware of our breathing, yet it is so essential for life that we only think about it when something is wrong with it.  The Spirit of God is like our breath; God's spirit is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves. We might not often be aware of it, but without it we cannot possibly live a "spiritual life." It is the Holy Spirit of God who prays in us, who offers us the gifts of love, forgiveness, kindness, goodness, gentleness, peace, and joy. It is the Holy Spirit who offers us the eternal life that death cannot destroy.

Our reading from Romans today gets to the central issue which is a ‘lived faith’, through Jesus Christ, in the spirit, which is now available to everyone. St. Paul is speaking to all of us and he shows us how our faith in God's love and the work God has done for us in Christ, will ground us in hope for the future, despite the present sufferings we endure. There is a bright future for all of us, no matter if our present situation looks pretty bad at the moment.

St. Paul says we are "justified by faith." Justified means we are in right orientation in our relationship with God.  We are on the path and headed in the right direction, but if we are listening to this homily, we aren’t there yet.  Faith itself is ‘graced’ or gifted to us, and when we open up this gift it gives us peace. This grace didn't just come once, but we have "access" to it continually – like a kind of spiritual ATM which doesn’t run out of cash!  Paul tells us that because of God's work in justifying us, we can, by this gift of faith, be assured that we are at peace with God.  We may not always feel or think we are, but we simply need to place our trust in Christ’s redemption and move forward. There is always a balance in our grace bank account. We are assured by the Holy Spirit that we have unrestricted access into God's presence through faith.

Paul says we "stand" in grace… We have access to God continually because of our status as creatures who are the masterpiece of His creation, we are graced because that’s what God wants – it’s his plan.  And in his plan we were given a redeemer, Jesus Christ.  So whether we think we actually deserve it or not, we have been gifted and can confidently stand before God as his children - because we profess faith in Jesus. We stand in a pool of gifted love which we are only asked to recognize.  

Later in Romans 10:9 St. Paul encourages us by saying that “if you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord (faith) and confess this with your lips (lived action) then you will be saved.” We have hope that we will share in God's glory; that we will be fully restored from all the damage sin has done to us and one day stand before God as we were created--- in His image and likeness.

Meanwhile, in our daily struggles and as we face temptations against our very Christian identity, it doesn't always feel like we are "standing in grace."  And that's where faith really is important for us.  He asks us to keep the faith – take out deposits from grace the account - keep trying and persevere through life.

 St. Paul says that in the very moment of suffering we can "boast".   Why? We can boast because God stands with us and can turn even our trials into opportunities for our spiritual benefit. Only God can do this in us. Only the free gift of grace in which we stand can make this possible. We may not see what the end will bring, but our hope reassures us, we are and will be in safe hands. The voice of the Holy Spirit in us reminds us amid our sufferings that God's love will never abandon us, no matter how unworthy of that love we feel. We are justified, set in a right relationship with God our creator, through faith in our redemption by Christ and given the strength to persevere through the Holy Spirit.

We are united as the Body of Christ – Corpus Christi – and as members of this one body, with the support of one another, gathered in prayer we celebrate that faith which has been revealed to the Church, handed on to us, and which sustains us. What adult here hasn't been through trials that have shaken our faith?  I can point to people here today who have come through very tough times through their faith sustained by the love of family and friends in this parish community.  At these moments we have known what St. Paul means when he describes the "love of God that has been poured out into our hearts." That love has taken flesh for us in others, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, we have interior eyes of faith and have come to believe that we are loved. Faith has helped us see what we might otherwise have missed--- as St. Paul puts it… "That grace in which we stand." 
 
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. World without end.    Amen.