Trinity Sunday (May 30, 2021)

 

“I Am With You”

Matthew 28: 16-20

 

The Gospel According to Matthew concludes with these final words of Jesus, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

 

Earlier in Matthew, we learn through the name of the Son of God that God is with us (Emmanuel).  With the Incarnation of God’s only Son, God draws us into God’s life and love.

 

Now, we always live in that love. 

 

We can never fully understand nor explain the mystery of the Trinity.  Nor can we ever fully grasp the depth of God’s love.

 

But we know one thing, that we are living in that mystery of love.  

 

 

 

Most Holy Trinity - A (June 11, 2017)

Scripture Readings

Commentary

Jesus Christ - The Presence of the Holy Trinity – the Presence of Love and Peace

There are three verses from today’s Scripture readings that can help us reflect on the mystery of the Holy Trinity in our lives.

First, Moses’ prayer in the First Reading from Exodus.  “O Lord, do come along in our company.”

And for God’s people in the forty years in the desert, God indeed came along in their company “in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to show them the way, and at night by means of a column of fire to give them light.” (Exodus 13:21). 

The second verse, found in John’s Gospel.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”  God no longer makes God’s presence known to us in a column of cloud or fire.  God is now present with us in God’s only Son, who has chosen to become like us in all things but sin.  Jesus, God’s only Son, is now one with us.

Thus, the third verse from the Second Reading affirms the presence of the Holy Trinity in our lives, thanks to God’s love for us, “the God of love and peace will be with you.”

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Most Holy Trinity - B

Commentary
Matthew 28: 16-20

I Am With You Always

At the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus came into the world, the angel told Joseph that Jesus was the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy.  "They shall name him Emmanuel, which means 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1: 22-23)

Today, as recorded by Matthew, we listen to the very last words Jesus spoke before he ascended to heaven, "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

The prophecy was and continues to be fulfilled in Jesus, God with us.

In Jesus, the Son, we humans come in touch with the divine reality.  And the One God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is now with us always. 

Most Holy Trinity - C

Commentary

John 16: 12-15

Everything that the Father Has is Mine, and Now Given to You

In the prologue, John sets a tone for his understanding of Jesus Christ.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” (1:1, 14)

Later on, as John recounts Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, we learned why the Father’s only Son came to made his dwelling among us.  It was because God so loved the world that He gave us his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (3:16)

And eternal life is God’s life, the very life that God shares with humanity in the coming of God’s only Son among us, and through his death and resurrection.

Thus, in this passage, before Jesus offers himself as the ultimate gift of love, he tells the disciples, “Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that [the Spirit] will take from what is mine, and declare it to you.” (16:15)

This is the same truth of eternal life that Jesus came to reveal.  And it is not always easy for us to accept.  Thus, before his departure, Jesus prays that the Father gives to his disciples that truth.  "Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." (17:3)

And that is the truth of eternal life to which the Spirit of truth guides us.

Most Holy Trinity - C (May 26, 2013)

Readings

 

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