The Most Holy Trinity, Year B – Homily

The Most Holy Trinity, Year B
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22 (12b)
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20
May 30, 2021

Today we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  They are three persons yet one God.  This can be difficult for us to understand.  That’s why we call it a mystery.  It is not so much a mystery to be solved as something we accept in faith. 

The relationship between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and what they do is an important part of our Creed.

The word “trinity” is not found in the Bible.  However, the need for all three persons of the Trinity is found in Jesus’ own words when He tells his disciples to “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.” 

Jesus does not say to simply baptize in his name.  Nor does He say to do it only in the Father’s name or the Holy Spirit.  We need all three.

We may not fully understand but we do believe.

In doing so, we are like the early disciples, who when they saw the risen Jesus, “worshipped but they doubted.”

They had doubt because they did not understand all that had happened.  They saw Jesus risen but still struggled to understand.  While they had doubt, they believed, and so they gave worship. 

To worship is to give praise and honor to God.

We come to give worship this morning.  We praise and thank God for the good things He has done for us.  It doesn’t mean our lives are perfect.  It doesn’t mean we understand everything that is going on in our lives. 

Sometimes “worship” can seem like something we do to satisfy the rules.  We do the same thing over and over.  Worship is more than just a logistical act of doing something to please God.  Our worship to God is part of our relationship with him.

With that in mind, how would you describe God?

Do you think of God in terms of what He has done?  God is the creator of the world and all that is on it, including us.

God is the one who took his people the Israelites “from the midst of another nation” (Egypt).

God is the one who sent his Son Jesus to die for us. 

God did these things because He seeks a relationship with us.  He does this because He loves us.

Likewise, as Moses reminded the people, “You must keep his statutes and commandments.”  We do so not just because they are God’s rules.  We do so knowing God loves us and, loving him back, we trust him.

We are not slaves of God.  We are not just royal subjects of God.

No, as Paul writes, we, “led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” 

How is it that we are children of God? 

Because God chooses to bestow “a Spirit of adoption” upon us.  God chooses us to be his children.  God does not make this choice because of what we have done.  God chooses to make us his children because He loves us.

Today we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity.  It is a relationship of three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in a perfect unity. 

Through the Spirit of adoption that we receive, God invites us into divine relationship.

We live in an imperfect world.  In the world we see broken trust and injustice.  In God we find justice and give our lives to the one who is completely trustworthy.

In this world, we face suffering.  We do not suffer alone.  We suffer with Christ who embraced the suffering of his Passion for us.  In sharing in his suffering, “we may also be glorified with him.”

I asked earlier how you would describe God. 

I answered before speaking of God as our creator.  I spoke of God as the one who rescued his people from slavery in Egypt.  I spoke of Jesus as the one who died for us.

These events are matters of the mind, meaning they are part of our history.  However, they are more than just matters of the mind.

They are matters of the heart.  They speak of God’s love for us.  God cares for us.  God is our Father.  So, Jesus is our brother who dies for us.  Together, they send the Holy Spirit to bring us into relationship with them.

We may face suffering.  We may have doubts.  Still, we worship because we trust in Jesus’ words, “I am with you always.”