..we have just prayed the most familiar & powerful prayer in Christendom..& most of us missed it..waiting for Mass to begin & it did & we were elsewhere..distracted attracted.. the Sign of the Cross on this Trinity Sunday; feast of unity of Father Son & Holy Spirit..invoking the fullness of divine person & presence into our faith & life.. how often do we see elite footballers with tv audience of millions making Sign of the Cross as they begin their work or as they celebrate scoring the winning goal ? ..& how often each day do we make the same invocation for divine inspiration the Sign of the Cross as we begin our work? or in thanksgiving for daily miracles that happen in our lives?..which of the three persons is your own favourite, the one you are closest to ?..or most distant from?..
..for all our sins against the Father who gave us life.. ; Lord have mercy ..for all our sins against the Son who gave us new life & a place in his family.. ; Christ have mercy ..for all our sins against the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, the spirit of forgiveness.. ; Lord have mercy May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins & bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
Three men working on building site ; two bricklayers & a labourer ; called a 2 & 1 gang ; task of two was to lay bricks skilfully ; task of one was to make sure the two bricklayers were supplied with bricks in right place at right time & the mortar board was kept topped up..if you asked one of two what his job was he might say “a bricklayer” whilst other would say “a builder of cathedrals”..same task side by side together for years yet different perspectives on their work..so too with us on this Trinity Sunday..a 2 & 1 gang..dare I say I am the labourer..my calling is to feed you with raw materials whilst you do the graft..in pairs..no coincidence Jesus called first labourers /disciples in pairs..a 2 &1 gang..them & Jesus..& if I was to ask two of you, who had worked & prayed side by side in this Church together for years, how would you describe your role?..one might say “ a practising Catholic” whilst other might say “a missionary disciple”..”I was there”..did you notice in 1st rdg when wisdom of God describes his/her origins & voices the Max Boyce moment? ..a Welsh rugby legend then reporter who spoke passionately of seeing Wales win Grand Slam by beating England at Twickenham with winning try in last minute..never to be forgotten “& I was there” & last week most moving scenes from D Day commemorations as veteran soldiers recounted their memories of Dunkirk..soldiers/bricklayers or liberators from Nazi occupation/ builders of our free world?..”& I was there” as troops or disciples? ..imagine what would have happened if they had remained in army barracks; trained to perfection & precision, watching from safe distance across channel anti aircraft fire, the bombardments from the navy, the towns & cities alight, but never saw the front line.. never experienced challenge sacrifice of being the Good Samaritan, risking everything to save the wounded; broken-hearted; cripple; the addict; the bereaved..the absence of risk is a sure sign of mediocrity..& now June 2019 our calling our conscription into this infantry battalion of a parish..where quality & authenticity of our faith-life in here is pollinated by quality & outreach of our discipleship out there..with our divine trinity 2 &1gang..Father Son & Holy Spirit..& you “I was by his side, a master craftsmen, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence, at play everywhere in his world, delighting to be with the sons of men.” did you recognise yourself when you heard it in 1st rdg?..it couldn’t be me could it?..could it?..a master craftsman/woman, ever at play, sent home last weekend to risk “dancing home erotically” remember?..remember joy delight on your faces when you heard the invitation?..”& I was there”..a Holy Spirit moment was it not?..& so the weave into this weekends feast..Father Son & Holy Spirit..in construction terms, building the kingdom rather than a Church of bricks & mortar..God the Father is the Architect he imagined “when his purpose first unfolded” us into being, a blueprint for his greatest gift [love] to become flesh, love personified, in you & I..& his dream was going sour under a grim religion of force fear & compliance so he risked sending his Son..Christ the builder entrusted with blueprint to write it on our hearts; to build a kingdom of life love & truth..where the words became flesh & he loved/ lived among us..a 2 & I gang; Father Son [2] & Holy Spirit [1], until last weekend when we were inspired inspirited empowered with divinity..pneuma..breath /power of God..hokmah feminine dimension of Trinity..& what of her title now handed on to you & I?..alongside Father the Architect, Son the builder, & now you & I, the Spirit..“the caretaker”..the one who notices the vomit, the wounded, broken-hearted, addict & responds out there on front line having cast out into the deep, crossed the channel & self sacrificially lovingly, risked life limb & faith for the love of God..Mother Teresa “no I wouldn’t touch a leper for a £1000, yet I willingly heal him for the love of God” never lose sight of leper addict & the lonely next to you in your pew..when, on re-engaging with them, in your first moments in heaven, they will look you in the eye with the smile & the divine gaze you have died for, & say “I was there..thank you for being my caretaker”..his divine words of love & gratitude to you..& for now, mine to you..”thank you for taking care of me”.. [Trinity Yr C Jn 16;12-15 ]