Trinity Sunday ..feast of the three Persons in one God..Father Son & Holy Spirit.. ..it is mission impossible to explain convincingly the three persons in one God, but that hasn’t prevented theologians down the ages attempting it..& failing.. ..it is a relationship grounded in love.. & how do you explain love to someone who has never tasted it? ..deeper beyond words, it is experience..& we engage with the Trinity each time; 10 times 42 times a day we make the sign of the Cross.. ..when you voiced it 3mins ago did it come off the tip of your tongue? ..or out from deep within your heart? ..have you come to Mass this evg / morning for an event or an experience?..to watch or to participate?
“for all our sins against the Father who gave us life..” ; Lord have mercy “for all our sins against the Son who gave us a place in his family..” ; Christ have mercy “for all our sins against the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of love & the Spirit of forgiveness..” ; Lord have mercy May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins & bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
“all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt” in Ampleforth..God Father/Architect imagined greatest achievement he could ever hope & pray to create Plan A; a world a paradise of beauty into which he would introduce final piece in eternal jigsaw..human beings..& to gift them part of his heart & essence, he gave them potential ability to be like him, in love care & stewardship of paradise..& it went sour because of a few miscreants who decided they wanted control not service..domination not love..wealth not frugality..& over thousands of years his messengers made valiant attempts to encourage a change of heart, but to no avail..so Plan B sent his Son, risked Jesus Christ the builder who brought one new vital commandment to supercede the ten..”love one another” each & every one another, especially person we find most difficult, our Judas.. & in 3yrs of ministry, encouraging a change of heart lifestyle & religion, save for a few miscreants in a motley crew of disciples, he failed to live up to our great expectations of him..he didn’t overthrow Romans then nor Syrian regime now..he didn’t get upper crust squeaky clean Jews then to allow in the unwashed gentiles..he hasn’t so far succeeded in persuading you to allow in the unwashed immigrant from Windrush Poland or Syria..a valiant attempt to elicit a change of heart, but to no avail..so Plan C..having risked his beloved Son to death, he was inspired to keep faith in us; his love for us was too great to admit defeat so his heartwave [ not brainwave ] was to bring his Son back to life, thus redeeming failure in humankind, thus redeeming failure in his own divine life..if we are in him, & he in us, then our failure infects him..his two attempts so far Plan A & B..or episodes on a journey?..how do you read it & then how do you feel it?..his Risen Son appeared in 40 days of sightings to believer & unbeliever alike..to encourage them to believe & to love..especially to love person they found impossible to love..to break bread & to break story with one another, migrant & stakeholder “this is my body”..& then a final 10days without him taken up to heaven on Ascension Day..to allow them to feel the difference, the absence, the ache, the missing tooth, until finally Pentecost Day he sent his ultimate gift Holy Spirit..the caretaker..his breath, his presence no longer only from a distance in a book, nor from immediacy of a piece of bread & sip of wine, but now ultimately within us; our very breath is divine, God lives no longer with us but in us, his divine presence shown in all the good that we become & then do.. ..so 3plans or 3 parts/ stages of one plan?..& today a final Part D..a Trinity becomes a quaternity..four persons in one God; Father, Son, Holy Spirit..& you..stop hesitating, stop whinging, stop jealously looking into everyone elses window & life, & wishing you were them..”go make disciples of all the nations”..notice “all nations”..Syria Poland Jamaica even Tang Hall & South Bank..baptise them, immerse them in the life & love of this faith community, not just for 1 July 2018 but 24x7x365..as car sticker used to say “a dog is not only for Christmas”..teach them the one commandment I gave you, live it first & then, only then, teach it with truth & authenticity..”& know that I am with you always, yes, to the end of time”..are those words Jesus’ words to you, as you may have been led to believe thus far..or are they your words to your neighbour?..each & every neighbour.. “in the name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Spirit”..& me..four persons.. Father /Architect, Son/ builder, Holy Spirit/ caretaker, & you..tenant or owner occupier? ..how do you feel?..in rent arrears or is your mortgage fully paid up?..last wk shared two 48hr retreats with 60 Yr 9 disciples from St Bedes/ St Josephs Bradford..their questions revealed them to be active disciples, owning their faith from heart..”what would you say to someone contemplating suicide? why are humans the pinnacle of Gods creation? can monks have hearing aids? how many chances for redemption are too much? can we change God’s plan? what’s the hardest question you have been asked?..what is your favourite type of ice cream?..quality questions..our faith & theirs in good hands for sure; in their good hands as fine caretakers..take care as you go.. [Trinity SunYr BMt28;16-20]