We are now given the blessing

Homily for May 31, 2015 (The Most Holy Trinity)
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

There are a few opening phrases that most of us would rather not hear in a conversation about a relationship.  If someone begins with, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a long time, but I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” don’t expect good news.  If they say, “This just isn’t working for me,” chances are it soon won’t be working for you, either.  If they say, “Things have changed,” it is likely that more changes are on the way.

But change isn’t always bad.  Sometimes it can be a grace.  Our Judeo-Christian tradition tells us that when God called Abraham to venture forth from the land of his ancestors to a place he did not know and could not see (Genesis 12), it was a big change—and far more than a travel deal.  It was an invitation to enter into a covenant, one that would bind and benefit not only Abraham and his household but their descendants as well (Genesis 16). 

Centuries later, after Moses witnessed the particular fulfillment of that covenant in his people’s exodus and readied them for their entry and settlement into the lands that God had promised them, he presented to them the proofs of God’s might and fidelity—the privilege of hearing God speaking from the midst of fire and their liberation from bondage in Egypt, with all of the signs and wonders that accompanied it.  Speaking for the LORD, Moses also laid before them their covenant obligation—keeping God’s statutes and commandments—as well as the rewards of long life, prosperity and the land that would accompany their obedience.

That relationship between God and God’s people was transformed again in the Incarnation, life and ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus; and it is sustained by the life that we have in the Spirit the he promised to give us.  As St. Paul told the church in Rome, we are God’s children as well as heirs of God with Christ, “if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.”  Now part of God’s household, we are privileged to call God by the intimate name, Abba.

Participating in more than a covenant, we are now given the blessing of being in communion with God, whose very being is defined by the communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Springing from the living and saving waters of Baptism, sealed in Confirmation and nourished in the Eucharist, our lifelong vocation is to enter more deeply into that communion and to “make disciples of all nations,” drawing them into and expanding that circle of love.

Think about that the next time you make the Sign of the Cross, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  Recall it when you approach the altar to receive Holy Communion.  Remember it when you leave the sanctuary of the church and walk out to the sidewalk or parking lot.  See it when you witness someone practicing the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.   Hear it when someone offers a word of encouragement or gratitude. 

Notice the promise of Jesus being realized:  “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” +