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Catholic Homily for CYCLE B TRINITY SUNDAY

by Fred Karpuk

1. The Holy Trinity is ONE GOD from WHO, through WHOM, and in WHOM all things exist. The word TRINITY never appears in scripture. And the church knows it is a hard mystery to understand, but in today’s liturgy she asks us to take the time through Scripture and prayer to assess how the ACTIONS of God or in others words the DYNAMICS of the Trinity affects events in our lives and in history.

2. First I want to give you a real but practical example of what I mean by DYNAMICS of the Trinity and how God might be said to work in our lives.

How many of you have seen the movie…REMEMBER THE TITANS? In the movie about a true event, a school system decided to put together two high schools; One all WHITE and the other all BLACK. For Football, both coaching staffs were also joined together. Denzel Washington (Coach Boone) the black teams coach was given the head job over the HEAD white coach. Racial Strife and egos were everywhere. So Coach Boone had to lead this group of opposites thru many situations of controversy into a TEAM of players and coaches, with a common goal…To play football together.

After a rocky start in the pre season and early games, the hard nose coach won out. He got ALL of his coaches and whole team to follow his rules for the betterment of the TITANS. They had a undefeated season going and made it to the championship game. In a Memorable scene in the Locker Room, Coach Boone calls them together. They had a slow 1st half start because of bad play and selfish acts. This was NOT a session of X’s and O’s. Julian you do this or Rev. you do that. Using the phrase.., “Listen to me, This is OUR TIME. The second half is our game”. He draws there attention to their short, but meaningful history of being just a few months ago a diverse and fractured group of individuals, that came together and therefore played well and won. This LOCKER ROOM chat was the defining moment. In it they came to realize they could not abandoned now, everything they had accomplished as a team. If they did, the wheels would fall off and their season would come to a crashing end.

3. Our scripture readings use a similar story line. The 1st reading from Deuteronomy has the Israelites after 40 years of desert life, where they struggled to understand they are the people of God, POSITIONED near the river Jordan across from Jericho, ready to move into the PROMISED LAND. But 1st Moses must give them a talk. This too was not a matter of X’s and O’s. Like Tribe of Dan you go here and Tribe of Naphtalie you go there. No..this too was a DEFINING Moment. What they are about to do, demands that they have a good FEEL for exactly what made this move is possible. That the Chosen People have been PRIVILEGED beyond all people of the earth. The TRUE GOD had taken this nomadic people with no leader, army or wealth and built them into a nation. Later he led them from Slavery in Egypt and promised them a land they could call their home.

4. So Moses in the 1st of a series of 3 discourses invites the People to “ASK (GOD) to help you understand…”. To take a DEEP LOOK at what has happened to you. Not just for right now…but to see the whole picture and DYNAMICS of how has God has been with you personally and from a Historical perspective. Has there been any other so called god, who took care of a people like the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has of you? Then reminding them how the wonders of the Exodus and revelation of the law on Mt. Sinai, show the epitome of this care. They were the ones who had EXPERIENCED first hand God’s Creativity, Salvation and Love.

Moses said, “Know therefore this day, and lay it into your heart, …that there is no other (God).” Then Moses told them, that this God who cares for them like no other, DOES expect obedient love in return. You must keep his commandments. It’s a way of appreciation and benefits you and each succeeding generation after you as well.

5. In the Gospel we have another defining MOMENT. It too was not a matter of X’s and O’s. After the fear of the passion and joy of the resurrection the apostles were not confident. They adored and doubted. The apostles had been told to meet Jesus on the mountain. A change of status was about to take place and the apostles needed to be reminded of how the dynamics of God (Father-Son-Spirit) had touched their lives. In his parting words Jesus offers them words for Confidence. “All AUTHORITY has been given to me: GO MAKE disciples: TEACH them to observe laws: I am WITH YOU ALWAYS.

6. On Trinity Sunday we profess 3 persons in one God. Something the Old Testament Israelites could not do. Present in the Old Testament in their Actions, the Trinity had not been revealed until Jesus came. Trying to understand the Trinity is not be easy, but we too like the Israelites can also believe there is NO OTHER God like ours to love us more.

So the church calls us together to celebrate this knowledge. It’s not a matter of X’s and O’S. We must try to build upon our understanding of it, as we ponder past, (in how were got to where we are in our faith) present (How is God in my life now with sickness, work or no work) and look to future moments where we feel God (Father, Son or Spirit) has been or will be working and loving us. The TRINITY is working in our lives every day. But this homily was not about the TITANS winning football, (Though in the movie there are many Gospel Values ) it is about the God who Created us, it is about the God who saves us and it is about the God who want to make us Holy.