Trinity Sunday
Sunday liturgy (Cycle B) — White
1st Reading
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Lectio (Reading)
Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
Lectio (Reading)
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
2nd Reading
Romans 8:14-17
Lectio (Reading)
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!"
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
Gospel Reading
Matthew 28:16-20
Lectio (Reading)
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
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,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Meditatio (Reflecting)
All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Oratio (Responding)
This reading is the ultimate conclusion of understanding who Jesus is, and truly believing that He is God. Jesus christ is the only person in the History of the world that not only claimed to be God, be proved it. He was born miraculously, He lived a life of perfect humility and obediences to the Father. He performed miracles and healed multitudes, He taught the word of God, and on many occasions told His audience that He was the prophesied Messiah and Son of God in Heaven. The one that has been foretold in all of the scriptures. And besides all that, He is the only person in the history of the world that proved His divinity by raising Himself from the dead after he was murdered by His detractors.
So what is God telling His apostles, and by proxy telling all of us as well in this reading? This message is called the great commission, and is one of the most important things He ever taught us to do. It is the logical conclusion of believing that Jesus is Lord, and the natural result of that faith. If you believe this, and you accept it as true, this knowledge changes you. It is like having a secret to happiness and peace that will make your life so much better, a secret that becomes a mission, which compels you to share it with those you love, and if you can the whole world. Well, this secret, this mission, is that the early christians called “the way.” Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him.
This secret, if you believe it, and live it, it will bring you true peace, and bring you to eternal happiness with God in heaven. If you know this secret, if you believe it to be true, then I simply ask, why aren’t you sharing it with the world? Do you not truly believe it? do you not think that it is not worth sharing? Do you not think that others will be interested to know more? This is the point of todays reading and the “great commission”…, it does not matter what you think, it does not matter if you feel comfortable talking to others about it, Jesus is commanding you (as His disciple) to go out into the whole world and share His word. This is your duty as His disciple, and the natural result of true faith.
The book of revelation states that Jesus will not return until five signs have come to pass, and one of those is that the whole world will have the gospel preached to them. You might think that that has already happened. That between the internet and all of the missionary work that has already been done, you may think this task is complete. But the Lord has not returned yet, so that means we still have work to do. Jesus died with perfect faith and compels us to strive for the same. We are to be lions of faith and roar the good news to the world. So let’s start today.
Contemplatio (Contemplating)
Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.
Resolutio (Resolving)
Oh lord, help me today to proclaim your word, to spread it to the extent that it is possible to do so. amen.