Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B TRINITY SUNDAY Dt 4,32-34.39-40; Rom 8,14-17; Mt 28,16-20 Jesus’ own Mission Statement With
you until the end of time. Today, Trinity Sunday, we take our Gospel reflection, from the very
last 6 verses of Matthew’s Gospel, which can very well be seen as the Mission
statement, which Matthew puts on Jesus’ lips. Today, when many lay &
Church organizations, set their Vision & Mission statements -& indeed
when our own Diocese of Broken Bay has re-launched its Vision & Mission
statement, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its existence, it seems
worthwhile to reflect on Jesus’ Mission Statement as spelled out in
Matthew’s Gospel, and then compare it with our own Mission Statement hoping it matches up with Jesus’ mission to the apostles. In his
account, Matthew simply says that after Jesus rose, he appeared to some women
& through them he instructed the apostles to leave Jerusalem & go to
Galilee to a mountain where he had arranged to meet them. To the Apostles who
were fragile & shattered in their faith by the horrendous death of Jesus on
the cross, (Matthew says that some of them hesitated!) Jesus appeared in all his
authority & spoke to them with words of empowerment & consolation. He
presented himself as the ultimate authority in heaven & on earth, & gave
them 3 last instructions: - go to all nations & not just to the lost sheep
of Israel, since God loves all his creatures - give everyone membership in
God’s Church, through baptism not through circumcision - issue a new set of
laws & teachings, apart from the law of Moses, written in the Torah.
Finally, Jesus assured them (& assures us) saying: I am with you until the
end of time. Today, we are challenged to see in what way the promise of Jesus as
indeed his Mission Statement is realized & lived through in our society
& Church, in our groups & families. In
the name of the Trinity. The
sign of the cross is the sign of Christianity: every time we sign ourselves we
remind ourselves of the immense blessing that we received when we were baptised;
we were baptised in the name of the Father, of the Son & of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, we should spent time & meditation, reflecting on what it means to
us to be baptised in the name of the Blessed Trinity. We know that the mystery
of the Blessed Trinity is the central belief of Christian faith & life. It
is the Mystery of God in himself; it’s the source that brings light on all the
other mysteries of our faith. Let’s remember however, that while the
Scriptures describe God as Father, Son & Holy Spirit, it took centuries of
reflection, to allow people of east & west, north & south to explore,
describe & try ever new ways to
redefine the doctrine of the Trinity. Across the centuries, many symbols &
prayers have articulated the importance of our life in the Holy Trinity, &
vice-versa, that of the Holy Trinity in our life. The ‘Sign of the Cross’ is
a well known symbol among Catholics. With it, we dedicate ourselves to God. We
reverently pray: “In the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit”, while
we make the sign of the cross on us: using 3 fingers of our right hand, we trace
the sign of the cross, touching our forehead, heart & shoulders. Another
well known Symbol of the Trinity is the Shamrock, used by St. Patrick in
Ireland. The Liturgical Books of our Church contain many “doxologies”
(namely, prayers of “Glory be to
Father, Son & Holy Spirit”). All official prayers of the Church (Missals,
Books of Devotion & Sacraments, Liturgy of the hours & even all
Eucharistic Prayers) are formulated as honouring the Trinity &
conclude with: “Though Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, all glory & honour is yours, almighty Father, for ever & ever .
Amen”. This prayer should be constantly on our lips. ______________________________________ |
