GOD IS COMMUNITY, GOD IS LOVE

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY TRINITY - Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40

The first reading, taken from Deuteronomy, makes it very clear: there is only one God - “YHWH (Lord) is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” (Dt 4:39). As Christians, we inherited this belief from the people of Israel. Like them, we believe that there is no other God, but Yahweh. Together with the Jews and the Christians, the Muslims believe as well in one God, thus being considered monotheistic religions, called also Abrahamic because they follow the footsteps of Abraham who believed in one God.

Professing a very strict monotheism (tawhid), the Muslims accuse the Christians of shirk, the unforgivable sin of believing in several gods or of associating others with God. The Christian belief in the Holy Trinity is misunderstood as a belief in three Gods: the Father, Jesus and Mary. 

“O Jesus son of Mary, did you say to the people, `Take me and my mother as gods rather than God?’” (Quran 5,116).

Christians never believed that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a goddess. In the Creed, proclaimed every Sunday during the liturgical celebration, we say: “I believe in one God”. In the strict monotheism of Islam, Allah is a lonely God, incapable of a personal relationship with human beings. He is the Almighty, the All-knowing and everything must submit to him. Islam is total and complete submission to God and his Messenger. The only possible relation is that one of the Master with the slave. Even though presenting himself as the Almighty  God, Yahweh put his power and his knowledge at the service of his love. Since the beginning, the Holy Scriptures present Yahweh as a God who affirms his divinity by establishing a relationship with humanity and then, for the sake of humanity, with the people of Israel. God sealed this relationship with a covenant, through which he commits himself the be our companion in our journey through this world. Little by little, in the history of salvation, we see the mystery of God unfolding before us - He never gets tired of establishing a relationship with humanity because in himself he is relationship. The belief in the Holy Trinity expresses that: God is a community. Within God, there is communion, because God is love. Being love, God is self-giving, bestowing his love and mercy upon the ones he loves.

In the letter to the Romans (second reading), Paul speaks of the relationship of love which God establishes with us by pouring his Spirit upon us, thus adopting us as his children.

“The spirit you received is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into your lives again; it is the spirit of sons, and it makes us cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Ro 8:15).

We are not slaves, but children - the beloved children of God. In baptism, we were born again by the power of God to be destined to become “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Ro 8:17). That’s why we can approach him with confidence and hope. He will not turn his back on us. He will not go back on his word. He will never desert us unless we reject him and turn our backs on him.

We are called to be witnesses of God’s love and we are given the mission of announcing to the nations that in Jesus Christ we find salvation.

“Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” (Mt 28:19-20).

IN THE ONE SPIRIT WE WERE ALL BAPTISED

THE SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST - Acts 2:1-11

Pentecost was a Jewish feast celebrated fifty days after the great feast of Passover. It was the feast in which the Covenant, the receiving of the Law and the setting up of the People of God were celebrated. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke gives a new meaning to the feast. Thus, in Pentecost, we celebrate the new covenant and the new people of God, filled with the Holy Spirit who grafts them in Christ, thus becoming one body in Christ.

The liturgical readings of this solemnity make it clear that the Church is different from any other human organisation, set up by a group of individuals with human goals and rules. The Church belongs to Christ. He is the head and the centre of the Church. There is no other reason for the Church’s existence, but Christ. Upon the Church, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to “renew the face of the earth.” As at the beginning of creation (Gn 1:2), the Spirit comes upon humankind as a mighty wind to breathe new life and a new purpose - for the glory of God to be present and active in the life of his people.

The Holy Spirit comes down on the disciples as God’s burning fire (the bush) which does not consume and destroy but purifies and sets up a people strengthened and united by the fire of love, the only commandment that we must carry out faithfully.

The first chapters of the book of Genesis present humanity going astray and moving further and further away from God. Human beings have their own project for society, and that project ends up destroying harmony and peace and setting up division. In the book of Genesis, the story of the tower of Babel (Gn 11) is used as a symbol of humanity separated from and in conflict with God. The Pentecost celebrates a new creation, called to live in harmony and peace, but upon a diversity of tongues, tribes and nations. The Gospel is a universal message that is to be preached to all peoples of the earth and in all languages. Despite all the diversity of races, tribes and nations, all are called to be one.

However, this new people of God can only become a reality when recognising our sinfulness, we accept being redeemed and saved. The new people of God is a reconciled people, entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. In the Gospel of John, Jesus breathes the Spirit upon his disciples, as he entrusts them with his mission and with the ministry of reconciliation.

According to Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians, we are led to Jesus by the Holy Spirit, who makes it possible for us to proclaim that “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3). We were all baptised in the Holy Spirit so that we become one. The differences among us should not create division but should be put at the service of others so that everybody grows to maturity in Christ.

GOD MADE HIM THE RULER OF EVERYTHING

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD - Acts 1:1-11

The solemnity of the Ascension celebrates Jesus being “lifted up” or “taken up into heaven” (Mk 16:19). We may ask ourselves about the meaning of such language.  Certainly, it has nothing to do with physical lifting. Jesus’ ascension into heaven is not a rocket launching.  In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks of the glorification of Jesus Christ, who seats at the right hand of the Father and is made Lord and ruler of everything (Ep 1:22). Jesus’ ascension is a source of hope for all those who have become his followers. With his ascension, humanity has been glorified and is seating at the right hand of God. If we become one body with him, then we will share in Jesus’ glory.

In the first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we can find Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit and the mission entrusted to the disciples: they must be witnesses of Jesus “to the ends of the earth.” In the gospel of Mark, we find the confirmation that the disciples carried out the mission entrusted to them: “they, going out, preached everywhere” (Mk 16:20). However, up to the end, the disciples kept steadfast in their hope that Jesus would establish an earthly kingdom in which they would enjoy wealth and power. Wealth and power are like drugs to which we become addicted. Throughout the ages, people have been ready to sacrifice everything in order to obtain both wealth and power, considered as of supreme value. Jesus made it clear that they were wasting their time because an earthly kingdom was not part of his mission. That was in the hands of the Father.

At the end of the passage, as “a cloud took him from their sight”, the disciples remained there “looking into the sky”, as if in ecstasy. And they had to be called back to their senses and reality.  

The disciples are continuously faced with two big dangers: a) to be seduced by wealth and power; b) to be allured by the heavens and forget the world we live in. We do not belong to the world, but we live in the world and are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ in this world where we live. We must not forget that, here on earth, we are pilgrims. Our hearts hope for the glory of Christ, while at the same time leading us to walk in the way of Christ.

REMAIN IN MY LOVE

VI SUNDAY OF EASTER - John 15:9-17

The word love can be heard countless times every day. It sounds as if love is a daily experience of every human being. However, the word love may be loaded with a variety of different shades. The Greeks were well aware of that and used different words for different kinds of love. Love may refer simply to friendship (philia), or maybe it refers to family love (storge) or a passionate and sexual attraction (eros). And then, there is the word agápe, used in the New Testament for the love of God, a love that is unconditional, free and gracious, full of tenderness, compassion and mercy. Agápe is divine love, ”because God is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and the source of all true love, which implies total self-giving as if we turn ourselves out for the others. God has done that for us.

“God’s love for us was revealed

when God sent into the world his only Son

so that we could have life through him”.

By loving us first, God revealed his true love:

“…this is the love I mean:

not our love for God,

but God’s love for us when he sent his Son

to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.” (1 Jn 4:9-10).

God’s love is the fountain of living water that makes our love possible. The Holy Trinity is this relationship of love between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as the beloved Son, lived that love and he loved us with that same kind of love: he put himself at our service and offered his life in sacrifice for us.

In the gospel, Jesus tells us: “Remain in my love.” With him, we must experience God’s love as his greatest gift, the one which makes all the others possible. Feeling accepted and loved, we learn how to love, spending and consuming our life at the service of the loved ones. If we remain in Christ, we are going to learn with him the true love, the love which comes from God. This love is a gift of ourselves to the other and it implies a commitment and a decision to love. It is not simply a feeling or a passion, which may blind us for a while and then disappears. It has become so common nowadays that people speak of love when they feel happy and satisfied, but then turn their back and desert their loved ones when the road becomes rough and difficult. With Christ, we must learn how to love. True love is strengthened and guarded by rules: “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love”. These rules are not oppressive; on the contrary, they show the way that leads to joy and happiness:

“I have told you this

so that my own joy may be in you

and your joy be complete.” (Jn 15:10-11).

And the commandment is very simple and straightforward: “What I command you is to love one another.” (Jn 15:17).

I AM THE VINE, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES

V SUNDAY OF EASTER - John 15:1-8

Most of us learnt the 10 commandments when we attended catechesis for the first communion or the baptism. They set the values which should guide us, being the foundation of our moral behaviour. However, according to Jesus the two most important commandments which include all the others are: Love God and love your neighbour as yourself. And according to Paul, all commandments are summed up in this one: “you shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Ro 13:9). John, in his first letter, tells us that there are only two commandments: 

“His commandments are these:

that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ

and that we love one another

as he told us to.” (1 Jn 3:23).

We must believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God. Salvation is given to us only through him. To believe in Jesus, that is to accept him, to listen to him, to follow him and become one with him - is a commandment given to us by God. Even before the creation of the world, God had a plan for us - that we live in his love and share in his glory. With sin, humanity turned that plan upside down. However, we cannot undo what God has decided since he always finds a way of straightening what we have made crook. Thus, through Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, God has carried out his plan of salvation. Jesus is the Way, the only to the Father. In him, we become God’s children, so that his glory may be manifest in us. That’s why we must believe in Jesus Christ and become one with him. He is the role model that we must follow. It is not enough to love my neighbour as I love myself. I must love in the way Jesus loved. In true love, there is no selfishness. Love gives us the strength to offer our life at the service of others as Jesus did.

In the Gospel, Jesus stresses the importance of having a deep relationship with him. He uses the comparison of the vine, explaining that he is the vine and we must be the branches of that vine. Being one with Jesus, we can bear fruit in plenty, “for cut off from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5).

Let us examine our relationship with Jesus. How deep is it? How committed are we? What effort do we put in to become more and more like Jesus?