John 16:12-15
There is a feast for every saint in the calendar. We remember the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, the angels. However, today is special. Today we remember who God is. God is a Trinity of Persons, equal in majesty, living in perfect unity.
We use limited language to describe what we can never describe or completely understand. The closest we come is to describe who God is to describe Jesus Christ, because He is God. Folks who lived 2,000 years ago were not much different from who we are. They wanted to know. They were curious, not to mention scandalized that Jesus called God His Father. Therefore, Jesus explained: “When you see me you see the Father. The Father and I are one.” Well, that went over like a led balloon. The majority did not believe Him. By making such a statement Jesus made Himself equal to God. For this and similar statements Jesus was accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death. In the past, God had sent messengers, His prophets who delivered His words. There was no greater prophet than Moses, since Moses had spoken with God and seen the back of His face. We know the story. Moses experienced physical changes to his face for being in such proximity with God. Angles also made known God’s will. But never in human history did God Himself walk with humans. Yet, God chose not only to walk with us, but to assume our human body, with all limitations, in order to show us how much we are loved. The first logical question we ask is “Why?” Why would God want to lower Himself to our level? The author of all life embraced humanity in order to live like one of us.
An example that Archbishop Fulton Sheen used was, “Imagine that you have a pet dog or cat. You grow to love your pet. You spend time with them. They love you in return, as best that they are able. You brush their hair, feed them the best food possible. You take them to the doctor to keep them in good health. Imagine that you grow to love your pet animal so much that you want to become just like them! So, for the rest of your life you would lose the ability to speak, to walk upright, to read. You want to be like your pet so much that you would assume their condition in every way while sacrificing the benefits of being human. That a major change in lifestyle. Not to mention, just to carry the analogy further, if you got kicked out of your master’s home you might end up outside; pick up a few fleas; engage in fights with others; get thrown into the pound and perhaps euthanized. Wonder whether our love for our animals would grow to such an extreme.
Without a doubt, the love of God for us is extreme. God not only assumed our human form, He died for us. There is no greater expression of love! We would die for our spouse, our children, our relatives. Our family means the world to us. Consider that we mean everything to God. Although the Lord does not need us, He calls us His family. Each of us is a child of God, therefore we are His family. We bow to royalty, we are impressed by high-ranking officials, if the Pope comes to visit, we prepare. Fact is that every human being has a part of God in their soul. Therefore, we have no right to discriminate. We get angry, we lose our temper, we hold grudges. Yet, since each person is worth the Blood of Christ on the Cross, we cannot look down on anyone. Respect for human life is not just about abortion issues, but also for those who have no voice, particularly the poor. From the womb to the tomb—all people are sacred. A Profession of Faith in the Holy Trinity blocks the possibility of calling anyone “enemy”. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. If we love our enemies, they will not be enemies. Love and hate cannot coexist. Acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity leads us to recognize His presence in the least among us, the folks whom we would rather ignore. We are God’s family. God is part of us, we are part of God.
All glory and honor to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever, world without end, Amen.
There is a feast for every saint in the calendar. We remember the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, the angels. However, today is special. Today we remember who God is. God is a Trinity of Persons, equal in majesty, living in perfect unity.
We use limited language to describe what we can never describe or completely understand. The closest we come is to describe who God is to describe Jesus Christ, because He is God. Folks who lived 2,000 years ago were not much different from who we are. They wanted to know. They were curious, not to mention scandalized that Jesus called God His Father. Therefore, Jesus explained: “When you see me you see the Father. The Father and I are one.” Well, that went over like a led balloon. The majority did not believe Him. By making such a statement Jesus made Himself equal to God. For this and similar statements Jesus was accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death. In the past, God had sent messengers, His prophets who delivered His words. There was no greater prophet than Moses, since Moses had spoken with God and seen the back of His face. We know the story. Moses experienced physical changes to his face for being in such proximity with God. Angles also made known God’s will. But never in human history did God Himself walk with humans. Yet, God chose not only to walk with us, but to assume our human body, with all limitations, in order to show us how much we are loved. The first logical question we ask is “Why?” Why would God want to lower Himself to our level? The author of all life embraced humanity in order to live like one of us.
An example that Archbishop Fulton Sheen used was, “Imagine that you have a pet dog or cat. You grow to love your pet. You spend time with them. They love you in return, as best that they are able. You brush their hair, feed them the best food possible. You take them to the doctor to keep them in good health. Imagine that you grow to love your pet animal so much that you want to become just like them! So, for the rest of your life you would lose the ability to speak, to walk upright, to read. You want to be like your pet so much that you would assume their condition in every way while sacrificing the benefits of being human. That a major change in lifestyle. Not to mention, just to carry the analogy further, if you got kicked out of your master’s home you might end up outside; pick up a few fleas; engage in fights with others; get thrown into the pound and perhaps euthanized. Wonder whether our love for our animals would grow to such an extreme.
Without a doubt, the love of God for us is extreme. God not only assumed our human form, He died for us. There is no greater expression of love! We would die for our spouse, our children, our relatives. Our family means the world to us. Consider that we mean everything to God. Although the Lord does not need us, He calls us His family. Each of us is a child of God, therefore we are His family. We bow to royalty, we are impressed by high-ranking officials, if the Pope comes to visit, we prepare. Fact is that every human being has a part of God in their soul. Therefore, we have no right to discriminate. We get angry, we lose our temper, we hold grudges. Yet, since each person is worth the Blood of Christ on the Cross, we cannot look down on anyone. Respect for human life is not just about abortion issues, but also for those who have no voice, particularly the poor. From the womb to the tomb—all people are sacred. A Profession of Faith in the Holy Trinity blocks the possibility of calling anyone “enemy”. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. If we love our enemies, they will not be enemies. Love and hate cannot coexist. Acknowledgment of the Holy Trinity leads us to recognize His presence in the least among us, the folks whom we would rather ignore. We are God’s family. God is part of us, we are part of God.
All glory and honor to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit—as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever, world without end, Amen.
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