{"id":579,"date":"2009-06-06T22:55:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-06T22:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/06\/homily-for-june-7-2009-trinity-sunday.html"},"modified":"2009-06-06T22:55:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-06T22:55:00","slug":"homily-for-june-7-2009-trinity-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/06\/homily-for-june-7-2009-trinity-sunday.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for June 7, 2009: Trinity Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of the movies that always pops up on TV during an election year is \u201cThe Candidate,\u201d with Robert Redford. I saw it years ago, and caught it again on cable last fall. It\u2019s the story of a young, idealistic lawyer in California who is persuaded to run for the Senate. As the movie unfolds, he learns the ins and outs of politics. Along the way, he makes some compromises and mistakes \u2013 both moral and political \u2013 but he ends up, at the end, against all probability, winning.<\/p>\n

In the last scene, his campaign manager, played by Peter Boyle, comes into his hotel room to break the news that he\u2019s won the election. And Redford looks at him and after a long moment, utters just five words.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Fade to black and the credits roll.<\/p>\n

I was reminded of that last line when I read over the gospel for this Trinity Sunday. This was a question that may well have been on the minds and lips of the apostles.<\/p>\n

At this moment in Matthew\u2019s gospel, Jesus has been raised back to life. He has appeared to the disciples in surprising and miraculous ways. And as his earthly work ends, Christ gives his followers the most daunting challenge imaginable \u2013 to baptize and convert the entire world. They must have wondered, \u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Who will we turn to?<\/p>\n

How will we survive?<\/p>\n

But Christ has given them an answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBehold,\u201d he tells them. \u201cI am with you always, until the end of the age.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a beautiful testament of hope — for the disciples, and for the world.<\/p>\n

But to live in this world is to have our hope constantly being tested, tried, dashed.<\/p>\n

It is a world where more of us are worried about how to pay the bills or balance the budget. We wonder about when the next round of layoffs will be announced, or what to tell a teenager who doesn\u2019t believe in curfews, or how to start over when a marriage ends. There are the headaches and heartaches of everyday life that lead us to ask, in frustration or fear:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend, I read a story in the Boston Globe about a man who asked that question, and is living the answer.<\/p>\n

His name is Fr. James Field. He\u2019s 58 years old, a pastor at a parish in Melrose, Massachusetts. And he is dying of pancreatic cancer. <\/p>\n

It has been an arduous and difficult time for him. Some days he is doubled over in pain. He has to wear a mask when he visits the sick. Some Sundays, he can\u2019t give out communion. He\u2019s also writing about his illness online, in a blog. <\/p>\n

Fr. Field could have retired or gone to a hospice. But instead, he has chosen to stay with his parish, to celebrate mass, to preach, to hear confessions. To be present and to share his final journey with his parishioners, and the wider world. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a teacher,\u201d he told the Globe, \u201cand this is a teachable moment.\u201d Every day, Fr. Field is a living homily about suffering, about hope, about faith. <\/p>\n

As he put it, \u201cThis is a time when you have to figure out, do you believe this or not.\u201d He said, \u201cYou\u2019ve been saying this your whole life. Is this really the truth or not?\u201d <\/p>\n

And Fr. Field is saying, yes. <\/p>\n

Resoundingly. Repeatedly. Insistently. <\/p>\n

One reason he is able to do that is because, in the middle of all he is going through, Fr. Field has the blessed assurance that we heard just a few moments ago. <\/p>\n

He has Christ. <\/p>\n

And so do we. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am with you always, until the end of the age.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentence concludes the gospel of Matthew \u2013 and, in fact, it beautifully underscores how Matthew began his gospel. In the very first chapter, Matthew told us that the savior of the world would be called \u201cEmmanuel,\u201d which means \u201cGod is with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now we are assured that He is with us \u2013 always.<\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s words tell us, on this Trinity Sunday, that the triune God \u2013 the Father who created us, the Son who redeemed us, and the Spirit who continues to sanctify the world \u2013 remains forever a part of our human struggle. Here, the God who loved us so much that He became one of us offers something astounding. To a worried and anxious world, He gives us consolation. And encouragement. <\/p>\n

He says: I understand. Don\u2019t worry. Begin this great work. Change the world. You can. And you will. Because I will not abandon you. Ever.<\/p>\n

He says: I will walk with you. I will pray with you. I will be with you. <\/p>\n

This Trinity Sunday, we are challenged to remember that. And to remember what uplifts and sustains people like Fr. Field and so many others. <\/p>\n

It is a promise kept. <\/p>\n

So, hold on to this wondrous truth: the boundless love shared by the Trinity\u2026the love that keeps those tongues of fire from Pentecost burning, the love that created, saved and uplifts us all\u2026that love will never stop.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t need to ask \u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

God\u2019s love has already answered that question. It answers all questions, and calms all fears.<\/p>\n

Because what began with just one word, Emmanuel, echoes now through all time.<\/p>\n

Not only is God with us.<\/p>\n

He is with us until the end of the age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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