Trinity Sunday
Thanks to Deacon John Beckman for the story which I "borrowed" for this homily for Trinity Sunday.
If you watch sports on television, there's a good chance you've seen a sign like this somewhere in the crowd. "John 3:16". "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."
The person holding up that sign was most likely one of our protestant brothers. There are two reasons why I say this. First, protestants often use this verse to back up their position of "sola fide" which means "faith alone". Once saved, always saved. If you believe in Jesus and that He died for our sins, then you're going to heaven.
Of course, we don't believe that. We believe that we are saved purely through God's mercy and His Son's death and resurrection, but it's not as simple as just "once saved, always saved."
In the Hebrew language, the word for "believe" was not exactly the same word we use in today's English. Here's a story that illustrates the difference.
A circus performer was putting on an exhibition at Niagra Falls. A large crowd had gathered on both sides of the falls to watch him perform. He said to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, today I am going to cross these tremendous falls by walking on this narrow wire stretched from here to the other side. Do you believe I can do it?"
The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling, "Yes, we believe!" So off he went. It was windy and wet above the falls, but he inched his way across and eventually made it. When he got there, the crowd on the other side went wild, cheering and applauding.
After he had rested a bit, the daredevil said to the crowd, "If you think that was amazing, wait until you see what I'm going to do next. I'm going back across the falls on the same narrow wire, but this time I'm going to do it blindfolded. Do you believe I can do it?" The crowd was even louder. "Yes, we believe!" So, off he went again, back toward the other side. It was even windier and wetter than before, but he made it again. The crowd was even louder than before.
The man climbed down from the platform, dried himself off and adressed the crowd again. "Ladies and gentlemen, for the most amazing feat of all, I'm going to go back across, blindfolded, carrying a man on my back! Do you believe I can do it?" More wild applause and cheers of "Yes, we believe!" Then the daredevil asked for a volunteer. The crowd grew deadly quiet. There wasn't a sound except for the roar of the falls.
Our Catholic faith is not one where we stand on the sidelines yelling "Yes, we believe!". The kind of belief we're talking about is the kind that's willing to let Jesus carry us, believing that He won't let us fall. In fact, if we read on in John's Gospel, to John 3:36 Jesus tells us that "whoever believes (there's that word again) in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." In other words, if we believe but don't obey, we're no better off than someone who doesn't believe.
OK, we're supposed to obey Jesus. But, what did He tell us to do? Before we get to that, I said earlier that there were two reasons why I think that the sign-holders we see are protestants. The second reason is because they're really good at knowing chapter and verse from the Bible. They've got us there. Most Catholics know what the Bible says, we just don't always know where to find it.
Protestants have what they call "sword drills" in Sunday school. A sword drill is where the teacher gives a passage, like John 3:16 and the student has to recite the verse. Or the teacher may recite the verse and the student has to give the chapter and verse. They get the term "sword drill" from Ephesians, where Paul said " In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
When I was growing up in the Baptist church, I was lousy at sword drills. I really admire people who know their Bible well enough to be able to do it because I know how hard it is. That's why I'm pretty sure that anyone you see holding up a sign like this is a protestant, because they know what it means. It's a shorthand that they understand.
The problem with learning the Bible that way, though, is that you have a tendency to take individual verses out of context. For example, as we saw earlier, if you just know John 3:16 and don't read any further, you can come to a wrong conclusion.
But, I started thinking, if we Catholics were going to hold up signs at a Ram's game or a Cardinal's game, what verses would we pick? So, I came up with some suggestions.
How about this one, James 2:14; "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works?" Or, James 2:17, when James writes, "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
Some people believe that all you need for salvation is found in the Bible. They take exception to some of the things we do that have been handed down for centuries by the magesterium, or the teaching office, of the church. So maybe this is the sign we would use.
2 Thess. 2:15 Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and told them "Brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." Sounds good to me.
Here's my personal favorite, Acts 6:3. " Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task", the commissioning of the first deacons.
Of course, there are a lot of Christians who don't recognize the authority of the Holy Father. Maybe our signs should say "Matthew 16:18-19. " And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
What about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist? That was His gift to us and to His Church, but some people don't believe in it. Maybe we should have this verse on our sign: Luke 22:19 Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."
Finally, today is Trinity Sunday. We believe one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul closed his second letter to the Corinthians by saying " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you." (2 Cor. 13:14) and Christ Himself said to the Apostles, (Matthew 28:19-20), "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. Let me repeat that: Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Which brings us back to where we started. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." As Catholics, we know that that simple word "believe" means observing all that He commanded us and all that the Church has handed down to us. It's a lot more complicated than just holding up a sign.
If you watch sports on television, there's a good chance you've seen a sign like this somewhere in the crowd. "John 3:16". "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."
The person holding up that sign was most likely one of our protestant brothers. There are two reasons why I say this. First, protestants often use this verse to back up their position of "sola fide" which means "faith alone". Once saved, always saved. If you believe in Jesus and that He died for our sins, then you're going to heaven.
Of course, we don't believe that. We believe that we are saved purely through God's mercy and His Son's death and resurrection, but it's not as simple as just "once saved, always saved."
In the Hebrew language, the word for "believe" was not exactly the same word we use in today's English. Here's a story that illustrates the difference.
A circus performer was putting on an exhibition at Niagra Falls. A large crowd had gathered on both sides of the falls to watch him perform. He said to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, today I am going to cross these tremendous falls by walking on this narrow wire stretched from here to the other side. Do you believe I can do it?"
The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling, "Yes, we believe!" So off he went. It was windy and wet above the falls, but he inched his way across and eventually made it. When he got there, the crowd on the other side went wild, cheering and applauding.
After he had rested a bit, the daredevil said to the crowd, "If you think that was amazing, wait until you see what I'm going to do next. I'm going back across the falls on the same narrow wire, but this time I'm going to do it blindfolded. Do you believe I can do it?" The crowd was even louder. "Yes, we believe!" So, off he went again, back toward the other side. It was even windier and wetter than before, but he made it again. The crowd was even louder than before.
The man climbed down from the platform, dried himself off and adressed the crowd again. "Ladies and gentlemen, for the most amazing feat of all, I'm going to go back across, blindfolded, carrying a man on my back! Do you believe I can do it?" More wild applause and cheers of "Yes, we believe!" Then the daredevil asked for a volunteer. The crowd grew deadly quiet. There wasn't a sound except for the roar of the falls.
Our Catholic faith is not one where we stand on the sidelines yelling "Yes, we believe!". The kind of belief we're talking about is the kind that's willing to let Jesus carry us, believing that He won't let us fall. In fact, if we read on in John's Gospel, to John 3:36 Jesus tells us that "whoever believes (there's that word again) in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." In other words, if we believe but don't obey, we're no better off than someone who doesn't believe.
OK, we're supposed to obey Jesus. But, what did He tell us to do? Before we get to that, I said earlier that there were two reasons why I think that the sign-holders we see are protestants. The second reason is because they're really good at knowing chapter and verse from the Bible. They've got us there. Most Catholics know what the Bible says, we just don't always know where to find it.
Protestants have what they call "sword drills" in Sunday school. A sword drill is where the teacher gives a passage, like John 3:16 and the student has to recite the verse. Or the teacher may recite the verse and the student has to give the chapter and verse. They get the term "sword drill" from Ephesians, where Paul said " In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
When I was growing up in the Baptist church, I was lousy at sword drills. I really admire people who know their Bible well enough to be able to do it because I know how hard it is. That's why I'm pretty sure that anyone you see holding up a sign like this is a protestant, because they know what it means. It's a shorthand that they understand.
The problem with learning the Bible that way, though, is that you have a tendency to take individual verses out of context. For example, as we saw earlier, if you just know John 3:16 and don't read any further, you can come to a wrong conclusion.
But, I started thinking, if we Catholics were going to hold up signs at a Ram's game or a Cardinal's game, what verses would we pick? So, I came up with some suggestions.
How about this one, James 2:14; "What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works?" Or, James 2:17, when James writes, "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
Some people believe that all you need for salvation is found in the Bible. They take exception to some of the things we do that have been handed down for centuries by the magesterium, or the teaching office, of the church. So maybe this is the sign we would use.
2 Thess. 2:15 Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and told them "Brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." Sounds good to me.
Here's my personal favorite, Acts 6:3. " Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task", the commissioning of the first deacons.
Of course, there are a lot of Christians who don't recognize the authority of the Holy Father. Maybe our signs should say "Matthew 16:18-19. " And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
What about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist? That was His gift to us and to His Church, but some people don't believe in it. Maybe we should have this verse on our sign: Luke 22:19 Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."
Finally, today is Trinity Sunday. We believe one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul closed his second letter to the Corinthians by saying " The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you." (2 Cor. 13:14) and Christ Himself said to the Apostles, (Matthew 28:19-20), "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. Let me repeat that: Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Which brings us back to where we started. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." As Catholics, we know that that simple word "believe" means observing all that He commanded us and all that the Church has handed down to us. It's a lot more complicated than just holding up a sign.
posted by Mike at 4:52 PM
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