Holy Trinity Sunday

Our readings for Holy Trinity Sunday are:

1. Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40
   
2. Psalms 33: 4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
   
3. Romans 8: 14-17
   
4. Matthew 28: 16-20
   

• Why am I here?
  
• My in-laws were married for more than 60 years when Jean, my mother-in-law died of cancer.  Bob, her husband, was not the sort to complain much, but I got to spend a fair amount of time around him in the years after Jean's death.  Every once in awhile, Bob would ask "with Jean gone, why am I still here?"
• Jesuit theology tells us that each of us is here to participate in the ongoing unfolding of God's creation.  That creation is a process, not an event, not a big bang.  And we're a part of that process.
• What are some things that you have done that were particularly creative?  It might be a proposal for a new organization structure, raising children, building a house, writing poetry, you name it.
• Where was God in that?
• Would the world be a poorer place if you had refused to do that bit of creating?
• How do you see God preparing you for that creation experience?
  

• Finding trust
  
• Usually, we learn to trust another by observing their behavior over a period of time.  We begin to develop a sense of what that other person's principles are, what they value, how they live, and from that we learn to trust them.
• How well do you trust God?
• What is that trust based on?
• Has God always given you what you asked for, when you asked for it?
• Did God always/ever explain God's self to you so that you could tell why He behaved the way that He did?
• If someone were to tell you "I cannot believe in a loving God who allows such misery and pain in the world, what would you tell them?
  

• Suffering with Jesus
  
• Brad DuFault once told me of a story that has stuck with me for years.  Brad used to work at the Long Beach Rescue mission three times a week.  He would show up in his work grubbies, and just start in with whatever needed to be done that day.  A prospective donor came by to check the place out, and seeing Brad, he immediately presumed that Brad was one of the homeless, and he treated Brad with that assumption.  Upon reflection, Brad saw that as a gift, to get just a glimpse of what Jesus' ministry was, and is like.
• What are some ways that you have gotten close to the people that you minister to?
• How did that change you?
• Did you come away from that experience feeling more grounded, authentic?
  

• Comfort in the Journey
  
• We are a pilgrim people.  If you define a shrine as a place that has become holy, a place where God frequently visits, then, in some ways, we are always en route from one shrine to another.  Sometimes we are called to rebuild a shrine that has been forgotten and desecrated, other times it is to form a new shrine by celebrating God's ongoing action and tabernacling in our lives.
• Where are some sacred places in your life?
• What makes them sacred for you?
• What about sacred times, seasons, people?
• Is it also true that God is everywhere, at all time?
• What does that tell you about the here and now and these people around you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to deeper trust?
   
2. Where might God be showing you love that you are not ready to recognize as such?
   
3. How can I be more sensitive to God's direction in my life?
   
4. Where might God be inviting me into my next pilgrimage?

Shalom!