The Most Holy Trinity Sunday Year B

The Most Holy Trinity Sunday Year B

Readings: Deut 4:32-34, 39-40; Rom 8:14-17; Mat 28:16-20

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". Amen. That brief familiar prayer immediately leads us into the central mystery we celebrate this Sunday - the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. Jesus in his earthly life gradually revealed to his disciples the mystery of being totally united with his Father. One is reminded of the conversation between Jesus and Philip in St. John's Gospel, where Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus replied to him: "You must believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me"(Jn. 14:11). We recall that at Jesus' Baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon him. In the preface of Trinity Sunday we pray in the following words: “You have revealed your glory as the glory also of your Son and the glory of the Holy Spirit: three persons equal in majesty, undivided in splendour, yet one Lord, one God, ever to be adored in everlasting glory”. Even with such a beautiful prayer we can hardly claim to understand the profound mystery of the Holy Trinity. In the Gospel of this Sunday, Jesus instructs his disciples before his ascension into heaven to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” A document called the Didache or Teachings of the Twelve – written as early as 50 A.D. - gives the same mandate of baptizing in the name of Triune God: “After the foregoing instructions, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. If you do not have living water, then baptize in other form of water. If you are not able to baptize in cold water, then baptize in warm. If you have neither cold nor warm water, then pour the water three times on the head, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore the Trinitarian baptismal formula is not only biblical but also backed by apostolic Tradition.

The teaching on the Holy Trinity has always been problematic because we tend to look at it as a mathematical formula to be understood. Rather the Holy Trinity is a model of life to be imitated. There is a very simple way to reflect on the mystery we celebrate this Sunday. The life of the Holy Trinity is a life of intense sharing of one and the same life, in the most perfect manner possible. That is perhaps the reason why, God in creating us does not immediately take us into heaven. The explanation is simple. If God did so we would mess life up there! Thus our life on earth is meant to be a time to practice sharing life with the people God has given us, in order to gain the experience of the Trinitarian life first. We need to do this so intensely and intimately that we become totally transparent to others, with nothing of our own to hide, in complete trust and confidence in one another. In other words, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not just a subject for theological speculation but a life of communion and sharing to be imitated and lived. So what message do we take home this Sunday? 1) We are challenged to try to live the Trinitarian life of communion with each other; 2) The life of the Holy Trinity is a life of communion and sharing we can live and imitate. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

 ©2012 John S. Mbinda

Pentecost Sunday Year B

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Pentecost Sunday Year B

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor. 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

Receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of renewal, forgiveness, peace and reconciliation. Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, when Christ filled his Church with the Holy Spirit. The feast of Pentecost completes the mysteries we have been celebrating since Holy Week: the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Lord that culminates in the sending of the Spirit of the Father and of the Son on his disciples. As we listen to the first reading, we relive the event of the first Pentecost. We are told that a noise like a strong driving wind came from the sky. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire resting on each of them. In the Second Reading, Paul deals with the issue of some members of the Corinthian community who considered themselves more important than others on account of their personal talents. Paul reminds them that God's Spirit is the source of unity as well as a wonderful diversity of gifts in the growth of the community. Therefore, there is no place for inflated egos in the community of the baptized. The Gospel from John gives a brief account of the Risen Lord Jesus offering the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and sending them. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you…Receive the Holy Spirit", the Spirit of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation.

Pentecost is therefore the crowning of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, who now fulfils his promise of sending the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Let us for a moment recall the words of the promise. "When the advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset" (Jn. 15:26).  There are those who give witness today by their lives that Jesus is the Messiah and the way he taught us is the only way to live. Yet others do not witness to Jesus but engage in “the works of the flesh,” contrary to the “work of the Spirit.” In the first reading we hear that everyone in Jerusalem heard the apostles and disciples speaking in their own language. In our day there is one language that can unite all peoples, that is if we as Christians are united in love as authentic followers of Jesus Christ. The language of love and living as authentic and genuine followers of Jesus is what attracts people to the Church and helps them to follow Jesus. The fulfilment of Jesus’ promise, the coming of the Holy Spirit, inaugurates the Church, and gives the apostles power from on high (Lk. 24:49). This power would enable the apostles to bear witness starting from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Liturgically, Pentecost is one of the most moving celebra­tions of the year. The small gathering of disciples, who had locked themselves in a room, "for fear of the Jews" (Jn. 20:19), are suddenly filled with the Holy Spirit, and begin “to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” the mighty acts of God. Amazement and astonishment filled the listening crowds as each heard the apostles in his/her own language. What message do we take home this Sunday? 1) Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit leads us to conversion and transforms our fears into courage; our weakness into strength; our desire to grab into a spirit of sharing. 2) The Holy Spirit is the source of unity as well as a wonderful diversity of gifts for the growth of the Church at all levels; 3) On Pentecost day, Christ sends us all anew into the world to bring the gift of the Father’s compassion, peace, reconciliation and forgiveness for all. I am Msgr. John Mbinda, St. John Apostle and Evangelist, Mililani, Hawaii. God bless you.

©2012 John S. Mbinda

The Ascension of the Lord into Heaven Year B

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The Ascension of the Lord into Heaven Year B

Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20

A time to say goodbye; a time for departure; a time for a new presence. This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven. We affirm our faith in Christ who "ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father". The Ascension of Christ into heaven is to be understood within context of the Paschal mystery of Christ, which comes into completion with the Ascension. The readings of today however give us much food for thought. There is a sharp contrast between hesitation, uncertainty and ignorance of the disciples and the confidence and certainty portrayed by Jesus’ message. His message reveals the power and irresistible plan of God unfolding before the disciples. One contrast is found in the disciples’ ignorance when Jesus tells them that he is about to be taken away from them. The disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  They have completely missed the point of Jesus’ mission and the whole purpose of what Jesus came to accomplish. Having been with Jesus for three years, they still think that Jesus came to liberate Israel from the Romans. That is not why Jesus came into the world. Another contrast is clear from the way the disciples stand around as it were with ‘mouths open’ as Jesus goes up into heaven. What next? The message from the angel is another sharp contrast. Why are you standing there looking at the sky? This is no time for star-gazing, but for waiting in reflection.

Let us for a moment reflect on what the Ascension into heaven means. We must not think of the Ascension in terms of Christ going up and away from us, and from the world, in purely scientific physical terms. The Ascension is not a departure in purely human terms. That was the mistake the disciples made.  That image of disciples looking up to heaven is indeed an image of where we often find ourselves in our understanding of Jesus’ mission and consequently the mission of the Church. Often times we forget what Jesus told his disciples. Jesus advised his disciples “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father…” In other words, we must not live on our own human plans. This also implies going back to basics, listening to God and waiting patiently for God’s word, his voice through the Holy Spirit; returning to Jerusalem and waiting in discernment for God’s instruction. It means waiting for his power through the Holy Spirit. In the language of faith, the ascension means "the entry" of Jesus into the complete and definitive communion with the Father. Jesus Christ enters into the fullness of the Father's glory, and makes it possi­ble for those who belong to his Body, the Church, to follow. Indeed Jesus' entry into the presence of the Father makes it possible for his Church to wait in prayer and discernment for the gift of the Holy Spirit who is God's continual presence with us. Even now, the risen Lord is ever active in the Church as she engages in the Church’s mission of reconciliation, forgiveness and transformation of this world under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who "has put all things under his feet". So what message do we take home? 1) The message of the Ascension is indeed about the Church in its mission today; 2) Pope John Paul II years ago cautioned us before making our pastoral plans to wait in Jerusalem; to reflect prayerfully before the face of Christ; 3) Only through prayer and contemplation as it were in Jerusalem where Jesus accomplished his mission, are we ready to listen to what God wants us to do in accordance with His divine plan of salvation. Think about it.

©2012 John S. Mbinda

Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B

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Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B

Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 30, 35, 44-48; 1Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15:9-17

Happy Mothers’ Day! As we celebrate Mothers’ Day this weekend, the readings helps us to focus attention on God's universal love, expressed in Jesus Christ as our model for loving others as God has loved us. But for a moment let us focus on what a mother has in common with God. A mother goes long ways to ensure the security of her children and in fact even to risk her own life to save her children. There is a true story of a mom who was walking with her two-year-old daughter, when she suddenly made a quick decision to cross the train tracks, even after the warning bars had descended and the lights were flashing. Suddenly, the stroller was stuck and in her panic managed to push her daughter free, but she could not free herself and was hit by the train and died instantly.

On this Mothers’ Day, there could be no better words than those of Jesus in the Gospel that invite us to love one another. The focus is on our relationship to others in the same way that God in Christ relates to us. "As the Father loves me, so I also love you.” Just as a mother’s love is not about a feeling, but real love, so too God loves us with real love, and asks us to extend that same love to others. The mom in the story risked her life to the point of death. God in Christ does the same for us in Christ who risks His life to save us from our sins. When Jesus commands us to “love one another, as I have loved you", He challenges us to be prepared even to die for others. We are invited here to reflect on the example of Christ who has loved us to the point of suffering and death on the cross for us. The ultimate expression of Jesus' love for us is the cross - the "greater love" which emanates from the Father. "Greater love than this no one has". For a mother to love her child is natural. To love others as Jesus did is indeed a far greater challenge for us. Jesus loves all without exception, without discrimination, without preference. He loves all to the point of death, death on the cross. To love others to the point of death is to be prepared to risk one's life for others; to give up one’s comfort for the sake of others; to detach oneself, and in all humility to empty oneself of pride, so we may become totally for others. This example of Jesus leads us to die to self so that others may have life in its fullness. So what message do we take home this Sunday? 1) The readings challenge us to love all people without exception just as Jesus does; 2) Like the mom in the story, we too must be prepared to lay down our lives; to risk for others; to speak on behalf of the poor; on behalf of those debt burdened, even when that might mean risking our lives, out of a greater love for others. 3) The only way we know that we remain in the love of Jesus is by loving others as Jesus has loved us to the point of dying on the cross for us. Think about it!

©2012 John S. Mbinda

Fifth Sunday of Easter Year B

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Fifth Sunday of Easter Year B

Readings: Acts 9:26-31; 1 John 3:18-24; John 15:1-18

The vine, the branches, remaining in Jesus, bearing much fruit and being pruned, are some of the phrases that help us to focus on the central message of this Sunday. Last Sunday, Jesus presented himself to us as a shepherd who stretches his arms gathering the sheep into one flock under one shepherd. This Sunday Jesus in the parable of the vine and the branches he describes our relationship with him using the image of a vine and its branches: we are the branches; he is the vine. This is truly an extraordinary image and very true to life. As long as we remain connected to Jesus, we will develop and produce something of great value. If we separate ourselves from Christ, we will wither and die. In the second reading, from the first Letter of John we learn three ways by which we remain in communion with God: 1) by doing what pleases God; 2) by living out our faith in Jesus Christ; 3) by loving one another just as Jesus has commanded us. Voicing our faith in Jesus particularly for those of us who are clergy and religious is not enough. Our words must be backed up by action; by the way we live and relate with our parishioners; a life that shows that we are indeed connected to Jesus Christ.

The Gospel continues the theme started in the Second reading of being in union with God. Jesus presents to us a most profound reflection on the spirituality of discipleship in the parable of the vine and its branches. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit". The image of the vine and the branches is very appropriate for this theme. The message is straight forward. If we are to bear any fruit, we must remain intimately connected to the vine, Jesus Christ. "Whoever remains in me, and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing". John the Evangelist likens spiritual growth to the growth of a vine branch. It cannot bear fruit by itself. It must remain part of the vine. We too must remain in Christ in order to bear any fruit. We must maintain an intimate relationship with Christ. The passage also offers us some practical suggestions. "Every one that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it bears more fruit". In other words, we must let ourselves be pruned constantly, that is, shaped after the example of Christ, if we are to grow spiritually. The image of pruning is quite powerful. To let ourselves be pruned by the vine grower (the Father), car­ries with it the idea of purification, cleansing and transformation; It carries the idea of being renewed.  The biggest obstacle to our spiritual growth is basically ourselves. It is by letting go the self and in submitting our­selves to the Father to be pruned; to be shaped; to be transformed, that we become profoundly connected to Jesus Christ and thereby become spiritually more fruitful. So what message do we take home this Sunday? 1) Jesus wants us to remain intimately connected to him, so that we may produce much fruit; 2) Jesus also wants us to be pruned; to be transformed into his likeness so that we may produce even more fruit for his kingdom; 3) Just as a newly born baby is totally dependent on the mother, we too are like a baby are very dependent on Christ for our spiritual survival, growth and maturity. 

©2012 John S. Mbinda