How can one God, be three persons?
Well, many theologians over the years, have gone into great depth to try to explain the ‘mystery’ of the Trinity. St. Augustine is a prime example. Many a priest and deacon, have spent considerably longer, preparing their homily for Trinity Sunday, because the Church’s doctrine on the Trinity is so complex.
It had been a busy few weeks. A long sea journey from Perga (that's in Pamphylia) down the coast to Jaffa and then the inland trek to Jerusalem. I had always wanted to visit, to see the Temple and, to be honest, make a bit of money. For a trader like me the crossroads between North and South, East and West that is JerusalEm offers many, many opportunities to make a profit.
One way to understand this weekend’s readings is to see them as extracts from a single story that’s being told out of sequence. We hear the Gospel last, but it’s actually the first part of the story. Jesus speaks prophetically to his disciples about how the Kingdom of God is going to emerge after he ascends to the Father.
In today’s gospel we see Jesus in prayer with his disciples at the Last Supper. The prayer he prays is sometimes referred to as Jesus’ Last Will and Testament as he outlines the provisions he has made for his disciples on the eve of his death.
Today we hear Christ’s final message to his disciples. He gives them (and us) a commandment which he says is new – that we must love one another. We might ask is this really new? Didn’t the Old Testament command us to love our neighbour as ourself?
