An Enthusiasm for the Divine
The Most Holy Trinity
Deuteronomy 4:32–34, 39–40 / Psalm 33:12b / Romans 8:14–17 / Matthew 28:16–20
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Reflecting on the Word
By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.
To be enthusiastic literally means to be “in God” (from the Greek: en + theos). A true enthusiast can make you either want to run away or come closer. Listen to the enthusiasm in today’s readings.
Moses is bursting with enthusiasm for what the Lord God has done for this once enslaved community. Hear the feeling in his words: “Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God . . . did any god venture to go and make a nation for himself?” And he wants to pull them into his enthusiasm: “That is why you must now know and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God . . . You must keep his statutes . . . ”
And we hear it in Paul’s words about the Spirit: “Those led by the Spirit are [children] of God . . . [and] you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ ” We are children of God and heirs with Christ—if we are willing to suffer with him, so as to be glorified with him. Enter his wonder at what God’s gift of the Spirit means for us.
The risen Christ reunites in Galilee with his disciples on a mountain, just as he did early in Matthew’s Gospel when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. His work completed, ours begins. Catch the excitement in his words: “All power in heaven and earth has been given to me.” Then, he urges: “Go, make disciples . . . baptizing them . . . teaching them . . . and [know] I am with you always.”
Consider/Discuss
- When have you felt an enthusiasm that lifted you out of yourself, out of feeling blah or “down”?
- Can this mystery of God as Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit enter more deeply into your life and affect your attitude as you begin the day, be with you as you go through it, and be part of your thoughts before sleep?
Responding to the Word
God who is Father and Son and Spirit, draw me closer into the mystery of your abiding presence in the world and in my life. Help me know the love that has been with me from the first moment of my life, and will remain until I reach my final destiny in you.