Trinity 1 – Love Changes Us

1 St John4:7-end       St Luke 16:19-end

 

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

 

In one of his biographies, we learn that the reformer William Tyndale faced various challenges while translating the Bible from Latin to English. The Church and political leaders of that time were very reluctant to allow the Bible to be translated into a language that reflected the ordinary lives of the people.  Tyndale fled England but was eventually captured in Belgium and put to death by fire. He cried out this prayer while in the flames, “May God change King Henry’s heart” – and God did a few years later, when Henry VIII allowed for the first time an English translation of the Bible, largely based on Tyndale’s translation.

Change in life can be difficult, as it often involves leaving our routines and facing the unknown. Parents who have gone through empty nest syndrome truly understand its challenges and emotional impact.

The transition from the high periods of Ascension and Pentecost to the Trinity season marks a shift from the extraordinary to the ordinary. The call of the angels during Jesus' Ascension highlights this change. Acts 1:10 reads, “While they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?’”(cf. (Acts 1:10-11a).  After contemplating heavenly matters and reflecting on the post-Easter moments filled with beautiful and ecstatic visions of God, we are now called to focus on earthly things first. We are urged to "go down to the plains and become… witnesses until the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The shift from the extraordinary to the ordinary can be challenging and painful. It is about growing in virtues in our common routine. This requires honesty about ourselves and recognizing where we need God's grace; stepping out of our comfort zones, embracing the vulnerabilities of others and being open to potential emotional pain, anxiety and uncommonness. Making that shift can also mean accepting our resistance, our sins, leaving our “upper rooms” and embracing others' ordinary vulnerabilities. For some, it may involve reducing social media time to cultivate genuine friendships and connections. This is a significant challenge, isn't it?

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Today’s liturgy presents two examples of how we can make that shift in our lives: St. Alban, whom the Church of England remembers today; and the rich man, who missed the chance to witness God’s love and grow in love, mercy and compassion.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,  God’s love is profound. God shared with us His divine love through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus embraced the cross with its vulnerability and without fear.  As stated in today’s Epistle, “Whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Sometimes, we hesitate to love fully due to the vulnerability it brings.

So first, St. Alban, the first British martyr that we know of (c. 250 AD), emulated and practiced God’s love in his life in a world where faith could mean death.  Originally a Roman soldier, he converted to Christianity and was martyred because he chose to protect a fugitive priest, Amphibalus, by wearing his priestly garments and pretending to be him, while Amphibalus slipped away.  Alban was then beheaded by the Roman authorities in place of Amphibalus.  His Christian Faith required him to emulate in his way the vulnerability of the cross in trusting the priest.  Indeed, there is no love without vulnerability, and the greatest love is to lay down our lives for others (cf. John 15:13).

And second, who are we to judge those blessed with wealth and prosperity? Remember, poverty does not equate to holiness either. Salvation is above all a personal experience with Christ.  In today’s Gospel, we meet a rich man who failed to fulfil God’s purpose for his life. He neglected the command to love his neighbour and failed to cooperate with Heaven.

Does the painful imagery in the Gospel reflect the emotional challenges of opening ourselves to love?

Does it echo the transformative process of purgation—a spiritual change that brings us closer to God, as described by St. John of the Cross in "The Dark Night of the Soul"?

Has the rich man missed the inward movement towards virtue operated by the Holy Spirit?

This text does not explicitly explore the rich man's inner spiritual state. Instead, it highlights how outward actions can prevent us from cooperating with heaven.  It emphasizes how the rich man went astray by neglecting Lazarus and how the rich man outwardly failed to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit that God had instilled within him.

Clothed in purple and fine linen—materials associated with royalty and high priesthood—the rich man prioritized his physical appearance and his lavish lifestyle. He was consumed by self-love, chasing after the desires of the natural man and indulging in pleasures that ultimately hardened his heart instead of practicing charity or mercy (cf. Isaac Williams).

Instead of embracing the spirit of Lent by helping those in need, he indulged in lavish feasts. Rather than wearing the garments of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (cf. Colossians 3:12), he adopted an extravagant lifestyle that conformed to worldly norms.  “Rend your heart, and not your garments” (cf. Joel 2:13).

Instead of directing his praise to God, the source of all that we have, he acted as though he were the ultimate landlord, viewing himself as a steward of his wealth. His god was money, and partying became his religion. “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven..” (Saint Mathew 6:20).

Lazarus, covered in sores, sought help. The rich man neglected to attend to Lazarus’ wounds—the wounds of Jesus. “Heal one of my wounds” to use the inspirational words of Sr Helena, from Tanzania. 

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We recognize that embracing the journey of love is essential for our personal healing, even though it can be challenging. We are certain that the one who has placed this gift in our hearts will fulfil His promise.

Love is powerful; it brings deeper healing and aligns us with heaven. As Saint Paul asserts, "...love covers a multitude of sins." Let us boldly reflect on God’s love flowing through us into the world. "Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, No eyes, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassionately upon this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.” (cf. Teresa of Ávila).

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Vade mecum (here meaning join me).  Join me in seeking God to understand the brevity of our lives. What does the Bible say about life expectancy?

The wise and just man in Psalm 90:10-12 states: "The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength, eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away… So teach [me] to number [my] days that [I] may gain a heart of wisdom."  We ask to God for the ability not to wait for a significant life event, a crisis, or even a sudden death that might disrupt communication between God and us. We  want to remain open to the "year of favour" (cf. Luke 4:9).  No need to wait until the end when intercessory prayers are no longer possible. The rich man pleaded for mercy in his final prayer, asking for Lazarus to be sent to warn his relatives. But it was too late.

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Join me in a contemplation seeking to attain the love of God during this week.

God’s love is not something we can earn through our actions. Instead, we can somehow become aware of the gracious and abundant love of God and respond with love, thanksgiving, generosity, and freedom throughout the week.

I feel uplifted to bring to life and actualise this contemplation to attain the love of God, a widely practiced Ignatian prayer method we used for a while when I was in the noviciate, preparing for ordination to be a priest.  It is an on-going fourth-fold meditative prayer during the day, and I believe it can profoundly enhance spiritual growth.

In the morning, I reflect on how God created me out of love and the gifts I’ve received from Him. I recall moments when I felt loved by my parents, friends, my wife, and daughters. I remember the times when I was able to love in return. Ignatius suggests proceeding by responding to that love and ending this part with the  "Suscipe" :

“Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will.

All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will.

Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more”.

In the middle of the day, I take time to meditate on God’s gifts to me and focus on what God has already accomplished in my life, using “the fullness of divine life in Jesus” as the variable. I contemplate the moments of joy and happiness I have experienced, which come from the originator of life.

I recall my Baptism as well as the various gifts and talents I have received from God. I reflect on the moments when I've experienced a new birth in my life: These joyful moments echo my new birth in Christ, moments of illumination and transformation into new life in Christ.

In the evening,  I pay attention to how God tirelessly labours in the world  and within me, with a simple formula: God and me, Me and God, tomorrow together. I focus on the moments when God kind of re-creates me, gives new life to my weary bones.

Before I sleep, I try to bring all these previous ideas together and reflect on how everything comes from God: —mercy, justice, love—come from God, like rays from the sun or water from a fountain. Everything is a gift—Yes, everything that concurs to our spiritual wellbeing and our salvation is indeed a gift (cf. Marina Berzins McCoy).

The mystery we celebrate here today, the spiritual remembrance of what Jesus did for us once and all, encourages gratitude towards God, the source of love, and helps us notice how the Spirit works in us, in others, and in all creation.

It helps us cultivate an inner communion with Christ through a conversion of heart so that we may truly be His hands, His feet, His eyes, His body for the rest of the world.

May Jesus Himself help us to become what we celebrate and share in the Spirit.

Amen +