Trinity Sunday, May 30th, 2021
The Gospel appointed for Trinity Sunday comes to us from the Third Chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew. In this chapter we find ourselves witness to the discussion between Nicodemus and Our Blessed Saviour. In this conversation, Our Lord is telling Nicodemus that he must be born again. Nicodemus is confused by this expression and asks how can someone be born again. Our Lord explains: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. " Of course, Our Lord was differentiating between physical birth and spiritual birth. One can not be physically born a second time. It only happens the one time and cannot be repeated. But in a spiritual sense, yes, we can certainly be born again when we give our lives over to God and dedicate our lives to him.
Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again. But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider. Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives. For example, we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home. When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation. We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities, etc. We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time: worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc. The list goes on and on. As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.
But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak. In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home. It doesn't work that way. A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . . a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . . or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic. You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church. They act very Christian when they go to church. They dress up. And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung. And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon. But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives. Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. .. 365 days a year. This proves to be very difficult sometimes. But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. . 365 days a year . . . when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk. As Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must be born again . . .
Of course, when Our Lord stated that "flesh is flesh" and "Spirit is spirit," He was referring to the example of being born again. But this does point out something very important for us Christians to consider. Very often in our lives, we can differentiate between the various sections of our lives. For example, we differentiate between the time spent where we work and the time spent at home. When I am at work, I focus on my job responsibilities but when I am at home I focus on things I do there, such as chores or projects or even relaxation. We dedicate certain portions of our time to volunteer activities, home activities, family activities, church activities, etc. We can divide our time and we can wear "different hats" to signify who we are at the time: worker; home owner; parent; child; spouse; neighbor; volunteer; etc. The list goes on and on. As we live life on a daily basis we play different "roles" based on what we are doing at that particular moment.
But when it comes to being a Christian, our life can not be "chopped up into sections," so to speak. In other words, we can not say that we are a Christian when we go to church but not a Christian when we are at home. It doesn't work that way. A true, committed Christian needs to be just that . . . a true, committed Christian 24 hours a day, whether he/she is at church . . . or at home . . . or at work . . . or at the grocery . . . or even driving in traffic. You see, there are so many people who actually do act one way while in church and another way when they leave church. They act very Christian when they go to church. They dress up. And they sing loudly when the hymns are sung. And they say "Amen" even louder when the preacher gives his sermon. But then as soon as church is over, they take off their "Christian hat" and put it away until next Sunday and they live completely different lives. Being a Christian means being a Christian 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. .. 365 days a year. This proves to be very difficult sometimes. But when we come to the realization that God walks with us 24 hours a day . . . 7 days a week .. . 365 days a year . . . when we realize that, it should make it easier for us to join Him in that walk. As Our Lord said to Nicodemus, you must be born again . . .
PLEASE NOTE: St. Margaret Church will NOT meet on Sunday, May 30th, 2021 but mark your calendars because we will meet NEXT SUNDAY, June 6th, 2021 at 10:30 am!!!
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