1st Sunday After Pentecost
Year C
Most Holy Trinity
June 3, 2007
Reflections on the Readings by Dennis Hankins
Theme: The Amazing Grace of God
This Grace in which we stand!
Before the earth, when there were no depths, no mountains in place, no springs of water, or before there was a clump of dirt, Grace was poured forth. This is confirmed for us in the Book of Revelation where we see a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This Grace, in which we stand, is through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit and unto the Father almighty may there be glory and honor, forever and ever. Amen.
To say we are in Christ, is to say we are in Grace. May we never cease growing in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. St. Peter actually describes our reception of grace as a partaking of the divine nature.
In Baptism, we 'put on Christ.' Here the old passes away and a new man is created in Christ Jesus. It is here we enter into a new family. By virtue of Baptism, we have fellowship in the Most Holy Trinity for we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As a result of Baptism we are made members of His Body, the Church. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand,
A daily way in which we may share in the divine nature is through the receiving of the body and blood of our Lord. Let us remember it is the Spirit that comes upon the gifts of wine and bread to make them holy. This is so they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Is this not Grace that is greater than our sins? Indeed, for this is Jesus who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven through the virginal womb of Mary.
Jesus reminds us that the Spirit of Truth will guide us to all truth. Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, the Holy Spirit will teach us the width and breadth and length of the love of God incarnated in Jesus Christ. It is the love of God that has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-- not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
O the magnitude and majesty of the Grace in which we stand! We, who had no standing before God are now clothed in the righteousness of Him who is the Father's eternal delight and the Holy Spirit's constant affection. Like Mary, we proclaim, my soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. He who is might has done for great things and holy is his name.
Come, Holy Spirit and enkindle in us the fire of your love!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, May I ever grow in who you are; in the amazing Grace you became for me. Keep far from me coldness of heart. Help me to not be afraid but ever grow more affectionate of your friendship and majesty. Allow me to ponder in my heart as Mary did in hers, the mystery of the three in One and the One in three and the One in the middle who died for me. Amen.
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