Sunday, May 30, 2010

Oil and Water

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Year C
Proverbs 8.22-31 Psalm 8 Romans 5.1-5 John 16.12-15

The tragedy of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has dominated news reports over the past month. We still don’t know the full extent of the environmental and economic impact of this disaster, but we do know that it is one of the worst disasters in the history of our country. People are angry and frustrated at the slow speed of the clean-up efforts, and rightly so. The long-term effect on seafood, coastlines, marshes, and the ocean itself is not yet known. But one of the few things we do know is that the reason oil spills like this have such devastating effects is because of a very basic scientific fact – oil and water don’t mix.

The relationship between the three persons of the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – is an organic relationship; it is a relationship based on love. There is no division among these three persons – they are all one God. But when human beings enter the picture of the universe, things are different. It’s something like the combination of oil and water. Even though each of us human beings is created in God’s image and likeness, we go through most of our lives separated from God’s love. We let our emotions drive us – we become ruled by fear or anger or lust or greed. Our pride turns our gaze inward, so that we are always trying to make our own lives more comfortable or more fulfilling. We make decisions based on what makes us feel good. The more we succumb to selfishness or the need for emotional satisfaction, the more our relationship with God becomes like oil and water – we just don’t mix. If we’re so focused on ourselves, then it is impossible for us to welcome the love of God into our lives. God’s love – the love of the Trinity – is always there, but unless we break down the barriers that separate us, then we’re living on the surface, without much depth or substance. And a life separated from God has consequences that far eclipse even the most massive oil spill you can imagine.

But there is one major difference in this analogy. Oil and water will never mix – that’s a scientific fact. But we human beings can change our habits, our actions, and our attitudes so that God does become a major part of our lives. If the Trinity is based on love, then the way to open our hearts and souls to God is to learn how to love; to learn how to think first of others before we think of ourselves; to learn how to use wisely the gifts we have been given. And the good news is that God takes the first step in this learning process. He has already poured his love into our hearts – starting when we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God continues to pour his love into our hearts when we celebrate the sacraments, when we spend time in prayer, when we grow in our faith, and when we serve one another. Because in our very nature, we’re really not like oil and water – there is a connection between us and God – there is a part of God that always lives within us. Any separation that exists is man-made. And just like the unity of the three persons of the Trinity, God wants us to be one with him – in the water of rebirth, in the oil of anointing, in the Body and Blood of Christ, broken and poured out. So which will it be – oil and water, or united in the love of the Trinity?

No comments: