Trinity Sunday

Tomorrow is what Catholics call Trinity Sunday. This feast celebrates the relationship that is God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Here’s my homily:

Trinity College in Dublin is an old and famous university. One of its particular claims to fame is to be found in the Old Library building of the university, where an ancient famous book is reverently housed. The Book of Kells is an 8th century manuscript of the four gospels, written in Latin on vellum, or calfskin, and illuminated throughout with the most beautiful and colourful images and pictures. It’s an exquisite masterpiece, each page a work of art in itself.

In the days before printing, it was the laborious work of copying by hand which produced books, which held the knowledge that was passed down from generation to generation. In the monasteries of medieval times, the work of writing out the scriptures by hand was a labour of love, since all of life was dedicated to the service of the word of God. The gospels, especially, would have received great care and reverent handling in their production, and of all the scriptures that were copied, the pages that reproduced the gospel story would be given every expression of art and beauty. Such a work is the Book of Kells.

This masterpiece of reverential beauty is a direct echo of the words spoken by Moses to his people on their way to the Promised Land. Was there ever a more beautiful message in the whole history of the world, from the days of Adam until now? What message could match the word of God that was given to the chosen people?

The Jews hold their scriptures in great reverence. They’re full of the stories of salvation and of the wisdom of God. How blessed are the people who hear the word of God and treasure it in their hearts. The fullness of that blessing has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ. When the apostles gathered with Jesus on the mountain after his resurrection, he told them to go and to share that blessing with the world. Teach the world “all the commands I gave you.” This instruction was carried out first in the missionary journeys that the apostles made, in their preaching and founding of new churches. Then the time came to preserve and pass on the word of God to the next generation, and so the gospels were put down in writing, the gospels we have today.

But it isn’t only the written scrolls and printed books or beautiful manuscripts that pass on the word of God; it is the living body of believers, who in every generation, make up the church. That body of believers lives and breathes by the Holy Spirit that has been given to it. That Spirit makes our lives something beautiful, a work of art even. That Spirit enables us to say “Abba, Father”, and anyone who is able to pray like that does so because they have been given the grace to live as children of God, and so to treat others as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

The work of making a manuscript, such as the Book of Kells, was a daily task. Each day the monks would sit at their writing desks in the scriptorium, or library, and would carefully copy the sacred words onto a new, blank page. The beautiful script would be adorned with colourful images that would today draw the eye onto the page to ingest the sacred text.

In the very same way Christians are called each day to the task of writing a new page in their own lives as part of the great story of the world. Each day, like a blank, new page of vellum, waits to receive the mark and the imprint that we will put upon it. With God’s help, with the Holy Spirit within us, we can write well. We are able to create something of beauty to adorn the pages of our lives, something that will draw the eye of others to see in us a glimpse of the kindness and the love of God.

The Book of Kells has survived for a thousand years and more. Its creation gave joy not only to those who composed it, but also to millions ever since who have seen it. The same is true of a human life lived well. The message rings out loud and clear from a true disciple of Christ. We are God’s work of art, God’s masterpiece. God loves us.