Trinity Sunday 2006 Fr Alan
It might seem perverse to start a Trinity Sunday homily by mentioning Marriage, but in fact marriage is an appropriate place to start.
Marriage exists because men and women are different. But they are not merely differing, they are complementary. The Creation stories we tell enshrine the deepest truth about human life: that it is not about individual fulfilment but about being fulfilled together: In the image of God he created Man. Male and female he created them.
So in the Bible, "Man" is defined not as "man," that is, as solely the male. "Man" is defined as both male and female. They shall become one flesh. Married love and sexual love in marriage, is the sacramental expression of this complementary unity.
God created Man to desire that state of communion and to be fulfilled within it. In this, marriage reflects most deeply of all sacraments, the mystery of communion that is the Holy Trinity: A threefold being of persons, a oneness of God.
Men and women come together because they need each other in every way. Indeed, that is the template for all kinds of human relationships, because Marriage is not the only way humans relate to one another. However, any love, any relationship that is based merely on need can only be the first rung of the ladder.
The being-in-communion of God as Father, Son and Spirit is not about their need for each other, because as God they are perfectly fulfilled. It is about love as gift to each other, the freely chosen surrender of those who have no need to surrender, but who do so out of love. That's why we speak of three persons equal, the Father as the Fountain of holiness, the Son as the Only Begotten of holiness, the Spirit who proceeds from the Father and is gifted by the Son.
Jesus' words at the institution of the most holy Eucharist have an echo of the Trinity's self giving, and they should also find an echo in Marriage and in every human relationship: This is my Body, my Blood: given for you, poured out for all.
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