Many threads in the lessons for today, and even the prayers special for Trinity Sunday. Then again, Trinity Sunday is about the Trinity, which is a subject of much debate among some of the best theologians and scholars!

The difficulty is illustrated by a visit to Jesus by Nicodemus, someone important among the religious establishment who somehow felt he needed to sneak to meet Jesus. Many of Nicodemus' questions of Jesus are similar to what ours would be. And Jesus responds that Nicodemus needs to understand more!

And don't we all?

Listen closely, because a major secret appears to be hiding in plain sight in the readings for this special day! Look carefully, for something that we waited for has always been here, something that many folks wait for we have, and what we’re been waiting to be told is waiting for our ears!

From the point of view of accomplishing the mission which Jesus had in mind, this is right up there with Christmas and Easter, and some folks just don't get it! Or worse, the abuse or misuse it. Let’s see what we can do with it!

This one is personal for me! The lesson in today’s Gospel reading is something that I take personally because of what I've been through, including in the last several months. I've been so blessed that during a recent trying experience, nobody tried to say anything about "God's will". They would not have liked my response. And, God is not like that.

This is some truth which we need to nurture and claim! It's there for us, and God wants us to have it! Look and see!

One of the greatest challenges we will ever face is described in this Sunday's Gospel reading. It indeed is a challenge which faces us this very day.

Surely there has to be a way for us to find the teaching alluded to in this reading. Are we up to the challenge to find it?

Doing this Mass gave the celebrant a lesson in humility. I'm not going to share what and if you see it, please I already know.

One of the main lessons from the readings is the importance of being a model citizen. Of course, obedience to law depends on the wisdom of the law. Folks who abuse scripture might use this as reason why Rosa Parks should have willingly given up her seat on the bus to a white man instead of creating the incident which sparked the bus boycott credited with starting the Civil Rights Movement. Nevertheless, trying to be a good citizen means that the haters and gossips have less to lie about.

Here is an eye-opening pair of readings! The Epistle (attributed St Peter) refers to Jesus as Shepherd and Bishop. Since all apostolic lineage traces to St Peter, that says something because St Peter would be the most likely mortal to be referred to as shepherd and Bishop.

Then the Gospel tells of the difference between a shepherd and the hireling who might watch sheep when the shepherd can't. And then, also, the statement that he has sheep not of that fold, and they know his voice. And there are all kinds of implications there.

A good time to re-examine what we think we know!

Today, we have the Gospel story of Jesus' first encounter with the Disciples after his resurrection, and an Epistle reading that complements that story quite well. The Disciples were doubtless wondering what they were to do next, and they are given the answer as well as being equipped to fulfill that.

And there is a time to start doing, isn't there?

I'm inviting you to look at the whole story from another angle. In the Gospel today, we have the Good Friday story that takes you from Jesus' arrest through his death. The story is familiar to all but a very few. But there is another angle to the story.

Can you imagine the investment The Divine had to make in all of this, in order to bring it off? And imagine having to leave a nice place like Heaven to dwell among people like us, and then having to die an infamously painful and humiliating death!

Just how much did The Divine invest in bringing this off?

People have always had a hard time dealing with anything that does not fit their preconceived notions. Why would the entrenched religious establishment of Jesus' time be any different?

That's especially true because Jesus was the one they had been waiting for for centuries. All of the prophecies pointed to him. The one problem was that he didn't match with the preconceived notions of the religious establishment in charge of Judaism and the Temple at that time.

And the result is a nasty encounter.

All that, and Holy Eucharist too!

We hear the story of the three temptations Jesus faced in the desert, but how often have you taken a real look at them. This was an eye-opener for me.

Each one of his temptations is of the same nature as a temptation most of us could face at some time in or lives. The challenge is to recognize it and face it! And some forms of these temptations can be really appealing.

We all face temptations. The question is what we do with them.