‘Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I
have commanded you. ’ (Matt
28:19-20)
Year A: Trinity Sunday (7th June, 2020)
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
SERMON NOTES (733 words)
We have all known the long
loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. —Dorothy Day
We are at a turning point in the liturgical year. The earthly life, ministry, death and
resurrection has happened in time. In a certain sense the job is done. Now it
is over to the disciples and those who would come to know the truth that is in
God through their witness and teaching. We, too, are called to be close to that
great ‘cloud of witnesses’ in heaven (Hebrews
12:1). But, first, we must embrace, again, this journey on earth. We are
invited to go out and to proclaim the love of God revealed in the intimacy,
beauty and mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Intimacy
The image of the Blessed Trinity implicit in the famous icon
of the 15th century Russian artist, Andrei Rublev, reminds us that
there is an intimacy and harmony in the Blessed Trinity. Taken from the story
of how three angels who visited Sarah and Abraham (Genesis
18:1-8), we catch a glimpse of how the three-in-one and the one in
three-ness of the visitors mirrors the communion that is God – one in three
persons. You can’t look at any one of the persons without being directed to the
others. A circle is formed as love moves from one to the other in a perpetual
circle. There are subtle hints of sacrifice, cup and table in this picture of
the Trinity.
Beauty
Beauty is revealed in the tenderness with which each angel
looks compassionately to the other. It is significant that this compassion
extends to Sarah who is to have a son.
Abraham and Sarah entertained angels as a result of which a new life opened
up for them.
Mystery
The truth of the Trinity is contained in the scriptures. Yet,
it is, somehow, covered over and hidden; it is almost impenetrable. The icon of Rublev was covered, by order of
the suitably named Ivan the Terrible to be covered in gold ‘riza’. The
underlying icon never disappeared and it was recovered when the gold covering
was removed in 1904 and the painting restored to its former glory. Somehow, the
icon survived many calamitous periods in Russian history from the Bolshevik
revolution to World Wars.
How does the intimacy, beauty and mystery of the Trinity
which we celebrate this Sunday speak to us in the 21st century? I
suggest that it speaks powerfully to us of the radical one-ness and equality of
persons in the heart of God. At the same time, it reveals the diversity of
persons in the unity. They are one but not the same. So it is with communion in the many families
and communities that make up the church today. The mystery opens up to us a
picture of a God who is intimately bound up with humanity in all its yearning
and need. It invites us to join in the conversation of love that we see in the
fruits of the Holy Spirit in our world today
The Holy Spirit is moving in all sorts of surprising ways
before our eyes if we only opened them; and The Father is ever finding new ways
to reach out to all of his children everywhere. Jesus tells us in this passage
that he will be with us always.
Our task is to be open to the fullness of human life that
the Holy Spirit gives us. From that life and light we can become candles in the
darkness for others. This is our commission – rooted as it is in the gospel
sacrament of baptism for all God’s children and the teaching of the Word that
sets us free and the care for one another that must be the hallmark of a living
and not a dying church. We are invited
to bless this world not in three names but one – the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. This name is love (1
John 4:8).
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
True freedom of conscience and expression in society…..
Those suffering the effects of racism, sectarianism, war and
terror…
The people of the United States of America at this time …
The communities in which we live and work…may we extend a
genuine and warm welcome to those who seek truth and love….
The Christian churches … that we may hold to the true faith
of Christ and the gifts of the Holy Spirit entrusted to us…
One another….
Other named persons ….
Remembering with thanks those who have gone before us….
… praying in silence….
Loving God gather up our prayers – those spoken and
those unspoken in the depths of our hearts.
