Trinity Sunday
Isaiah 40.12–17, 27–end 2 Corinthians 13.11–end Matthew 28.16–end
In preparation for today Priests and Readers, indeed anyone who is tasked with preparing a sermon for Trinity Sunday has been hard at work looking at how to bring the concept of the Trinity into something that can be understood.
Today I would like to look at the Trinity as a companion. Beginning with Almighty God. Can we ever get to the position of fully understanding God. God is our Creator, all that we have is given to us by him. He is a father figure, our Heavenly Father. He provides for our needs. All about us is given to us through him. From the minerals that go into making the cups and plates that we use for our meals, to the machinery which digs out the clay, forms the pots, bakes the clay and transports the finished article to our shops and ultimately to our table, all of these and so much more are given to us by God. Fashioning the ores to make the metals which we use to make machinery and vehicles, all of this is provided by our Creator God.
The list can go on for ages when we include animals, birds and fish. Now we have our food and wool to make cloth. Also, what we have seen so little of recently, water. All about us we see how God is at work. Yesterday, today and tomorrow God is there, our companion.
Now I move to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is alright us having all that God the Father has created but we do need to know how to progress with all of this bounty. This is where Jesus comes into the Trinity. Some five months ago we all rejoiced in his birth at Christmas. We remember this yearly with gifts, with decorated trees, with tinsel which seems to get everywhere, by singing carols and re-enacting the scene in the manger.
During his life with us here on earth Jesus taught us about the heavenly kingdom and about God his Father. He told us of the truth, of how we should love God, not just a passing love but a deeply felt love. Our neighbours do not escape this attention either. We are to love them, also a deep love, just as we love ourselves. This is The Way. In this we are shown the true life. It is like having a map before us. There are roads going here, there and everywhere. Which ones should we choose to reach our destination. Are the ones marked in blue better than those marked in red? To know which is best we rely on someone to lead us on our way.
Now we are on the correct path we can settle down to know the life set before us. Jesus has gone on before us. His journey ended on the Cross. It was whilst he was on the Cross that he forgave us all of our sins. If we truly are sorry and repent, then our sins will be forgiven. Jesus remains with us as our guide and companion in another sense.
We now move to the Holy Spirit. Fans of the Dandy comic will be familiar with the exploits of Popeye the Sailor Man. He would get involved in all sorts of scrapes and situations. However, when he needed a burst of energy he would dive into his pocket and pull out a can of spinach. Flipping it open he would down the contents and immediately be filled with strength that would enable him to handle whatever problem faced him. In some way the Holy Spirit can be likened to the spinach in this sense. It is something that can be called upon to provide a means to achieving an end, more often by ensuring that we remain on the correct path.
But the Holy Spirit is more than a quick energy burst. The Holy Spirit works in our life. It enables us to use the gifts that have been given to us to the best of our ability. At our Baptism we received the gift of the Holy Spirit. What that gift was we may not know. We may find that we are especially good at artwork. Music may be our talent or languages. Which gift we have is given to us to help others. The help may be in any number of ways. Regardless the gift of the Holy Spirit is our companion.
Now bringing these three ‘companions’ together we have the Holy Trinity. God, as our companion, is there in all three ways. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Collect for Trinity Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God,
you have given us your servants grace,
by the confession of a true faith,
to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity
and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:
keep us steadfast in this faith,
that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.