Trinity Sunday
God the Father forgives us in Christ and heals us by the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore put
away all anger and bitterness, all slander and malice, and confess our sins to God our
redeemer.
Father, you come to meet us when we return to you:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, you died on the cross for our sins:
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Spirit, you give us life and peace:
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
May the God of love and power
Forgive you and free you from your sins
Heal and strengthen you by his Spirit
And raise you to new life in Christ our Lord Amen
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 forever.
Amen.
St. Matthew 28 v16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to
them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And
remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age
At the beginning of Jesus Ministry he went down to the Jordan river, where he was baptised
and Matthew tells us that “the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended upon Him
and a voice from heaven said,” this is my Son, the Beloved.”
In the final chapter of Matthew’s narrative this beloved Son, appears to his disciples and
commissions them before He ascends back to heaven and his physical presence was replaced
by the Holy Spirit which descended on the disciples not like a dove but as tongues of fire.
Today we celebrate the Holy Trinity.
God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three in one and one in three
Scholars down the centuries have tried to explain the mystery which is the Trinity.
St Augustine said of the Trinity "If you deny the trinity you lose your soul, if your try to
explain the trinity you shall lose your mind"
We are perhaps more easily able to understand the Trinity in terms of relationship. The
Father sent the Son to bring us back into a right relationship with Him and when the Son
returned to the Father he sent the Spirit to dwell in our hearts that we might have God’s
presence with us to help and sustain us, so by His grace, enabling us to be God’s presence in
the world and to draw others into the circle of God’s love.
Before his death and resurrection, the disciples had received directly from Jesus a new
commandment to love one another, and now in the context of his final resurrection
appearance Jesus gives them instructions for the way ahead.
In that final discourse Jesus did three things, He assured them of his power, He gave them
His commission and He promised them his presence.
That empowering through the coming of the Holy Spirit transformed and enabled those
frightened disciples to spread the Good News throughout the known world and beyond.
With Jesus return to his rightful place with the Father his followers had to move forward and
accept that things were going to be different. They had to look ahead to new situations and
outwards to different cultures and peoples. There was certainly a bit of risk taking involved
and it would undoubtedly have taken them out of their comfort zone. It definitely led to times
of discomfort and periods of persecution. But because of their acceptance and
implementation of the task Jesus called them to, from those beginnings, Christianity today is
the largest religion in the world.
By virtue of our baptism we are each called to ministry. That ministry will differ according to
our various temperaments and gifts. But it means our lives should display the love of Christ in
all that we do and say. As Christians we are called live in such a way that the world can see
the difference Christ makes in us. It also means that we have to be flexible and adaptable to
the changing circumstances around us, if we are to connect with and communicate the
Gospel to others.
Recently most of us have had to learn new ways of doing things and new technology to be
able to continue some degree of contact with the world around us. If someone had said in
February that I would be attending meetings via zoom and Microsoft teams and meeting up
with my family via face time I simply wouldn’t have believed you.
The familiar is comfortable and it requires an effort and a degree of courage to step out into
new territory. I am sure those first Christians setting out from their homeland were
apprehensive about what they would encounter and how they would communicate the
Gospel to different communities.
The church is to be marked, not by rigours conformity to set patterns of behaviour but by
love and concern for each other, both within the church community and outwards to the
wider world.
And that sometimes means having to let go of the things which interfere with our moving
forward.
Well we have learnt this the hard way over these last months we have been forced into
strange different ways of being church.
As we emerge from lockdown things are inevitably going to be different, we can’t and perhaps
shouldn’t go back to exactly the way things were before. In the new normal we will need to
think creatively about the ways in which we live, worship, and communicate.
In all of this we must not forget that as Christ’s followers we are called to spread the good
news of His saving love not only in word but also in action. We must do it with humility and
grace and above all else we must do it with love and compassion and a flexibility which allows
the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us, even, dare I say, outside our comfort zone?
Let us pray
We come boldly to the throne of grace,
praying to the almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
for mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Father of heaven, whose love profound
a ransom for our souls has found:
We pray for the world, created by your love,
for its nations and governments …
Extend to them your peace, pardoning love, mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Almighty Son, incarnate Word,
our Prophet, Priest, Redeemer, Lord:
We pray for the Church, created for your glory,
for its ministry to reflect those works of yours …
Extend to us your salvation, growth, mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Eternal Spirit, by whose breath
the soul is raised from sin and death:
We pray for families and individuals, created in your image,
for the lonely, the bereaved, the sick and the dying …
Breathe on them the breath of life
and bring them to your mercy and grace.
We plead before your throne in heaven.
Thrice holy! Father, Spirit, Son,
Mysterious Godhead, Three in One:
We pray for ourselves,
for your Church, for all whom we remember before you …
Bring us all to bow before your throne in heaven,
to receive life and pardon, mercy and grace for all eternity,
as we worship you, saying,
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done;
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power,
And the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
God the Father,
who first loved us and made us accepted in the beloved Son,
bless you.
Amen.
God the Son,
who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
bless you.
Amen.
God the Holy Spirit,
who sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts,
bless you.
Amen.
The blessing of the one true God,
to whom be all love and all glory for time and for eternity,
come down upon you and remain with you always.
Amen.