Trinity Sunday/Year C
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16: 12-15
Opening Prayer: Come and seek the ways of Wisdom, she who danced when earth was new. Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true. Wisdom clears the path of justice, showing us what love must do. Amen. (vs 1 from Come and seek the ways of Wisdom)
On the church calendar, today is the 1st Sunday after Pentecost…Pentecost was the Feast Day we observed last Sunday…on which we celebrated the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, another advocate, being sent to God’s people, after Jesus’ departure from this world… The gift of the Holy Spirit to teach us everything…and remind us of all that Jesus has revealed to us about God’s love…through his words and actions….
Today is also referred to as Trinity Sunday…a day set aside to acknowledge the glory of God’s love revealed to us in “three persons”…Father, Son and the gift to the people of God: The Holy Spirit…
There is so much information out there on this Doctrine (this teaching) of the Church: theological discussions are happening across the board, new teachings emerging, old teachings being questioned, new and old ideas taking place in conversation among the religious scholars…a lot of discussions, but we are still left wondering and with no one clear answer or no one clear understanding of what the Trinity really means…for all of us…
But, there is one thing that many can agree on lately...and that is the acknowledgement…that the Trinity…might be best explored through the lens of mystery…an open-ended journey of discovering where and when and how we see God’s love at work in us, and in the world about us…an open-ended journey of discovering where God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
And as I stop for a moment, to imagine what that journey of discovery might look like…I imagine that I would need to make time to sit with God, getting to know Him through the stories found in the scriptures…and just sitting quiet, surrounded by His presence...
I imagine, that every day, I would have lots of questions…and days that I don’t understand anything that I am reading…days that I have no clue what I’m supposed to do with these words I am hearing…I imagine, the smile, and the joy, and the hope that arises in my heart at times…as I connect with some past words that I recall from an earlier time in conversation with God...words that I didn’t understand then…but on this day…some new meaning is revealed to me…and His love is revealed to me, in the stillness, in the scriptures, in my prayers..
I imagine some moments of doubt…or really, I should be saying…many moments of doubt…as I spend time with the Gospels, considering Jesus’ teachings…and how seemingly impossible it feels like at times, to entertain the thought of following in his footsteps and The Way of Love he proclaimed to others…through his radical love, compassion, mercy and grace that he shared so abundantly with everyone… And in other moments, when I consider these seemingly impossible teachings of Jesus, I catch myself wiping tears from my eyes, as I remember those times, when I have been on the receiving end of this radical love and compassion, through others, who perhaps doubted as I did…but instead...through their words and actions, did reveal, that with God’s love at the root and heart of all that we do…He lives and moves in each one of us today…
I imagine other moments, in the quiet of the morning by myself…or in the noisy activities and interactions with others throughout the day…
I find myself wondering…where is God in all this?
When I think about the violence happening all over the world, the divisions between people that seem to widen with each passing day...I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?
When I think about the overwhelming grief that afflicts people throughout their lives, when a loved one is suffering or dies…I find myself wondering…where is God in all of this?
And at those times…when I feel anxious…I want to know...I need to know now…I need to know when all this violence is going to stop…I need to know how all these divisions will be healed…I need to know when all these tears will be dried up…
And then, right then, in the midst of my exasperated cries to the Lord…God’s love comes around full-circle to give me that moment of peace and trust in Him again….I am reminded, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He is right here, right now…in all the messiness of the world…He has been there from the beginning…and will be there to the end of the ages…
Where is God in all of this? He’s right here…and will always be…
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus said to his disciples: "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
We still have so many things to learn…there is so much more to this life than what we have yet to imagine…
As I consider the mystery of the Trinity today…I am especially drawn to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, and its role in bringing us around full-circle, ever-turning our hearts towards God and his love…and ever-turning our hearts towards others, and encouraging each one of us, to reach out to love one another, as Christ has loved us…thereby reminding one another…of the hope we all share in the glory of God: as Father, Son and Holy Spirit….
The hope that does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Keep wondering, keep asking questions, keep listening, keep seeking God in all the ways you can…keep praying for Wisdom to teach you and guide you..
Closing Prayer: Voices Found - #60 Come and seek the ways of Wisdom
Come and seek the ways of Wisdom,
she who danced when earth was new.
Follow closely what she teaches,
for her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path of justice,
showing us what love must do.
Listen to the voice of Wisdom,
crying in the marketplace.
Hear the Word made flesh among us,
full of glory, truth, and grace.
When the word takes root and ripens,
peace and righteousness embrace.
Sister Wisdom, come, assist us;
nurture all who seek rebirth.
Spirit-guide and close companion,
bring to light our sacred worth.
Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church